Tent City, U.S.A (2012)

"Tent City, U.S.A." is problematic film. After all, homelessness is not a subject that most folks want to hear about and I cannot see the average person watching this documentary in the first place. I am not the typical person, as I love documentaries and used to be a social worker who worked with homeless folks, among others. I am certainly no expert on the subject and don't claim to be. However, any clarity I hoped to find in this film was sorely lacking. You learn that there are a lot of folks in Nashville who live in makeshift tents in the woods but not a lot more. How they got there and how to get them on their feet and self-sufficient isn't really addressed other than saying that the government owes them a place to live. Well, it's not always that simple. Why are there homeless STILL in many socialist countries (I was surprised how bad the problem is in many European countries despite the high taxes and government social spending)? Are all homeless the same (they certainly aren't) and what can we do to help? Why don't we see folks in the film seeking jobs or working on GEDs? I just felt that the film could have had a real platform to make suggestions but instead if just seemed a bit short on facts and opinions other than we need to get folks places to live. Mildly interesting but a bit frustrating in its simplicity.

Steven Cantor's Tent City, U.S.A is takes a look at a community of homeless men and women and how they struggle to rebuild their lives and help other homeless men and women while living in a community of tents. Tent City is a community fulled of tents and makeshift homes that the homeless built to that they had a place to put their belongs and to have a place to call home. The main point of the film was to highlight Tent City. To highlight the reasons why Tent City is there and to highlight the the issues of homelessness. This is accomplished though the residents of Tent City, there stories, their struggles, and their accomplishments. Cantor uses vivid footage to capture the story of the individuals life to help to create and push his focus further.Tent City opens with some background information about homelessness in Nashville, Tennessee. It gives background information that helps to understand why Tent City was created. When Tent City is first filmed it is started off with interviews of residents. The residents tell a little bit about them and how they ended up at Tent City. Residents such as Wendell, who lost everything after spending time in jail, and Tee Tee, who ran way from group home at seventeen, tell their stories and how they ended up at Tent City, help to create the tone for the rest of the film. Also during the beginning of the film the residents of Tent City discuss the rules and some of the important things that was happening such as a hot water shower. These things combined help to show the importance of Tent City to the residences. It also helps to show how much the residence of Tent City consider Tent City a home.Cantor also goes into some depth of the opposing sides view of Tent City. Some of the view from the opposing comes from the view of the residents. The first Tent City was asked to leave the location due to " construction" of the bridges that surrounded Tent City. The residents thought that this was just a way to remove them from sight without being forceful. After the flood they condemned the land so that they could not return, the residents thought this was another way to remove them. The residents of Antioch progressed their presence there as well. The residents of Antioch did not want Tent City there because they said that they were " already helping the homeless population that they already had." The residents of Tent City did not understand why they had a problem with them being there when they were not bothering no one. This helps to show a little of the opposing view and how Tent City and its residents affect others around them.Despite Tent City's affect to show how the homeless is being helped and how the homeless are helping themselves it falls short to actually making a difference. Tent City shows how Jeannie Alexander and Doug sanders do their best to help the residents of Tent City integrate back into society. They found them a new temporary land for the new Tent City and bought them food and tents but they did not really put any effort in solving the real problem which is the fact that none of the residents have a home and a job. Tent City also shows an election that was to elect a homeless men or women so that they could have a voice and a hand in helping the homeless. Stracy, a resident from Tent City was elected but it did not make a difference. It took months for her to be approved and once she was on the board it seemed that all she was there was to bounce ideas off the other members not to make a real change. Both of these examples show that despite their action, nothing is being done to help homeless men and women in the long term, they are just thinking of the short term future.While Cantor went with the more board approach to homelessness I would have went more direct. Instead of just focusing on Tent City and its residents I would have tried to connect Tent City back to the whole Nashville homeless population and how Tent City affected them. Where Cantor focused on how the council and election and how they were electing one person to be the voice of the homeless population I would have inserted some of the voices of the homeless. I would have included some of the things that they want and some of their ideas on how they can achieve their ideas. However, the board approach that Cantor uses fits well with his main course of the film.Tent City was a film created to show the world Tent City. It highlighted why Tent City was created and what it means to the residences of Tent City. It highlighted and told the journey of some of the residents of Tent City. Cantor tried to use this film to show from the rest of us from inside in what it means to be homeless, what the homeless want, how they feel, and how they live. Overall, Tent City is a powerful documentary that shows the struggle of being homeless and living in Tent City.

