On October 20, I went to the showing of “American Factory” which was in the Academic category. I found this documentary extremely interesting and it was really eye-opening to how foreign ownership of “American” businesses can create problems. I have heard many stories in the news and through my own experience that have had the same themes that this movie touched on. I think that the story covered in this documentary really reflects a larger problem of labor and income inequality in our country. Actually, I have some first-hand observation experience of issues like this in my own community. Over the past few years, I have become very involved with the issue of homelessness in my hometown, Cleveland. I participated in a group where we went out every Sunday to go on the streets and meet homeless people and give them some basic necessities. One of the biggest reasons that I have heard for people becoming homeless is those who work in factories, much like the one in the movie, who have lost their jobs due to a closure. Factories like these are so vital to communities and can be central to the local economy. One part of the movie that I found extremely interesting was when the Chinese staff at the factory had to be taught some American customs. They talked about things like how Americans “Always say what they think” and “Don’t care that much about how we dress” which are things that I have never noticed, but I can see how someone not born here would think that. I really liked this documentary and I feel like it shows a very important issue from a human perspective that is not always reflected in traditional news media.

Last Tuesday, October 15th, I watched the Democratic Debate with some friends and I think it gave a lot of insight into international affairs in practice. I went into the debate being a pretty strong supporter of Senator Warren, however, she got challenged much more in this debate compared to the past ones. Specifically, she received a lot more speaking time which lead to many disagreements on policy between her and some of the other candidates who are to the right of her on some issues like healthcare and income inequality. One specific topic that caused a lot of debate was the single-payer healthcare system and how it would be better than our current model. I thought that this really showed how much there is to know on this issue and how important it is for us to try and understand it fully. This debate also had a pretty serious focus on the topic of foreign policy, specifically the points mentioned about how President Trump is currently handling the issue of the Kurds and how we have effectively abandoned them. I believe that this debate, more than the others, has shown a real variation between the candidates and how they stand on certain issues and I think that it is important for everyone, no matter their party, to watch and understand the debates because the issues they discuss will affect us all.