The City of the Century: Chicago is a documentary which evaluates the transformation of Chicago city. It is about the development of the city from a swampy unoccupied town to a modern urban center. The film tells a story of its history and how it came to be transformed into one of the most developed cities not only in the United States but across the world. One of the key highlights of the movie is the economic changes which Chicago underwent during the period that it was transformed at. Besides, it also features the social, cultural, and political changes which resulted from the city’s development. It takes a viewer through the impacts of the developments on the lives of people who lived in Chicago and the Midwest region after the city’s overhaul (Youngquist, 2020a). This paper reviews part one, two, and three of the film noting down the key instances of change explored by the filmmaker.
In part 1 of the film, the filmmaker focuses on the history of the city of Chicago. He explores the economic activities which used to take place in the urban center. In the earliest days of Chicago, it was just a mere undeveloped town which was used as a center of trade where traders could meet and exchange goods and services. The movie also features how the region was invaded by French explorers and how they impacted the development of the city. It takes the viewer through a journey of transformation of the city from as early as the 17th century to the 19th century (Youngquist, 2020a). Until 1830, it was just a small center where people could post and receive goods and services, mails, telegraphs and postcards.
One of the key highlights in this part of the movie is how the city developed through the meat industry which transformed and became the main economic activity that propelled its development. Chicago is known for the meat packing industries still dominant today. Besides, the habitants of the area were popular for being ranchers and livestock keepers, hence, they could provide the companies producing meat with the raw materials needed to run the business. In one of the scenes, the film features how animals were slaughtered. The episode also highlights how the Chicago River was the greatest source of water and livelihood for the people occupying Chicago and the Midwest region (Youngquist, 2020a). Part 1 opens a viewer’s mind to the setting of the documentary. It gives a vivid picture of the city before it transformed into a modern urban center and one of the largest cities in America.
Part 2 of the film features the awakening of the city. It explores how it began transforming and the factors which led to this transformation. Unlike Part 1 of the series which focused on the history of the movie, the second episode is quite detailed on the changes which facilitated the development of the old town into a city. It is set in the 19th century when developments started taking shape in the region (Youngquist, 2020b). It focuses on the liberalization of the city from the chains of cheap and free labor provided by the locals to the organization of the residents into labor parties and movements.
Part 2 of the documentary also points out the role that the politics played in the development of Chicago. Liberal politicians influenced the way trade was practiced in the region and how industries were managed (Youngquist, 2020b). It is also about the distribution of resources among the residents of the area. In one of the scenes, it shows how the elite and people occupying the highest social class in the municipality abused power which led to the unequal distribution of resources in the urban setting. In response, the locals pushed for social reforms to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor. In this episode, the filmmaker analyzes how the process of transforming the city of Chicago begun and the measures put in place to achieve this development
Part 3 of the film is focused on the development which the city of Chicago underwent to become a modern urban center. It represents the realization of the goal to have the city developed and transformed into an economic hub (Youngquist, 2020c). It is at this point that the filmmaker unleashes the efforts to develop the town into one of the most advanced American cities. It also features the American dream as the key manifestation of the American culture. It shows how the idea influenced the transformation of the city. During the period when the region was developing, the residents had a strong faith in the American dream.
However, the episode points how the political class dictated the dream and made it favor only the rich people. Some of the social, political, and cultural issues highlighted include crime, corruption and poverty. In one of the scenes in this part of the movie, the bombing of the Haymarket Square which derailed the gains that had been made in the development of Chicago and the Midwest region (Youngquist, 2020c). As a result, efforts to transform the city were lost to the disaster.
In the end, part 1 to 3 of the film City of the Century: Chicago explore the development of the city of Chicago. Part 1 of the movie is on the history of the urban center before it was transformed. On the other hand, Part 2 explores the process of developing the city featuring the areas that were responsible for the city’s change. Lastly, Part 3 features a transformed city and the impact of the transformation. In the end, the filmmaker is successful taking viewers in a fascinating journey of how Chicago city was developed.
References
Youngquist B. (2020a). City of the century: Chicago, part 1/3 [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Youngquist B. (2020b). City of the century: Chicago, part 2/3 [Video]. Web.
Youngquist B. (2020c). City of the century: Chicago, part 3/3 [Video]. YouTube. Web.