"Tent City, U.S.A.," a documentary by Steven Cantor uncovers the hardships of being homeless. In the city of Nashville where there are over 4,000 homeless individuals , the documentary shows how a group a people, who have formed a community of their own, struggle to maintain daily life, fight local communities, and recover from a natural disaster. Mr. Cantor uses this very specific group of residents from Tent City to explore a specific portion of the homeless population that is trying to find work and a way back toward a stable life. He uses these characters to highlight how difficult it is to get back on your feet while bearing in mind the limitations of the support system in place to help.Located underneath a bridge, on five acres of land owned by the local government, the group of homeless, along with the help of a local church, has organized themselves and has developed ways to handle newcomers, manage security, and provide a heated shower. The homes range from tents with tarps on top of them to a wood burning shelter which has electricity and internet. The film follows a very specific group of people who range from all different backgrounds. A woman, Stacey, follows love into the homeless life after she left a large house from a divorce. Another resident is MacGyver, who is considered the handy man of the group and teaches newcomers of the best way for security and shelter. Finally one of the key leaders, Wendell, is a construction worker who formally owned his own company but lost it all after serving for a suspended license with a DUI.One of the key questions was what is the community doing to try and help the homeless. The biggest support system in a large building designed to house the homeless at night. Many of the homeless people despise the structure because of the lack of care for the homeless and the strict rules it has. The shelter only allows people to enter between certain times and for many of the homeless who are making little money, they are working the night shift and are unable to be there in time for a bed. Another reason is that it is considered a jail by many because they force the people to go through metal detectors and leave their bags outside of the building. To many people that is one thing they cannot do, the homeless leave all of their possession in their bags and requiring them to leave them outside attracts many thieves who go through the bags to search for anything that is worth keeping.In 2010, Nashville had record breaking floods destroying most of what the residents have Tent City had, leaving them very little to salvage afterwards and forcing them to move to a temporary spot of land volunteered by its owner 15 miles away from town.From the beginning local residents put up a fight against the new homeless group, including many outspoken people using "not in my backyard" terms while speaking to community leaders at a local meeting. One of the factors that was not looked into enough was the fact that there was no specific reasons on why this group could not live on someone else's property and just confide in themselves. Even though the director did interview a few of the locals, the only response was that they all agreed on the fact that they just did not want them.The local town has a committee to help out the homeless by attempting to find homes, jobs, and care for them. When asked by homeless man how many of them are homeless, have ever been homeless, or is good friends with a homeless person, nobody in the group of over a dozen raised their hand. At that point the community spoke out and said they wanted a new spot open for someone who has experience in what it is like and understands what the homeless really need. After 3 weeks Stacey won the spot, but since the she had to be appointed there was a delay. It took the mayor 4 months to finally appoint her, and even though she officially joined there has not been any increase in progress by the group. This small part of the film demonstrates the lack of commitment that the local government has about the group. This clearly shows that everyone is just a political pawn to the people with power.Another message, expressed by a researcher early in the film, is that in their earlier lives these homeless people are not linked most strongly by drugs or alcohol, by crime or abuse. The things they have in common are fragility and isolation; those who naturally cut themselves off from other people are less able to stay in society once bad luck strikes. When the most successful of Mr. Cantor's Tent City subjects, Wendell, is congratulated on his new apartment, he hesitates and then he replies, "It's — it's the way it's supposed to be." Expressing that society does not understand the life of a homeless person and instead forces on the idea that they need to get an apartment, as if they had a choice.The documentary adds to my understanding of what the homeless community is going through but I feel like the director is leaving out many key questions to ask. He needs to get more perspective on why they are not liked so much, and question the committees and mayor on why a town that has a homeless rate higher than 30% of the nation is not focusing on this subject more.Works Citied:Krinks, Lindsey. "Amos House Community." Amos House Community. WordPress, 3 Sept. 2010. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.Tent City U.S.A. Dir. Steven Cantor. Perf. Tent City Residents. Hulu, 2012. Hulu Film.