“Apocalypse Tourism”

CTheory.net has an interesting look at the efforts of local bloggers, artists, and electronic musicians to revitalize inner-city Detroit. They bring with them a cyberpunk aesthetic that seems like a perfect fit for Motor City’s ghost-in-the-machine, all-purpose urban burnout. Unfortunately, that may be part of the problem. As Marcel O’Gorman inquires in the piece, do the digerati see themselves as part of a grassroots urban revival or as digital Hunter S. Thompsons, liveblogging from the 9th circle? Do they seek to construct something new and exciting with the aid of local artists and musicians, or use Detroit as a outsized canvas for their own narcissism? O’Gorman has guarded optimism, but his piece reveals a profound ambivalence.