The Mission, amongst numerous questions raised, specifically deals with the social fallout of gentrification, particularly in reference to the urban basketball community: What is to become of basketball in the American city?

 

The standard answer is always: "well, certainly things are better now (less crime and violence) in Mission Hill versus the days when basketballs (and drugs) freely circulated this neighborhood.

 

But this argument is the precise argument not to engage in, as it presents only two (bad) alternatives: hyper-gentrification or postwar social chaos.

 

The real question thus becomes: are there any other alternatives for city living?

 

Writer and Director Brian Francis Culkin, as a result of this film, is presently working on an essay collection in regards to this very topic. Some of the rough drafts to the essays can be found at the online site he operates: www.thegentrificationofboston.com