Insightful, frightful and balanced. Netflix is offering a documentary everyone should see.
59 Reviews
Wow.
lizvsinclair3 March 2018
Fascinating Insight From Across The Pond
rchown23 March 2018
Superb documentary reflecting not only the human element of the police officers in Flint but the community they serve.
From some one who lives in England where officers are unarmed and police through concent it was fascinating to see extremely brace law enforcement through austerity.
Great soundtrack and cinematography gives this documentary a real edge.
Big respect to the Flint PD bravest!
From some one who lives in England where officers are unarmed and police through concent it was fascinating to see extremely brace law enforcement through austerity.
Great soundtrack and cinematography gives this documentary a real edge.
Big respect to the Flint PD bravest!
Flint Town examines...
Whiskey-Jack4 March 2018
..... a decimated and demoralized Flint Michigan Police force struggling to cope with violent crime after the city's downward spiral into an epidemic of record-high murder rates.
The opening shows scenes of Flint as it was during the boom years and which began to crumble in the late 70's following the closing of the Chevrolet and Buick factories, two of GM's biggest plants.
At one time, Flint had the highest per capita income of blue collar workers in America. I know, because I lived and worked there for a while during its boom years. Businesses flourished and the nightlife scene, a sure indicator of disposable income, was New Year's Eve virtually every night.
The factory closings led to massive unemployment which in turn bred the violent and virtually uncontrollable crime rate. Neither City Hall nor the State Government succeeded in finding secondary industries to replace GM's closed plants. The drug industry boomed.
Due to the economic crash, the Police force shrunk from a high of over five hundred officers down to one hundred or so due to City Hall mismanagement, graft, incompetence and the misappropriation of the city finances.
The documentary reveals the problems and frustrations of the skeleton police force through the eyes of its Chief and various police officers who patrol streets of boarded up, condemned houses in poverty stricken, drug infested neighborhoods whose poorly educated residents seem condemned to never escape their toxic environment.
It's well done and worth watching.
The opening shows scenes of Flint as it was during the boom years and which began to crumble in the late 70's following the closing of the Chevrolet and Buick factories, two of GM's biggest plants.
At one time, Flint had the highest per capita income of blue collar workers in America. I know, because I lived and worked there for a while during its boom years. Businesses flourished and the nightlife scene, a sure indicator of disposable income, was New Year's Eve virtually every night.
The factory closings led to massive unemployment which in turn bred the violent and virtually uncontrollable crime rate. Neither City Hall nor the State Government succeeded in finding secondary industries to replace GM's closed plants. The drug industry boomed.
Due to the economic crash, the Police force shrunk from a high of over five hundred officers down to one hundred or so due to City Hall mismanagement, graft, incompetence and the misappropriation of the city finances.
The documentary reveals the problems and frustrations of the skeleton police force through the eyes of its Chief and various police officers who patrol streets of boarded up, condemned houses in poverty stricken, drug infested neighborhoods whose poorly educated residents seem condemned to never escape their toxic environment.
It's well done and worth watching.
A definite MUST SEE!!
mary2810 March 2018
Awesome series! A real eye opener on what is happening STILL in Flint. Everyone across the nation, in fact most likely everyone across North America knows about the disgusting, lethal water in Flint. This series takes you to actual day to day life struggles in Flint thru the eyes of some men and women in blue. The real people trying to keep the community together with only 1/3 the manpower. Amazing people make up the police force and any city would be thankful to have them watching over their neighborhoods. It is such a shame to see how they each give so much of themselves to only get knocked back down again and again by the corrupt city council! Absolutely disgusting!! It really is a must see for everyone.
6 Categories - Near Perfect Review.
bender-mitchell24 March 2018
Rated from a documentary standpoint:
Plot: 10/10 Production: 9.5/10 Storyline: 10/10 Characters: 9/10 Setting: 10/10 Realism: 7.5/10
This is by far the best production I have ever seen. Hands down.
Unbiased, professional, and extremely appealing from a production standpoint (speaking of which, where do they find these people?). It does not immediately investigate the "water crisis" like one would likely expect. Instead, it communicates the real problem at hand, the hostility between a community and its cities officials.
