Visiting Scholars: Chad Freidrichs

Director Chad Freidrichs and Rockhurst University’s Visiting Scholar Series will present the documentary The Pruitt-Igoe Myth: an Urban History. Freidrichs will also present his lecture regarding the film, “The Making of ‘The Pruit-Igoe Myth,’” Feb. 19 and 20, respectively. Both evenings begin at 7:30 p.m. in Mabee Theater.

The Pruit-Igoe Myth: an Urban History documents the transformation of St. Louis in the decades after World War II. It tells this story through the Pruitt-Igoe public housing development and the residents who lived there.

The film analyzes the impact of the national urban renewal programs of the 1950s and 1960s. These historical programs pushed for mass suburbanization and emptied American cities of residents, businesses and industries.

Many were left behind to face a de-industrialized city. The city became drastically segregated by class and race. This struggle led to the 1969 Rent Strike.

The stories of survival, adaptation and success provide an emotional aspect to the film. While the Pruitt-Igoe implosion has attracted a myth of failure, the documentary attempts to set the record straight.

Freidrichs was born in Farmington, Minn. Before settling in the St. Louis suburb of Wentzville, where his filmmaking interest began, he spent much of his youth living in small Midwest towns.

Freidrichs spent a brief period of time attending NYU’s Tisch School of Arts. He then returned to Missouri, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Freidrichs further developed his filmmaking skills making television commercials for Columbia’s local ABC and FOX affiliates.  He is currently a professor of digital filmmaking at Stephens College.

The screening and lecture are free of charge and open to the public. To register your attendance, call 816-501-4828. Mabee Theater is located in Sedgwick Hall on the Rockhurst University campus, 54th Street and Troost Avenue.