“A unique social research laboratory.” That is how President Max Nikias described the community that surrounds the University of Southern California in his 2010, inaugural speech. He promised to “utilize” the community, referring to the people in the area as a resource, easily mined. Monica Murillo calls USC “the Machine”. A student now, she grew up in the West Adams district, just a few blocks from the school’s ever-sprawling campus. Controlling a 3.7 billion dollar endowment, and a private security force of 242 officers that patrol 24/7/365, USC is by far the most powerful force in her neighborhood. This film is about the relationship between a low-income Latino neighborhood and an unstoppable juggernaut. It is about the blurring of identity, when the line between school and community, town, and gown, cannot be seen and might not exist at all. Taking its name from Nikias’s inaugural speech, Destined Reign of Troy is about USC through the eyes of Monica Murillo. It is about the patronizing surprise her friends at school give her when they find she is from the local community. In response to President Nikias’s “unique social research laboratory”, Monica Murillo strongly asserts, “I am not your experiment,” but what can she do against the destined reign of Troy?