This series does not stop there. It constantly holds your attention, refusing to be anything like similar series' where the same content is repeated episode after episode. The second a certain topic in "Flint Town" begins to sour a completely new position is introduced and examined - exactly how the media should be. This isn't about taking sides. This is about hearing every single voice in the community and determining what the best solution is to improve the level of comfort and safety felt in the community.
In satisfying this mission they complete another objective without any intention, leading viewers to the realization that maybe the government isn't 'really' out to get them - maybe it's really their fellow citizens.
Overall I must give this series a solid 10/10. Phenomenal from nearly all perspectives.
Plot: 10/10 Production: 9.5/10 Storyline: 10/10 Characters: 9/10 Setting: 10/10 Realism: 7.5/10
This is by far the best production I have ever seen. Hands down.
Unbiased, professional, and extremely appealing from a production standpoint (speaking of which, where do they find these people?). It does not immediately investigate the "water crisis" like one would likely expect. Instead, it communicates the real problem at hand, the hostility between a community and its cities officials.
This series does not stop there. It constantly holds your attention, refusing to be anything like similar series' where the same content is repeated episode after episode. The second a certain topic in "Flint Town" begins to sour a completely new position is introduced and examined - exactly how the media should be. This isn't about taking sides. This is about hearing every single voice in the community and determining what the best solution is to improve the level of comfort and safety felt in the community.
In satisfying this mission they complete another objective without any intention, leading viewers to the realization that maybe the government isn't 'really' out to get them - maybe it's really their fellow citizens.
Overall I must give this series a solid 10/10. Phenomenal from nearly all perspectives.
There's "Reality," Then There's "Real"
coleman65 March 2018
Being a Flint PD officer and a factory worker in the town where I grew up, this program had special meeting for me. That cat-walk into the entrance of the Flint Police Department was exactly the same in the early 60's. Only far fewer travel there now.
Fate had me leaving a generation before everybody else. Going back now, visually, is frightening and enraging.
Flint is a 3rd World city in a First World Country. As was shown again and again, from the local perspective, nobody else even cares about their suffering. Maybe, this raw and accurate depiction of Flint could finally become a wake-up call.
Flint has always been a blue-collar down. It was the American Dream for all the South. The mass poverty starting with the Depression, found thousands of Southerners migrating to "the shops in Michigan," and the Flint Automobile Industry hired them all, including my dad.
We, whose dads were called "shop rats," had a good life, with much diversity before it became a cultural catch-phrase. Something that probably will never be given enough credit, Flint was partly responsible for Southern blacks and whites being forced to work together on the assembly lines--and out of that, came mutual respect, understanding, and a bit more tolerance and less bigotry.
Now all that's gone, and Flint Town shows how and why. Can it be fixed? A hundred thousand blameless souls sure hope so.
Fate had me leaving a generation before everybody else. Going back now, visually, is frightening and enraging.
Flint is a 3rd World city in a First World Country. As was shown again and again, from the local perspective, nobody else even cares about their suffering. Maybe, this raw and accurate depiction of Flint could finally become a wake-up call.
Flint has always been a blue-collar down. It was the American Dream for all the South. The mass poverty starting with the Depression, found thousands of Southerners migrating to "the shops in Michigan," and the Flint Automobile Industry hired them all, including my dad.
We, whose dads were called "shop rats," had a good life, with much diversity before it became a cultural catch-phrase. Something that probably will never be given enough credit, Flint was partly responsible for Southern blacks and whites being forced to work together on the assembly lines--and out of that, came mutual respect, understanding, and a bit more tolerance and less bigotry.
Now all that's gone, and Flint Town shows how and why. Can it be fixed? A hundred thousand blameless souls sure hope so.
Excellent! Thank you, Netflix
glassflames10 March 2018
This is an excellent Netflix docuseries. I found it on Monday and finished it today. While it focuses on the problems in the Flint PD, it does a great job of showing both the police and residents points of view.
(I'm sure it may be more interesting to me than most since this is 40 min north of me and was saturated in the news and everyone down here in Detroit trying to get as much water up there as possible.)
