Violence, segregation and government housing might be heavy fare for a Monday evening, but that did not stop about 40 students, professors and community members from attending a screening of the award-winning "Pruitt-Igoe Myth," a documentary exploring the decay of the Pruitt-Igoe housing project in St. Louis Missouri in the 1960s, at the Perry and Marty Granoff Center for the Creative Arts.
"Pruitt-Igoe Myth" lives up to its critical acclaim — it was featured in the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival, among others. The documentary skillfully presented testimonials from both former residents and experts to explain the "hyper-segregation" in St. Louis, Mo., and how it played into the actual, physical decay of the housing project. The beautifully structured film lacks neither personality nor emotion.
The testimonials transform what might have been a dry and uninteresting topic into an emotional appeal to the audience. The speakers portray the housing project as a neighborhood rather than a government housing initiative. The film furthered understanding of urban housing, segregation and the problems that residents face.
The documentary follows the decline of the Pruitt-Igoe housing project from positive origins to its ultimate destruction. After the buildings existed in decrepit condition for several years — residents lived in filth without heat or maintenance — tenants were instructed to vacate their homes. Millions of Americans watched the buildings crumble on national television.
Rhode Island School of Design Associate Professor Lynette Widder and RISD Assistant Professor Ijlal Muzaffer decided to hold the screening as a supplement to a course they are co-teaching this semester called "Positions and Practice." The course's focus on humanitarian design plays into the documentary's theme.
But "Pruitt-Igoe Myth" focuses more on social problems in 20th century America such as segregation and poverty. The documentary never really hits upon the critique of modernist design that is central to the architectural debate surrounding the issue. Widder said she would have included more on the death of modernism if she had directed the film.
"One of our goals in the class is to expand the role of architecture," Muzaffer said. "It is limiting to architects and designers to not pay attention to the larger discussion."
When the documentary began 10 minutes after the scheduled start time, original film from the time period shot up on the screen, and the accompanying score evoked the drama and sadness being revealed. Minutes later, it became clear that the music was overpowering the voice track — there were some definite technical problems.
Several members of the audience requested something be done about the audio, but no one knew who was in charge of the screening. Several more decided to get up and leave.
Showing up 20 minutes late, Widder and Muzaffer discovered the technical problems were due to the unplugging of cables during building maintenance earlier in the day. At 7:05 p.m. — 35 minutes after the screening was set to begin — the film officially restarted about 20 minutes into the program. The audience, less 25 members, was left to wonder what was said in those first moments — a breakdown similar to that of the decay of the Pruitt-Igoe housing project.
Widder and Muzaffer are using a RISD Kyobo grant, which encourages inter-disciplinary study, to teach the course and hold various events at the Granoff Center. Widder said the design of the building is refreshing to see in Providence.
Both were disappointed with the technical issues the screening faced and are now trying to hold another screening for a wider audience. Details on this have not been finalized.
