Your move, punk! Detroit erects a statue of Robocop
The Pride of Delta City
The city of Detroit is an important part of Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 sci-fi action film Robocop. Despite the city not being given a great image in the film (as it’s depicted as a corrupt city amid crime chaos), it’s associated with the part-man, part-machine character as much as Philadelphia is with Rocky Balboa. Whereas Philadelphia has shown tribute to its cinematic hero with a famous statue that was also featured in Rocky III, Detroit hadn’t shown Officer Murphy any such recognition…until now.
Robocop becomes immortalized in Detroit
Fifteen years ago, there was a viral post on Twitter where an account (likely a citizen of Detroit) addressed Mayor Dave Bing about the city getting a Robocop statue reminiscent of Philly’s Rocky statue, saying, “Philadelphia has a statue of Rocky & RoboCop would kick Rocky’s butt.” Then, it continued to say, “He’s a GREAT ambassador for Detroit.” The request gained even more attention when the office of Dave Bing responded to the tweet, saying, “There are not any plans to erect a statue to Robocop. Thank you for the suggestion.”
Leave it to the citizens to take it into their own hands. According to Detroit Metro Times, a fan known as Brandon Walley launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise enough money to make it a reality. The effort would collect over $60,000. Dead or alive, a statue of Robocop was to be erected. The statue was commissioned and constructed by George Gikas of Venus Bronze Works. However, the project experienced some difficulties in years of setbacks and red tape.
Now, people can go check out the new bronze Robocop statue at 3434 Russell St. in Detroit.
♬ original sound – Detroit Metro Times
Paul Verhoeven’s Satire
Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 classic is an unquestionable pillar of the film industry. Few movies have ever stomped so freely between genres and tones like Robocop does. Picking up a bevy of blood on its mechanical boots along the way. You won’t find many, if any, films in history that can simultaneously sell toys like hotcakes, critique corporate greed, and feature a bad guy getting shot in the junk. While the movie satirized hyper-stimulating products, it actually became one with cartoons, toys and rip-offs trying to capitalize on its success.
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