Author: stroud.93

Text Review – “American Factory”

by

American Factory (2019) - Plot Summary - IMDb

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 New Global Haves and Have-Nots - The New York Times

‘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. 

AAPI Hate Crimes and Ways to Support – Systemic Injustice Showcase

by

Systemic Injustices are everywhere, recently Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have been victims of bullying, hate crimes, and even murders. Many of this stems from the COVID virus and the fact that many are “blaming” Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders for their role in the illness. The impact this has on this Asian American and Pacific Islander community is very saddening. In the news, many of the people from the community are scared to even sleep due to burglaries and harassment. These hate crimes are only showing our next generation that this systemic racism is okay. I distinguished that this was a systemic injustice due to the fact that these people and these large communities are being taken advantage of and racially profiled due to the color of their skin and what they look like. Fortunately, there have been many announcements made by the government and President, that are not tolerating this hate that is targeted to the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities around COVID. Although this is a good start in the right direction, there is so much that needs to be done in America to end systemic injustices and racism. In this particular instance, I believe that no fingers should be pointed at any one person for this illness. Connecting this back to Adichie and a single story, you cannot look to a whole community and blame them for everything. Although it is hard to hear and see things on the news depicting people in a certain light, it is important to remember Adichie’s talk about a single story and how important knowing someone for themself is and not how they are painted from one point of view. Adichie made great points and we have also learned about one and the other. In this instance, the other is the AAPI community that is being racially profiled and receiving hate crimes. Many of the modules and stories we have read up until this point correlate with so many of the injustices and bias’ that we see today.

 

The Government, over the course of this pandemic has brought the hate of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to the front of their attention. World leaders have brought this issue to light and have spoken out to teach communities the importance of what these hate crimes can do to not only the lives of others but the low self-esteem and harm they can cause. Since this has begun, many rallies have been put together to show up and give love to these people receiving hate crimes. Many AAPI organizations have been created for those who want to help and for people of Asian American and Pacific backgrounds to come together and have a safe space to meet and talk.

 

Below is a link for ways to give support to those in the AAPI community who are receiving hate and may need to be reached out to.

 

https://www.aapihatecrimes.org/hate-incidents

 

 

 

Results of the Iranian Revolution on its people and Iran.

by

Persepolis the movie, deals with the same problems that are faced in the book. Beginning after the Iranian Revolution, it depicts the life of Marjane and her family. During this, Marjane deals with her parents wanting freedom for not only themselves but for her as well.  Marjane’s family disapproves of Shah and what he stands for and the rules he has created for their community. Throughout the story we see Marjane lash out in punk ways by listening to certain types of music. The story deals with gender inequality and harsh rules during the Islamic Revolution. Marjane has trouble expressing her true self due to the strict guidelines her parents enforce because of the Islamic Revolution. Marjane has many encounters and slip-ups with the police such as getting in trouble for wearing makeup and trying to be herself. Marjane eventually leaves and finds herself leaving and escaping the terrible country she lives in with her family. She eventually decides to come back home to her family because of her deep roots.

The Iranian Revolution was taken over by the Islamic Republic after the illness of Shah. This revolution is looked at as something that caused severe isolation and terror in its country and against its people. The uprising was trying to get rid of the Shah’s greatly before he became ill. Before them, there were the Safavids and Qajars. Religion and social justice go hand in hand during this revolution because of the certain powers that were in play and who was in charge. “The Islamic Republic’s main tool of oppression has been its Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), which has carried out imprisonment, torture, or execution of anyone suspected of insufficient loyalty to the regime. Khomeini appointed Ayatollah Sadeq Khalkhali, the “hanging judge,” as the Chief Justice of the Revolutionary Courts to provide a patina of legality to some of the executions, many of which were carried out in public. A common, particularly painful mode of public execution has been hanging from a crane. Beyond the court-approved executions, more than 3,000 political prisoners were murdered without even the pretense of legal proceedings” (Near East Report Article). During this time as well, women were greatly oppressed and caused to wear hijabs. “The revolution succeeded on February 11, 1979, and, on March 8, the nationwide radio broadcast announced that women who worked in the public sector should wear a veil. Until then, it was not obligatory in Iran. Many women opposed Khomeini’s declaration but, as a result of government-led violence and oppression, it became the norm. Two years later, it became mandatory for women to wear a coat to cover the body and a scarf to cover the hair when they stepped out of the house; violation of this law was a punishable offense” (Ebadi, para. 3). Many religious students took to the streets and began to protest the Shah’s reign over their country. Many workers went on strike due to the mistreatment and abuse that was brought upon them by troops. Marjane and her family had to deal with these issues. Marjane Satrapi has fully encompassed the story of the Iranian Revolution and has used it to tell a real-life story to viewers of all ages.

 

 

Blinder, Elana. “The Iranian Revolution, 40 Years on: Oppression at Home, Aggression Abroad.” AIPAC, AIPAC, 2 June 2020, https://www.aipac.org/resources/iranian-revolution.

 

Ebadi, Shirin. “Iran’s Revolution Has Failed Its Women.” The National, The National, 4 July 2021, https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/iran-s-revolution-has-failed-its-women-1.982880.