8 Mile and the Detroit Catastrophe

Eminem's new 8 Mile highights the divide between the free market and liberal interventionism. Henry Payne of National Review Online writes this comparison:

The title of the movie is both a literal and symbolic reference to Eight Mile Road, the street that runs along the entire northern boundary of Detroit. As riots, nonexistent city services, and poor schools accelerated the exodus of Detroit's population in the last 30 years, Eight Mile also came to symbolize the growing rift between city and suburb, white and black, safe streets and crime...For movie director Curtis Hanson, Eight Mile is a metaphor for overcoming the odds.

And as politics, Eight Mile is stark evidence of the failure of liberal urban policy.

Coincidentally, greater metro Detroit is also home to America's most densely populated Arab-American community. And it is thriving...

But when Warren Avenue crosses Central Avenue, the vista dramatically changes. Central marks the border of East Dearborn, the beginning of Detroit, and the end of hope. Like someone has flipped a switch, the streets are suddenly lifeless. Storefront after storefront stands empty or boarded up. Graffiti defaces walls, and grass pokes through cracked, neglected sidewalks.

And then look at the Twin Cities. Look at where South Minneapolis melts into Bloomington, or the north side into the Brooklyns. Not as drastic as Detroit, certainly - duh - but illustrative of the smothering weight of government "assistance".