178 Bewertungen
Fascinating documentary about a Chinese corporation that invests in American manufacturing, utilizing a site and workers that had been laid off by GM. We see the inevitable culture clash between Chinese management and American workers, with the shoe on the other foot relative to outsourcing, and hear frank observations about Americans from foreign eyes. In a larger sense, we get insight into the plight of blue-collar workers from both countries, and it's a depressing view.
The Chinese management team that comes in doesn't always care about safety or the environment, but they're brutally efficient and drill their workers like an army or Communist party members, the latter of which is ironic, since the workers are so far from the ideals of communism, e.g. having real power and sharing the wealth of their labor. Meanwhile, one seriously wonders whether Americans can compete in this space, having been "spoiled" by prosperity and earlier times when they made a decent salary. You know, how dare they want a good work/life balance!
Where the documentary falls short is in not showing us the treatment of these workers under the American company beforehand; it really could have used a one hour segment on that. If it had taken the time to do so, we would have seen the same problematic behavior from American corporate executives squeezing every last drop out of their workers for the sake of the bottom line, ultimately leading to outsourcing manufacturing to overseas workers forced to work long hours, often away from their families.
The only effective means of worker power is through unionizing, and both Chinese and American executives resist it mightily, using pages from the exact same playbook, like targeting leaders and paying for propaganda campaigns. In a sense, the American executives going overseas was like finding a pool of scabs to cross the picket line. As one of the state congressmen observes in speaking to the workers, corporate profitability and treating workers respectfully via a living wage are not incompatible things, and it's shameful that they're treated that way out of unfettered greed in extreme capitalism. (Hmm, if only there was an international labor organization, lol)
It seems to me it's a system that spirals upon itself further - when you distribute the wealth so incredibly unfairly in a country, the vast majority of consumers can't afford to pay the premium for a product that was made by unionized hands. They often don't have the economic freedom to do that, or to do things like shop at a mom 'n' pop shop instead of some corporate goliath like Wal-Mart, because they're living paycheck to paycheck and every penny matters. The result is to further drive the system in the direction it's going. Suddenly the middle-class starts dwindling and people are hoping more for a miracle ala the lottery than thinking they can truly make it. The documentary doesn't mention any of this so I'm guilty of rambling on here, but it did make me think.
The ending sequence is sobering as well, showing management practically salivating over robotics taking the place of workers - you know, those pesky things on the payroll that do all of that complaining, sometimes get sick or pregnant, etc. Hey, we can drive costs down by just replacing them with machines! It's too bad no one asks any of the executives the difficult moral questions, like what the right thing to do is, or how they justify their behavior. Overall though, well done, and pretty chilling stuff.
The Chinese management team that comes in doesn't always care about safety or the environment, but they're brutally efficient and drill their workers like an army or Communist party members, the latter of which is ironic, since the workers are so far from the ideals of communism, e.g. having real power and sharing the wealth of their labor. Meanwhile, one seriously wonders whether Americans can compete in this space, having been "spoiled" by prosperity and earlier times when they made a decent salary. You know, how dare they want a good work/life balance!
Where the documentary falls short is in not showing us the treatment of these workers under the American company beforehand; it really could have used a one hour segment on that. If it had taken the time to do so, we would have seen the same problematic behavior from American corporate executives squeezing every last drop out of their workers for the sake of the bottom line, ultimately leading to outsourcing manufacturing to overseas workers forced to work long hours, often away from their families.
The only effective means of worker power is through unionizing, and both Chinese and American executives resist it mightily, using pages from the exact same playbook, like targeting leaders and paying for propaganda campaigns. In a sense, the American executives going overseas was like finding a pool of scabs to cross the picket line. As one of the state congressmen observes in speaking to the workers, corporate profitability and treating workers respectfully via a living wage are not incompatible things, and it's shameful that they're treated that way out of unfettered greed in extreme capitalism. (Hmm, if only there was an international labor organization, lol)
It seems to me it's a system that spirals upon itself further - when you distribute the wealth so incredibly unfairly in a country, the vast majority of consumers can't afford to pay the premium for a product that was made by unionized hands. They often don't have the economic freedom to do that, or to do things like shop at a mom 'n' pop shop instead of some corporate goliath like Wal-Mart, because they're living paycheck to paycheck and every penny matters. The result is to further drive the system in the direction it's going. Suddenly the middle-class starts dwindling and people are hoping more for a miracle ala the lottery than thinking they can truly make it. The documentary doesn't mention any of this so I'm guilty of rambling on here, but it did make me think.
The ending sequence is sobering as well, showing management practically salivating over robotics taking the place of workers - you know, those pesky things on the payroll that do all of that complaining, sometimes get sick or pregnant, etc. Hey, we can drive costs down by just replacing them with machines! It's too bad no one asks any of the executives the difficult moral questions, like what the right thing to do is, or how they justify their behavior. Overall though, well done, and pretty chilling stuff.