It's very well done and it humanizes everyone involved in trying to keep that city barely above water. I did not feel I wasted one second watching this.
Thank you, Netflix!
Nobody else was getting to the heart of this.
The best documentary I've ever seen
mikeklement17 March 2018
I binged watched this over 2 days and was simply in awe of the visuals, characters and insane world shown in this documentary series. It's hard to believe the most prosperous city in the US has turned into this! The film makers had incredible access that shows us what's really going on behind the scenes for these brave officers and they tell the story in a very fair way. Everyone needs to watch this.
Very good but wrong title.
LnineB29 May 2018
I really liked this documentary series. It takes a very realistic look into the police force of Flint, MI. Whatever your opinion is on policing in America, you can't deny the struggles and problems that they face. Especially for a police force in a town with no resources or support. This documentary painted a picture of officers who in some cases grew up in Flint and really care about the community and at the same time showed the ones who seemed to be just doing it for a job. Either way, it's absolutely unbelievable that a city of that size can only place 8 officers on the night shift or have to depend on volunteering officers. The only negative is that it really should be called Flint Blue or something like that. This documentary isn't really about the town at all. I would love to see a second season that actually looks at the people who live in the city.
Absolutely incredible!
jenniflower7411 March 2018
Flint Twon & Oakltown...similar
gpxdlr16 May 2020
I live in Oakltown, CA. So alike...good cops/bad cops. good/bad politicians, and lots of crime and bad guys. Drugs and Thugs. The cops get more pay but the bullet(s) still kill. The Chief's method reminded me of NYC's Stop&Frisk back when Bloomberg was Mayor. He got and still gets a lot of blowback from that. In Oakland, there are no community cops or cops who walk the streets. Most are white. Remind me never to visit Flint MI in the winter. Too damn cold.
The best and realistic police documentary. WE NEED SEASON 2
krystalcutlip23 July 2020
This was absolutely needed to show the public behind the scenes and the real life of reality behind law enforcement. It really opened my eyes to law enforcement in a positive light. We need more shows like this to bring awareness with the villain theme going on with law enforcement in the media. These are normal people who truly care about protecting YOU. They are so under appreciated. It'a not fair for any bad cop tp give every cop a bad rap. The city of Flint really needed this insight attention and awareness, I had no idea before watching this what the city goes through.. I hope we get a season 2 this was amazing and well done.
It was good
jldivelbiss20 May 2021
It was good, I ended up watching the entire series. It definitely made me NOT want to be a cop and the score was undesirably tense. I'd imagine they made it that way to make it atmospheric but to me, it just got unnecessarily tense for no reason. Outside of that, it was an interesting documentary that leaned on the side of repeating itself because, well "cops are bad" according to the public and "we have no funds" according to the police. They were both right. End of story.
Omissions and Bias
Raytus28 December 2019
While I enjoyed this show as a crime documentary, I found some of the topic matter too political and not related to the story. The 2016 Presidential election has absolutely no bearing on the day to day lives of these Policeman, yet we are treated to a bunch of anti-Trump protesting by city residents. While it's ironic that Flint's residence have been governed by Democrats for many decades, politicians are never identified as Democrats, not are their policies tied to Flint's problems - which they most certainly are.
And this was the most glaring omission which was totally danced around in the eighth episode where the police make a drive to raise taxes for "more officers." Residents complain that they voted for more millage before, but no one was ever hired. That's because Flint - like Detroit and so many other urban areas - is drowning in pension debt. Extravagant pensions were used to buy votes from city workers, but as industry collapsed and populations decline, remaining residents are saddled with out sized pension obligations from rosier times. Pension payments for retired workers eclipse actual payroll in many urban areas.
Finally, the decision to turn off Detroit water and use Flint's rotten lead lined water system was made by Flint's government in a desperate measure to trim expenses -- pensions are due you know -- yet that dreadful decision is portrayed more as the Republican governors fault then the town's own government which made the call.
