City So Real

City So Real is an intriguing and captivating documentary series, produced by National Geographic that premiered in 2020. This gripping, five-part series is the brainchild of filmmaker Steve James, who is celebrated for his insightful works like Hoop Dreams and America to Me. Each part of this engrossing series unfolds with a storytelling prowess which is shrouded in integrity, empathy, and depth. The series presents an honest, unique, and thought-provoking portrait of Chicago, illuminating the nuances of the city in intimate and observational ways.

Unfolding in the backdrop of Chicago's most politically explosive periods, City So Real chronicles the city during the controversial 2019 mayoral election and the subsequent tumultuous transition. The series provides a deep, comprehensive gaze into the city's political landscape, offering detailed portraits of the candidates while capturing the growing dissent amongst the public. It poignantly emphasizes urban democracy and effectively propels a discourse on sociopolitical themes such as police brutality, urban gentrification, race relations, and the dichotomy between the city's elite and working-class populations.

Central to the narrative is the monumental 2019 Chicago mayoral election that saw a record 14-candidate race spurred by Rahm Emanuel's unexpected decision not to seek re-election. Shark-like political maneuvering, high-stakes negotiations, and emotional public forums underpin the nail-biting drama of this event. It's not some distant political spectacle but rather an intimate part of the daily lives of Chicagoans. The series pursues the mayoral election from the passionate grassroots campaigns to the citywide runoffs, providing an organic view of the democratic process through the lens of the everyday residents of Chicago.

Beyond the election, City So Real takes a broader view of Chicago, exploring the lives of ordinary citizens across its neighborhoods. The series effortlessly straddles the sprawling city, capturing the heart of the community—its spirit, diversity, resilience, and complex sociocultural fabric. The series is unafraid of delving into the city’s highs and lows, offering glimpses of the heartache, joy, cultures, dreams, and struggles of the residents. It charts the ebb and flow of the city's dynamics, capturing its unique personalities, poignant stories, and buzzing energy with a compassion that transcends the demographic and geographic divides.

While the series has an overarching political narrative, it infuses aspects of human emotion and personal experiences. Racial and economic disparities in Chicago are explored alongside the deeply personal stories of its inhabitants. From barbers arguing about politics to parents fearfully sending their children to school in crime-ridden areas, City So Real beautifully spotlights neighborhood folklore and the inhabitants’ collective essence, with the city's trials and tribulations serving as the vibrant backdrop.

City So Real’s strength lies in its observational approach to storytelling. Rather than offering a curated perspective, it offers an immersive and authentic look into the lived experiences of Chicago's residents. It seamlessly blends the city’s narrative with Chicago’s vast cultural vignettes—pizza parlors, barbershops, church services, protests, baseball games, and more. This kaleidoscope of emotions and experiences presented by City So Real spans everything from protests against injustice to simple conversations about life’s intricate details over a meal, reflecting Chicago’s robust and intertwined tangle of emotion, reality, and humanity.

From a technical standpoint, City So Real is beautifully filmed and superbly edited. Steve James’ storytelling, infused with cinematography that is as gritty and real as the city it portrays, shapes a series that is both cinematically spectacular and inescapably intimate at the same time. The comprehensive storytelling allows the series to appeal to a wide audience, making it as relevant for seasoned political observers as for those fascinated by humanistic narratives.

In a nutshell, City So Real offers an honest, immersive, and intimate portrait of a city and its people during a pivotal time in their history. It successfully highlights the nuances of Chicago’s community and the reality of its political landscape, thereby serving as a social document that prompts reflection and action. The series is a vivid, unfiltered depiction of a city so real, grappling with division and unity, pain and hope, tumult and tranquility - a city that is at once unique yet universally relevant, complex yet relatable, and stricken yet resilient.