- gbill-74877
- 26. Juli 2020
- Permalink
Greetings again from the darkness. In December 2008, General Motors shut down their truck plant in Dayton, Ohio, putting approximately 2000 employees out of work. Six years later, Chairman Cao Dewang, the founder of Fuyao Glass, invested millions to turn the shell of the plant into a retro-fitted factory and the first U.S. operation for his company - a company he claims owns 70% of the auto glass market. In doing so, the factory hired approximately 1000 locals, many of whom had not had consistent work since the GM plant closed years prior.
Co-directors Steven Bognar and Julie Reichert share an Oscar nomination (she has 3 total) for their 2009 documentary short, THE LAST TRUCK: CLOSING OF A GM PLANT. This time out, they have impressive access to a remarkable situation: a successful Chinese company opening a factory in the United States, and attempting to merge two distinctly different cultures. We hear much these days about globalization, and by the end of the film, you'll likely be re-defining the word.
This unique business model came with good intentions on both sides. The differences that start out as kind of funny and well-intentioned turn into hurdles that are nearly impossible to manage. Fuyao ships many workers from China to Dayton for the training of U.S. workers. These 'temporary' transplants must spend two years away from their family as they try to make sense of an unfamiliar land far different from home. Workshops are held for the Chinese workers as they are lectured on what makes Americans different ... they don't work as hard, they don't dress well, they talk too much on the job, they won't work overtime, etc. The Chinese blatantly state that they are superior to American workers - a point that's difficult to argue against when it comes to dedication, quality, and efficiency. We soon learn there is more to the picture.
U.S. labor and safety laws exist for a reason, and the Chinese company neither understands these, nor is very willing to abide by them. Additionally, since this is the 'rust belt', the shadow of unionization hovers from day one. While China's Workers' Union functions in sync with companies, U.S. labor unions are regularly in conflict with companies here. When the U.S. supervisors make a training and observation trip to China to see the Fuyao factory, the differences become even more obvious. The mostly overweight Americans show up casual - one even in a JAWS t-shirt - while the lean and fit Chinese are all in fine suits and ties. Morning shift routines are also contrasted to point out the gaps in discipline and attention to details.
What the filmmakers do best is allow us to see both sides of the issue. Surely the right thing to do is obvious when it comes to safety, and when Chairman Cao says the real purpose in life is one's work, well, we realize these two cultures are farther apart than the 7000 miles that separate them. It's a fair look at both sides, but for those who say U.S. companies are too focused on profit, they'll likely be surprised to learn that Chinese factory workers typically get 1 or 2 days off from work each month! As one of the dismissed American managers states, you can't spell Fuyao with "fu". The film seems to present a debate with lines drawn via citizenship and culture, and the contrast might be more relevant today than ever before.
Co-directors Steven Bognar and Julie Reichert share an Oscar nomination (she has 3 total) for their 2009 documentary short, THE LAST TRUCK: CLOSING OF A GM PLANT. This time out, they have impressive access to a remarkable situation: a successful Chinese company opening a factory in the United States, and attempting to merge two distinctly different cultures. We hear much these days about globalization, and by the end of the film, you'll likely be re-defining the word.
This unique business model came with good intentions on both sides. The differences that start out as kind of funny and well-intentioned turn into hurdles that are nearly impossible to manage. Fuyao ships many workers from China to Dayton for the training of U.S. workers. These 'temporary' transplants must spend two years away from their family as they try to make sense of an unfamiliar land far different from home. Workshops are held for the Chinese workers as they are lectured on what makes Americans different ... they don't work as hard, they don't dress well, they talk too much on the job, they won't work overtime, etc. The Chinese blatantly state that they are superior to American workers - a point that's difficult to argue against when it comes to dedication, quality, and efficiency. We soon learn there is more to the picture.
U.S. labor and safety laws exist for a reason, and the Chinese company neither understands these, nor is very willing to abide by them. Additionally, since this is the 'rust belt', the shadow of unionization hovers from day one. While China's Workers' Union functions in sync with companies, U.S. labor unions are regularly in conflict with companies here. When the U.S. supervisors make a training and observation trip to China to see the Fuyao factory, the differences become even more obvious. The mostly overweight Americans show up casual - one even in a JAWS t-shirt - while the lean and fit Chinese are all in fine suits and ties. Morning shift routines are also contrasted to point out the gaps in discipline and attention to details.