And this was the most glaring omission which was totally danced around in the eighth episode where the police make a drive to raise taxes for "more officers." Residents complain that they voted for more millage before, but no one was ever hired. That's because Flint - like Detroit and so many other urban areas - is drowning in pension debt. Extravagant pensions were used to buy votes from city workers, but as industry collapsed and populations decline, remaining residents are saddled with out sized pension obligations from rosier times. Pension payments for retired workers eclipse actual payroll in many urban areas.
Finally, the decision to turn off Detroit water and use Flint's rotten lead lined water system was made by Flint's government in a desperate measure to trim expenses -- pensions are due you know -- yet that dreadful decision is portrayed more as the Republican governors fault then the town's own government which made the call.
Powerful
knifemagnet8 March 2019
I have known a little of the history of Flint, in that they once had a prosperous auto industry that allowed blue collar workers to earn good money and the ability to raise a family on it, and that one day those factories closed for good. Michael Moore has talked about it, it's been in short news clips here and there, and that's about it for my exposure to what the citizens are enduring there.
While Flint Town is told through the eyes of the Flint Police Department it is done in a powerful way. Most of these officers have grown up in Flint, remember the times before, and have a sense of loyalty to the town and to their fellow Flint residents. And not all of the opinions expressed throughout the series are those of the members of Flint PD; there are also plenty of opinions supplied by residents.
The thought of a town with a population of 100,000 people having only four squad cars out on patrol, not matter how you slant it, is shockingly not enough. What's more is the fact that these guys don't walk and move to another city that is willing to pay more - instead they are in it through thick and thin. You will see that these people do see what is required to reach the community, a community that (understandably) demands more from its first responders regardless what little resources they have on hand. To sum it up, at two points in their series we see just how thinly stretched their resources are; an officer responds to a burglary twenty-seven hours later (due to numbers of units and prioritization) and later we see the call board where many lesser events will likely never be responded to. We see a new police chief come in, some slight reorganization, some very clever ways devised to raise PD funds, and a new tactile unit hit the streets that do yield results... Only for politics to possibly undo progress. All this amidst a town that is dealing with lead poisonings and trials (which to date have not happened).
What they have on their hands here could easily be used to fuel another season. You eventually have a sense of familiarity with some of these individuals that would be a true shame to let it end here.
Watch it.
While Flint Town is told through the eyes of the Flint Police Department it is done in a powerful way. Most of these officers have grown up in Flint, remember the times before, and have a sense of loyalty to the town and to their fellow Flint residents. And not all of the opinions expressed throughout the series are those of the members of Flint PD; there are also plenty of opinions supplied by residents.
The thought of a town with a population of 100,000 people having only four squad cars out on patrol, not matter how you slant it, is shockingly not enough. What's more is the fact that these guys don't walk and move to another city that is willing to pay more - instead they are in it through thick and thin. You will see that these people do see what is required to reach the community, a community that (understandably) demands more from its first responders regardless what little resources they have on hand. To sum it up, at two points in their series we see just how thinly stretched their resources are; an officer responds to a burglary twenty-seven hours later (due to numbers of units and prioritization) and later we see the call board where many lesser events will likely never be responded to. We see a new police chief come in, some slight reorganization, some very clever ways devised to raise PD funds, and a new tactile unit hit the streets that do yield results... Only for politics to possibly undo progress. All this amidst a town that is dealing with lead poisonings and trials (which to date have not happened).
What they have on their hands here could easily be used to fuel another season. You eventually have a sense of familiarity with some of these individuals that would be a true shame to let it end here.
Watch it.
If your from Flint watch this.
ddmyou7 March 2018
First off, wow!!!!!!!! Netflix did a very good job at showing the real side of flint from the police officers point of view. The visuals were dark yet beautiful, the city council was shown for what they are, corrupt. I'm looking forward to a second season.
Amazing.. Brilliant....Powerful... Raw and Real
corporal-6953227 March 2018
Somehow they were able to capture a glimpse into the policing world that so many of us try to explain but words can't.
They did a great job trying to keep the show balanced with all angles and views.
Powerful documentary
They did a great job trying to keep the show balanced with all angles and views.
