Building America in Bethlehem
Director Anisa George
Countries United States
Duration 40 min
Synopsis
This short documentary follows the conversion of one of the largest steel factories in America into a casino-entertainment center. A poetic and dystopian exploration of the destruction of American industry and the remnants of the community which was built around it. In 2004 the State of Pennsylvania passed gaming laws to allow for fourteen licensed casinos to be erected throughout the commonwealth, one of which fell to the city of Bethlehem. Now the members of this small post-industrial city, having witnessed the decline and bankruptcy of the Steel Corporation, are divided over the future of their city, and the fate of the old factory grounds.
This short documentary follows the conversion of one of the largest steel factories in America into a casino-entertainment center. A poetic and dystopian exploration of the destruction of American industry and the remnants of the community which was built around it. In 2004 the State of Pennsylvania passed gaming laws to allow for fourteen licensed casinos to be erected throughout the commonwealth, one of which fell to the city of Bethlehem. Now the members of this small post-industrial city, having witnessed the decline and bankruptcy of the Steel Corporation, are divided over the future of their city, and the fate of the old factory grounds.