The Pruitt-Igoe documentary was a very interesting and insightful film to watch. It was a housing project that came to those who needed it the most. The project brought so many positive effects to the people who used to live in the slums in very unfavorable conditions. If it was done right and the government and the workers cared for it more, I wouldn’t be surprised if it became something bigger. Unfortunately, it was not the case and with it many heart wrenching stories came about.

I did not understand why the maintenance workers stop caring. It was a new complex and the government was getting a good reputation for it. They wanted people out of the slums and this complex was a gift no one in the neighborhood thought they would receive. Why did the government stop caring and did the workers start slacking off? I understand the government would want to save as much money as possible but to not have a television and have people checking on you all of the time must have been so annoying.

The woman whose mother had to sleep in the kitchen was a really heart wrenching story. i can’t imagine the sacrifices her mother made for her family. Her mother let the others have rooms while she herself had to sleep in the kitchen. I was very happy to hear that her mother got her own room when they moved in. The woman also had the greatest times of her life in that complex. She and her siblings would blast music from their place and all the kids from the neighborhood would come and start to have fun. Even when the building went to ruins, her childhood memories came from Pruitt-Igoe til the day it crumbles.

Although this was a very serious movie, I could not help but laugh at the man’s story of how he helped people with the elevators. When the maintenance workers stopped caring about the complex, people who were stuck in the elevators can’t get out. Who better to help people than two young boys? The man and his brother actually opened the doors and pulled the cables to get to the next floor. It showed me even in the midst of troubles, life has its funny moments.

I think if the government did things differently, Pruitt-Igoe would be remembered as a success rather than a failure. It started off well but then soon deteriorated. If the workers at the building cared more, the building wouldn’t have gone to such disrepair. The way the welfare money was handled was definitely too overbearing. I think giving them a set amount of cash based on a budget sheet and letting them use the money the way they wanted would’ve been a better way to monitor the money rather than having someone check if they have a tv or not.