The Facebook campaign didn’t work. The tweeting failed. It isn’t going to happen.
There will not be a RoboCop statue in Detroit. Not, at least, if Mayor Dave Bing is making the call.
Bing — yes, the Detroit Pistons legend — tweeted, “There are not any plans to erect a statue of RoboCop. Thank you for your suggestion.” So that’s that. And the fact that the movie isn’t flattering to Detroit probably didn’t help, either.
On the other hand, I’ve seen tourists flocking to, and posing for pictures with, the Mary Tyler Moore/Mary Richards beret-tossing statue in downtown Minneapolis every time I’ve been there. People seem attached to the Rocky statue in Philadelphia, even though I was against it when they first tried to plant it on the Art Museum steps (it ended up next to the Spectrum, and now near the Art Museum on Benjamin Franklin Parkway). Those things connect with people as much, or more, than statues of real people.
So what does Detroit have to lose? Why not a RoboCop statue, if they can get someone to pay for it? Hell, why not one of RoboCop, one of Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino, an Axel Foley statue, maybe one of Eminem in an emotional scene from 8 Mile… it may be schlock, but it’d be the People’s Schlock. And everyone visiting Detroit would want a picture with them. When your city needs a boost, you gotta think creatively.
Source: Detroit Free Press
What pop culture icons deserve statues in your town? Cliff Clavin in Boston? Alex Owens (welder by day, Flashdancer by night) in Pittsburgh? The Sugarbaker sisters in Atlanta? Start your campaigns in the comments.
Image: McFarlane Toys
Respectfully, this is the last thing Detroit needs. That movie painted a horrible image of the city and it wasn’t even filmed there. I love Robocop and the incredible satire therein, but as a native of the city i find the entire idea to be insulting.
Detroit has a lot more than Robocop. Maybe we shouldn’t believe the ruin porn we see on TV and on the web. There’s a lot wrong with the city, but there’s a lot wrong with every city.
This might just happen. go to http://detroitneedsrobocop.com/ to donate to the cause
I vote for Blues Brothers statues in Chicago!
You know what pop culture statue nobody takes picture of? The one of Ralph Kramden outside of the Port Authority in New York. No respect.
There should be a permanent Zoltar wishing machine at the amusement park where Tom Hanks changed, in, I believe it was (after some Googling) Rye Playland Boardwalk.
I mean, MTM and Rocky generally portray the cities their set in in a positive light. In RoboCop, Detroit, the City of, is itself kinda the villain. As much as the geeks love that movie and want a RoboCop statue because it would be ZOMGAWESOME, I totally, 100% understand why Detroit doesn’t want this.
Ralph Kramden statue at the Port Authority in NYC!
I’m from Seattle, so blah blah blah Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain. But we already have a statue of Lenin, which….makes sense?
Detroit already has plenty of great statues. However, a big, bronze Axel Foley with his head tilted back mid-guffaw that would project that laugh when you put 50 cents in would be more than welcome.
That would be an amazing statue! It could say: “Dead Or Alive, you’re coming with me!”