American Factory

American Factory just won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, and though I haven't seen any of the other nominees yet, it's certainly a worthy winner, as it tackles some big subjects--namely, the future of American working class, and the class of cultures between East and West.

Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, American Factory is set near Dayton, Ohio. At the beginning of the film, the General Motors plant closes. A Chinese company that makes auto glass purchases the plant. The chairman of the company is eager to invest in American industry, but he seems not to be fully aware of the obstacles that lie before him.

Much of American Factory deals with how the Chinese bosses react to American workers. Among themselves, they talk about how to handle Americans, who love to be patted on the back, flattered, and aren't as productive as Chinese workers (lazy, even). One man puts it that when donkeys are petted, they like to be stroked in the direction the hair grows. Indeed, Americans are used to the 40-hour week, which the Chinese are not used to. They also don't care much for safety regulations.

The narrative plot that runs through the film is a vote for unionization. Of course the Chinese don't want it, and fire activists (which is totally illegal) and hire consulting firms that discourage unionization. I won't spoil how it comes out, but it is certainly true that there are far less union workers today then there were fifty or sixty years ago, and that trend corresponds with the stagnation of wages.

There is a wistfulness about American Factory as well. When working at the GM plant, one woman was making twenty-nine dollars an hour, but is now making twelve. Another man realizes he will never have the salary he once had. Workers who suffer injuries or get sick risk losing their jobs, despite protections from the laws. Although he is never mentioned, Donald Trump and his practices are in the background, as workers don't have the protections they once had. And many of them voted for him.

When she won the Oscar, Julia Reichert said that workers need to unite, which a fellow named Karl Marx once said. But she wasn't talking about communism, she was just talking about how in numbers there is strength.

American Factory is a gripping, sorrowful film that needs to be seen by everyone who thinks the economy is just fine.