What the filmmakers do best is allow us to see both sides of the issue. Surely the right thing to do is obvious when it comes to safety, and when Chairman Cao says the real purpose in life is one's work, well, we realize these two cultures are farther apart than the 7000 miles that separate them. It's a fair look at both sides, but for those who say U.S. companies are too focused on profit, they'll likely be surprised to learn that Chinese factory workers typically get 1 or 2 days off from work each month! As one of the dismissed American managers states, you can't spell Fuyao with "fu". The film seems to present a debate with lines drawn via citizenship and culture, and the contrast might be more relevant today than ever before.
- ferguson-6
- 21. Aug. 2019
- Permalink
I can't decide whether or not "American Factory" is hilarious or deeply depressing.
Hilarious because it's funny to see the culture clash between working class Americans and their Chinese counterparts (the Chinese CEO on a tour of his newly acquired American factory wants the fire alarm relocated because.....well, because it just looks bad). But depressing because it highlights the new global reality that many Americans just will not accept -- automation is eliminating entire sectors of workers around the world, and you can debate all day whether or not this is a good thing or a bad thing, but what's not up for update is that it's happening either way and those that can't adapt will be left behind.
This movie also reinforced something I've noted before, which is that if you take opposing ideologies to their furthest extremes, you eventually will meet in the same place. Conservative America is absolutely horrified at the slightest hint of socialism, let alone outright Communism, and tout capitalism as one of America's guiding principles. But the Chinese company in this film shows that capitalism taken to its monstrous extreme results in a culture that might as well exist in a Communist dictatorship, where allegiance to the company substitutes for allegiance to a political leader. And faced with that, what do working class Americans want? A dose of socialism to protect them from runaway corporate interests.
Grade: A-
Hilarious because it's funny to see the culture clash between working class Americans and their Chinese counterparts (the Chinese CEO on a tour of his newly acquired American factory wants the fire alarm relocated because.....well, because it just looks bad). But depressing because it highlights the new global reality that many Americans just will not accept -- automation is eliminating entire sectors of workers around the world, and you can debate all day whether or not this is a good thing or a bad thing, but what's not up for update is that it's happening either way and those that can't adapt will be left behind.
This movie also reinforced something I've noted before, which is that if you take opposing ideologies to their furthest extremes, you eventually will meet in the same place. Conservative America is absolutely horrified at the slightest hint of socialism, let alone outright Communism, and tout capitalism as one of America's guiding principles. But the Chinese company in this film shows that capitalism taken to its monstrous extreme results in a culture that might as well exist in a Communist dictatorship, where allegiance to the company substitutes for allegiance to a political leader. And faced with that, what do working class Americans want? A dose of socialism to protect them from runaway corporate interests.
Grade: A-
- evanston_dad
- 23. Feb. 2020
- Permalink
I am a high school history teacher in the USA. I tried showing this movie to my classes, in between lessons on industrialization and the future of automation. This helped reveal the real problems we have, in my opinion. That most of my students were uninterested, and even did not care about these future issues. All they wanted to do was play games on their phones. I told them they would be quizzed on the material to try and get them to pay attention, but they did not care. Even when writing a quick summary of the movie, most just copied and pasted their responses, one of them even used one of these comments as their source data. They watched the movie with the strong belief that they won't end up like that. That somehow, they will be immune to these future issues.
For students who do not care about their education or their future, the best teacher in the world won't help. Apathy will destroy us far quicker than anything else.
For students who do not care about their education or their future, the best teacher in the world won't help. Apathy will destroy us far quicker than anything else.
I never thought a documentary on an American manufacturing plant would be so interesting. I'm a Canadian and I still consider this a must-watch. Extremely interesting insight into the world of manufacturing in small-town USA as well as the cultural differences between the USA and China. The whole trip to the China factory seems surreal. Unfortunately this film's ratings might get turfed by certain political interests that would rather have this stuff swept under the rug.
Simply put, I'm blown away by this film. I'm a progressive, sure, but have grown disillusioned with Obama LONG ago, and I must say that I was reluctant at first to even give it a shot based on the fact that it was produced by the Obamas. After a recommendation from a friend, I decided to bite the bullet.
The result is that I'm kind of shattered. I have so many more factual questions, but learned so much, and was exposed to so many aspects of different cultures... (Should it matter, I'm a city-dwelling Canadian, for whom US policy is arguably as important as my own country's policies)... I'm also left with actual philosophical questions. Was any of it good? Was it bad? which parts? Chinese culture in their factories scared the crap out of me, but what does that mean? What does it mean about me, as well?
It took me 4 hours to watch this 1h50m documentary because I kept stopping to write down thoughts and ask random questions to close friends.
Not that it 'should' matter for a film that aims to inform, but the filming and DEFINITELY the soundtrack made the whole experience joyful in general. There's a lot to be said for an informative documentary that can keep people's attention, and this just became one of my favourites. I can recommend it without fear that people will just move on after 10 minutes. And I never felt that the documentary aspect was sacrificed.
