Above shows the Netflix Documentary head photo of “American Factory” Showing the cultural clash and mundane life of the factory workers.
IMDb.com. (n.d.). American factory. IMDb. Retrieved December 2, 2021, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9351980/plotsummary.
American Factory & How the Factory Industry Works Between Cultures
In American Factory, the depiction of the business of a glass factory founded by a Chinese Businessman and brought to the United States shows the clash between cultures and language. This documentary was based in Dayton, Ohio, and portrays the harsh realities of not only the clash of cultures but also the harsh conditions of factory work. Many Chinese workers followed the company from China to America to teach the American workers how to correctly and efficiently run this factory.
The American workers were also invited to China and the original Fuyao company to understand how they were expected to run the company as well as be welcomed and thanked for how appreciative and excited they were to now have their company in America. When in China, the American workers noticed such a vast difference in work ethic and rules between the walls of this specific building. Expected non-paid overtime, harsh working conditions, and low pay wages.
Language Barriers within Fuyao
One of the largest battles and challenges within this documentary was the language barrier and expectations from this Chinese billionaire and company owner. There is a scene showing the company owner and the American chairmen working together for a launch party where hundreds of important donors and business people were attending. There were many language barriers and ideas that were misconstrued due to the differences in the languages and the struggle to deal with translators and the race against time. Other than a language barrier being an issue, workers also began to bring up the overwork and low pay wages. Throughout this documentary, it is blatantly stated that this is a non-union company and they are stuck on keeping it this way. There is a fight between company workers and chairmen, where many workers lost their jobs. Relating this back to our learning modules, you can see a depiction of “othering” through not only the cultural differences but also from chairmen to factory workers. There is a play of power on these workers who are being used and taken advantage of and only being paid just over minimum wage. Taking away the voices of workers by threatening and taking action against those who want better for themselves and the company by expressing their want for getting rid of the non-union company and becoming a union. I can see a close relation to Hegel and the Master-Slave Dialect because of this relationship and poor use of the power given to these individuals.
I believe that the author and directors wanted to invoke the sense of power that these individuals have and make the viewer realize the harsh realities of this “Master and Slave” relationship that is so common in our world today. This evokes conversation about capitalism, economic struggle, and the overuse of hard work on underpaid people. Something that is important and seen more often today than it has in the past.
‘american factory’ review: The … – The New York Times. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/20/movies/american-factory-review.html.