Powerful documentary
Flint town
jacobdenofio13 April 2018
Jacob L. Davey
Flint Town
Netflix original
The Netflix original Flint Town in a documentary series highlighting the officers in Flint Michigan. The documentary is amazing in the way it opens people's eyes to the problems there. I saw before this documentary Flint as a whole small town with a water crises from the news. That's far from true its a real city with huge poverty problems.
The director shows us the real lives of a few officers and their real opinions on the towns problems. We see there interactions and their crime policies. We also see them talk about and deal with the unsteady situation between police and the people all across america.
He also presents interviews with the citizens and their opinions varying at that on the town and law enforcement. I think the director wants us to make our own opinion on the problems there and shows us all the information in order to make the best choice.
The series is really good and definitely an education for a lot of different viewers. I think it's a must watch for everyone and really easy.
Down in the trenches with the dedicated police officers of Flint Town
bettycjung20 March 2018
3/20/18. This is a difficult documentary to watch because you have all of a sudden become privy to what police officers have to deal with on a daily basis in a somewhat neglected and impoverished town with way too many problems for its way too tiny police department. If you ever want to become a police officer, you should probably watch this to test your commitment. These officers are so totally dedicated to what they do that it's incredible what they have to put up with on a daily basis. While it is about Flint Town, it really is more about how its police department functions and how it deals with issues that are way above their heads. Their jobs are the hardest in the world.
Ultimately this was a little boring
benntune12 May 2022
I watched the whole series because I like this type of show. There were some interesting parts and some of the backstories were good, but ultimately I found the series boring. Not much happened at all. Lots of social commentary which I don't watch these shows for, and not much excitement which is why I watch these shows. I found myself fast forwarding chunks of it which is never a good sign. A bit disappointing.
Spellbinding
jsbalovich29 December 2019
Really good
pensacolacomputer3 March 2019
This series was not at all what I thought it would be like, which is the reason I never watched it, until now. I have always had respect for police and I think we need more "reality" shows like this, not like the other reality crap thats on. Police have gotten a bad rap lately because of a few officers. Thank you to anyone reading this who has been a public servant, who risk their lives everyday to make us safer. I thank you for your service.
decent documentary on the police in flint.
david21126 March 2018
A good documentary on the police in Flint and the issues they face.
the filmmakers obvious bias however was rather evident in a few episodes concerning the election.
No mention was made regarding the negative effects of globalism on the rust belt for instance.
That subtracted a few stars from what was otherwise a good series.
the filmmakers obvious bias however was rather evident in a few episodes concerning the election.
No mention was made regarding the negative effects of globalism on the rust belt for instance.
That subtracted a few stars from what was otherwise a good series.
Very insightful, lessons for communities worldwide.
fad-3879810 August 2018
This a very good documentary, a great story, using honest and open participants. The well publicised problems with the water supply and poor leadership of elected officials is the surface story. The deeper story looks at how the residents identify themselves, what agency they believe they have in their society and the responses of the officials (who are also part of the public) who are their to help, support and protect.
Essentially, an excoriation of a community, no-one escapes unscathed. Even the police are shown as being part of the problem. This is a documentary that all communities world wide can identify.
While a well made, well edited and a consistent narrative, do not lose sight that the documentary makers have control of that narrative and you only see what they let you see, in a context they control.
Be nice to see a follow up in a few years.
Essentially, an excoriation of a community, no-one escapes unscathed. Even the police are shown as being part of the problem. This is a documentary that all communities world wide can identify.
While a well made, well edited and a consistent narrative, do not lose sight that the documentary makers have control of that narrative and you only see what they let you see, in a context they control.
Be nice to see a follow up in a few years.
Eye opening
kate-911-988996 March 2018
Wow, thank you for such a great documentary. I thought this would be all about the water crisis, but it follows the police department navigating a severe lack of resources combined with the intense political climate of activism and police brutality protests.
I feel like I understand the issues police face a lot more now. I really care about the people featured in this documentary, and I see that the issues are much more complicated than the media portrays them.
I feel like I understand the issues police face a lot more now. I really care about the people featured in this documentary, and I see that the issues are much more complicated than the media portrays them.
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