Josue Gualotuña 00207108

Universidad San Francisco

Writing and Rhetoric

Film review

American Factory

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.

 This film is about cultural and labor impact that occurs 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 population must adapt.

In the workplace the working conditions are precarious and inflexible,

commissioned by a group of Chinese supervisors who are in charge of maintaining

order at the plant. Where US workers earn less than half of what they earned at GM, the

company also prohibits the existence of unions. Americans settle at first, but their

performance is not what was expected. Asians have 12-hour shifts, with one or two free

days in a month, and they count it satisfied. The Americans have a different rhythm,

making it impossible for Fuyao Glass America not to face losses. This is how the

documentary unfolds, with first-person testimonies from the perspective of the worker

and the business community.

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 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. His performance and attitude is worse than that of his Chinese

colleagues, who smile all the time, are focused, while telling us that they only see their

children once a year and work six or seven days a week in 12-hour shifts.
 As time progresses, the company begins to generate losses, so they 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. Their faces say it all. Finally the first union elections are held. However, the

result of the referendum turns out to be a no.

American Factory use the case of "Fuyayo Glass" to talk about the

aforementioned clash of cultures between two very different philosophies of life. The

western in its American version and the Asian in its mainland China version. 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,

they try to reinforce job security through unionization, something that the Chinese do

not seem to worry about.

It should be noted 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, it is thought that Chinese culture exploits its workers while

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

salary 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 film understands that differences are what

make us at least more human, more human than the automation that will eventually

replace most of us.

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