"Forbidden City" is
a journey behind the gates of high security suburbia. Using the
outlying suburbs of Las Vegas as the site of its investigation, the
film explores the phenomenon of secured, walled communities, and
the psychology that drives them. From the spartan subdivision on
Craig Ranch, to the sprawling leisure park of Lake Las Vegas, the
residential neighborhoods of southern Nevada stand behind
imposing security walls, and are surveilled by high-tech
electronics and armed guards. Designed and marketed as
perfect American communities, these gated subdivisions are pristine,
efficient environments, with strange and incongruous details grafted
onto them. With gates, cameras, and armed guards posted at every
turn, life inside these gated enclaves suggests an unusual fusion of
residential paradise and authoritarian rule The spectacle
of middle America choosing to barricade itself against the outside
world in this way raises provocative questions about the future of
social cohesion in America, and the extent to which we are willing to
sacrifice our autonomy for the promise of "security". To explore these issues, "Forbidden City" interviews gated community residents, sales people, and security consultants, and cross-cuts them with vintage industrial film footage to create a psychological portrait of life behind the gates. Interview subjects include local Vegas celebrity Glenn Campbell, best known for his appearances in Learning Channel documentaries about the secret military test base, Area 51.