Review: American Factory

“One mountain cannot hold two tigers.” 

The line gives an important idea about this Oscar (2020) winning documentary. In the film, the communist tiger and the capitalist tiger is trying to be friends and work together in the same area with harmony. In the documentary, a Chinese businessman opens a new factory of his glass manufactory company in Ohio, America. The factory hires around 2000 American laborers with Chinese workers. You can see here glass not just literally but figuratively too. Once the bond between two cultures, people, ideologies seemed strong and transparent, turned out fragile and scratchy. 

My timing of watching the movie about the partnership when a ‘Chinese virus’ is destroying ‘the superpower’ in every possible way, made it more interesting for me. The film can be part of the study of that what happens when two completely different cultures confront each other in one place. It can also be part of a survey that the laborers have exploited in any culture, under any flag.

 

This fly-on-the-wall documentary has terrific cinematography and appealing background score, but what touched me more are the dialogues, precisely the real conversations, feelings, anger, love, fear, happiness. You get more ideas about the documentary by this unscripted but thought-provoking expressed emotions.

“Donkeys like being touched in the direction their hair grows. You should touch donkeys in the direction their hair grows. Otherwise, they’ll kick you. Do you understand what I’m saying? Do you? Okay. We need to use our wisdom to guide them (Americans) and help them. Because we are better than them.”

After this humiliating instruction by a Chinese against Americans, you will follow egoistic Americans who cannot tolerate any order from any Chinese. 

“The Chinese really don’t help us out at all. They just walk around and tell the Americans what to do. “Just do this.” And you’re like, “why?” They don’t tell you why at all, and they walk away.”

But, you will also have some human and moving experiences. An American gets tears seeing some celebration in china and says, “we are one,” and an American throws a house party and welcomes his Chinese co-workers and enjoys being with them. You will hear how a Chinese worker appreciates hardworking American laborers, 

“I really admire Americans. They can have another job besides working here. I always thought Americans lived a comfortable and superior life. I thought they did not have to make any sacrifices.”

And an American bond with his co-worker from another culture and treats him as a brother.

“My brother, he’s my Chinese brother. I would have his back, just like I’d have one of my own brothers.”

 

The movie doesn’t have only sets of two different sentiments, but two different mentalities of workers of these two different continents. While Chinese have shown very professional, hardworking, consistent towards their work. Though they are getting only two leaves in the whole month, they are grateful for the work. While Americans want the job as well as life too. They want a good salary, safety, and benefits. But, in the end, the movie reveals that workers, having any ideology or mind-set, are going to Struggle together in the upcoming time of automation. The documentary doesn’t offer any solution but tries to show the harsh reality of the future of blue-collar workers. 

 

The movie is good, but Oscar was too much!