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American Factory Writing and

Rhetoric
Review
Josue Gualotuña
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Introduction

In May 2018 Barack and Michelle Obama signed a contract with Netflix to produce,

together with their company Higher Ground, a series of audiovisual projects to denounce

cases in which rights are in danger due to ethnic and social reasons or the absence of

democratic values , with the aim of encouraging the reversal of these situations. Almost two

years later, his first product, American Factory, won the Oscar for Best Documentary. The

film was released at the end of August 2019 in the midst of the largest strike faced by the

American automotive company General Motors since the 2008 crisis. This crisis led to the

closure, among many others, of GM's automobile assembly plant in Dayton, Ohio, considered

the nation's industrial belt, leaving 10,000 people unemployed.

Two years later, Chinese companies increased their investment in the United States,

reopening some factories. This is where Fuyao Glass Industry Group, an auto glass company,

comes in. Cao Dewang, its owner, decided to locate his subsidiary in the same location as the

closed plant, changed the name to Fuyao Glass America, and hired nearly a third of those laid

off by GM. The main objective was to impress Americans and make them change their idea

of China and its citizens, and for this they invested almost 500 million dollars. At this

moment the whole network of culture shock that the documentary denounces begins,

especially at the workplace level.

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Body

In the international organizational sphere, culture shock manifests itself every time an

employee, within the same company, faces a work situation marked by cultural aspects

different from their own and which are somehow difficult for them to assimilate. Richards, E.

B. (2010). In the film cultural shock begins when Chinese and American workers are mixed

in the same workplace. The arrival of Chinese businessmen and workers excites the local

population as they will be able to recover their old jobs, something that looks promising for

both parties. However, Fuyayo brings a large number of Chinese workers from factories

installed in China as well as new work methodologies to which the American workers must

adapt.

Richards, E. N. (2010) indicates that this adaptation period consists of 4 stages. In the

first stage called “emotion” the employee is stimulated by the challenge of having a new job,

home, and culture. Every day is full of new knowledge and discoveries, however at Fuyayo

Glass working conditions are precarious and inflexible, commissioned by a group of Chinese

supervisors who are in charge of maintaining order in the plant. Where American workers

earn less than half what they made at GM. American workers settle at first, but they are not

performing as expected. Asians work 12-hour shifts, with one or two days off in a month, and

they count it satisfied. The Americans have a different rhythm, so it is impossible for Fuyao

Glass America not to face losses.

American Factory demonstrates the impact of the culture shock that is experienced

every day in Fuyayo Glass due to the way of working of both the Asian culture and the

American culture. Some former General Motors employees are in their fifties and many of

them are overweight. The contrast with the young and agile Chinese workers is humiliating.

As the training period progresses, Americans begin to complain to the cameras about the lack
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of job security and poor economic conditions ($ 13 an hour vs. $ 29 an hour they earned at

GM), while slowly making their way through the production line. This stage is called

"disappointment" because different ways of working appear, the slowest and weakest workers

feel disappointed and inferior to their colleagues. Richards, E. N. (2010). Because of the

disappointment the performance and attitude of the american workers is worse than that of his

Chinese colleagues, who smile all the time, are focused, while telling to the American

workers that they only see their children once a year and work six or seven days a week in

12-hour shifts.

Due to the poor performance of American workers, the company begins to generate

losses. This is where the most difficult stage begins, since insecurity and disorientation

appear when facing various aspects of the other culture. Faced with certain situations, the

employee does not know how to behave, is afraid of losing his composure and self-

confidence or is emotionally upset. In very extreme cases, the environment seems chaotic to

him and his ability to function in the company tends to decrease. For that reason Chinese

chiefs decide to send some workers to the main branch located in China. In order to see their

production capacity in the first person, the operators are shocked to see the pace of work, the

hours they work without rest and the lack of security measures. Heartbreaking images show a

couple of workers squatting for hours and hours separating pieces of glass for recycling next

to some containers with the remains of broken glass. His only tools are his hands, protected

by thin cloth gloves.

The lack of security and the little space between the aisles generates insecurity among

American workers, which is why they seek to unionize. As people who are inclined to

support the union's entry emerge, they are displaced from their tasks and then they are fired.

At this point in the footage, the workers no longer speak during the scenes. However, the lack
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of security is evident in the company and creates insecurity among American workers, so

they seek to unionize. As people who are inclined to support union membership emerge, they

are displaced from their jobs and later fired. At this point in the footage, workers no longer

speak during scenes. Their faces say it all. Therefore, the fourth stage of the adaptation period

cannot be completed, since it consists of an adaptation where the employee must overcome

the culture shock and initiate a process of acceptance of differences, responding favorably

and constructively to his new cultural and work environment . Something that never happens

in Fuyayo Glass.

This is how American Factory uses the case of Fuyao Glass to expose an evident clash

of cultures between two very different work philosophies. Where the Chinese seek to make

work the center of their life by working twelve hours a day, 7 days a week without rest or

distraction. While Americans seek to establish a balance between their work and their

personal life, in addition to always ensuring their safety trying to reinforce job security

through unionization, something the Chinese don't seem to care about.

Conclusion

To conclude, I can say that the purpose of the directors is not to criticize the different

ways of working of the exposed cultures, but to expose the different ways of thinking they

have about work. Well, as a spectator, Chinese culture is believed to exploit its workers,

while American culture is more conservative in terms of employment and only seeks job and

wage security. The documentary offers an intelligent look at the effects of globalization and

does not pit "American heroes" against "evil Chinese exploiters." Nor does it seek to rely on

the possible xenophobia of the viewer. It clarifies that these are very different philosophies

that should not be judged. The movie understands that differences are what make us at least

more human, more human than the automation that will eventually replace most of us.
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References

Bognar, S. & Reichert J. (Directors).(2019). American Factory [Motion Picture].

Richards, E. B. (2010). La administración de empleados internacionales:¿ Cómo superar el

choque cultural en una empresa multinacional?. Revista de Ciencias Económicas, 28(1).