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Street Fighting Men
By Brian Costello,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Powerful docu on three Detroit men; some cursing, violence.

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Street Fighting Men
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What's the Story?
STREET FIGHTING MEN is a documentary that follows three years in the lives of three Detroit men. James "Jack Rabbit" Jackson is a retired police officer who now engages in community policing, working to stop crime as it happens while also engaging with the residents of his community. Luke Williams is investing all of his energy into rehabbing a house while struggling to make a living. Deris Solomon is trying to further his education and start a career so he can be a good role model for his baby daughter. These three are shown striving to improve their lives and the lives of those around them against a backdrop of chronic unemployment, crime, and institutional failure. At the same time, Street Fighting Men shows the power of resiliency in individuals and in struggling communities.
Is It Any Good?
What's immediately striking about this documentary is the way in which the information is presented. There isn't much in the way of backstory to the setting, as it's almost a foregone conclusion now that Detroit has been in a desperate struggle for survival for several decades now. And yet, resiliency and hard work are qualities that have also come to define Detroit, and these aspects to Detroit's civic character are also on full display. That's certainly not to say that this is a Chamber of Commerce production by any stretch, because this resiliency and belief that hard work will improve one's lot in life are constantly being tested to the breaking point in this unsparing portrait of communities long past the point of crisis.
At a time when so many are grappling with how we got to this point in America where systemic racism is as ugly and entrenched as it has ever been, Street Fighting Men offers no easy answers. As the "American Dream" seems to be failing the people of these communities as much as the institutions around them, the viewer is left to ponder a question posed by a woman who narrowly avoids getting killed while gunfire resulted in several holes in her house and a bullet hole in her pillow inches from where she slept: "How do we storm the Bastille?" The question seems prophetic now that cities all over America are rising up in the wake of the police murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, among so many other people of color, and one of the biggest takeaways in this excellent documentary is how basic day-to-day survival, let alone revolution, is often a hard-fought victory in and of itself.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about documentaries. How does Street Fighting Men compare to other documentaries you've seen? What new information did you learn?
In what ways does the movie show resilience in the face of tremendous challenges?
Without overtly saying so, how does the documentary highlight the institutional failures, crime, and inequality the residents of these communities in Detroit must contend with?
Movie Details
- In theaters: June 17, 2017
- On DVD or streaming: May 26, 2020
- Cast: James Jackson , Deris Solomon , Luke Williams
- Director: Andrew James
- Studio: First Run Features
- Genre: Documentary
- Topics: Activism , Great Boy Role Models
- Character Strengths: Perseverance
- Run time: 101 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: August 28, 2022
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