Highly, highly recommend it.
- Sporkstera
- 5. Sept. 2019
- Permalink
I didn't think I'd see a better documentary than For Sama this year, and having viewed Netflix's American Factory last night, the Oscar winner in the documentary category, I stand by that view.
However, this is a fine piece of work.
It tells the story of a Chinese windscreen-manufacturer reseeding the site of a massive General Motors factory in Dayton Ohio some three years after its closure.
The main premise of the film is that this is a meeting of two cultures, both business and anthropological, and how the rise in Chinese commercial enterprise, even deep in rust-belt, Republican USA, is a success that won't go away.
But the Chinese drive a hard bargain: much lower wages, poorer health and safety ideology, an intolerance of unions and a hard work ethic (in China overtime is compulsory, not optional).
The filmmakers - Stephen Bognar and Julia Rheichert - are seasoned pros and have an interesting technique that makes this such an agreeable watch. It's not controversial, there's little humour and there are no pyrotechnics. It's just a laconic stroll through the lives of the people on both sides of this cultural ravine, gradually exposing what it's like for each of them.
They take no sides, they critique no-one, but clearly there is stuff in here that could enrage a very large percentage of its viewers, no matter their cultural persuasion.
That's what makes it work. That and a good soundtrack and a pleasing use of cinematography.
It's not doc of the year, for me, but it IS an intelligent piece of documentary film-making that is as far from the Michael Moore one-sided tidal-wave of opinion and argument as one could get, and, for that, it is to be admired.
However, this is a fine piece of work.
It tells the story of a Chinese windscreen-manufacturer reseeding the site of a massive General Motors factory in Dayton Ohio some three years after its closure.
The main premise of the film is that this is a meeting of two cultures, both business and anthropological, and how the rise in Chinese commercial enterprise, even deep in rust-belt, Republican USA, is a success that won't go away.
But the Chinese drive a hard bargain: much lower wages, poorer health and safety ideology, an intolerance of unions and a hard work ethic (in China overtime is compulsory, not optional).
The filmmakers - Stephen Bognar and Julia Rheichert - are seasoned pros and have an interesting technique that makes this such an agreeable watch. It's not controversial, there's little humour and there are no pyrotechnics. It's just a laconic stroll through the lives of the people on both sides of this cultural ravine, gradually exposing what it's like for each of them.
They take no sides, they critique no-one, but clearly there is stuff in here that could enrage a very large percentage of its viewers, no matter their cultural persuasion.
That's what makes it work. That and a good soundtrack and a pleasing use of cinematography.
It's not doc of the year, for me, but it IS an intelligent piece of documentary film-making that is as far from the Michael Moore one-sided tidal-wave of opinion and argument as one could get, and, for that, it is to be admired.
- markgorman
- 21. Feb. 2020
- Permalink
The United States has spent more than 100 years opening factories around the world to exploit cheap labor. In particular, in China. When the Chinese open a single factory in the United States paying more than the minimum wage set by the Americans themselves, they are the great explorers!
- eduardo-uchoa
- 26. Feb. 2020
- Permalink
Just saw this at Traverse City Film Festival. Does not sugarcoat the rust belt problem. The Chinese came to the US hoping to recharge a shuttered GM factory to build glass for autos and trucks. In return for hiring chronically unemployed in the Dayton area, they hoped that workers would participate despite low wages and unsafe working conditions given the lack of other job opportunities. The culture clash was nontrivial. Bottom line: all manufacturing jobs are threatened by automation, not just those currently held by Americans. Some cultures are willing to accept the pressure to produce, while others resist.
- Dennis_D_McDonald
- 30. Juli 2019
- Permalink
Sweatshop or unemployment, that's not a fair choice. There's a reason why Andrew Yang got so many supporters.
This film is an extraordinary achievement. With footage going back over the years, the directors have pieced together the saga of the establishment of a Chinese-run industrial operation in Dayton on the site of a much-lamented closed GM plant, illustrating, with total objectivity, the contradictions that ensue from the imposition of one national worldview upon another in a dynamic that it never a clash of equals. The impatience and contempt of the Chinese investors toward their U.S. workforce and the consequent cultural conflicts are highlighted to devastating effect, illustrated by what American viewers will find to be an uncomfortable dissection of their own culture, in all its fatuous self-indulgence, by amazing footage of lectures on the subject by Chinese cross-cultural consultants as they lecture Chinese workers and supervisors sent to Dayton to show Americans in how things should be done.
At the Q&A at the premiere at IFC Center, co-director Julia Reichert was at pains to stress that the film was never meant to be polemical, that this was an effort to immerse and learn. While some of the silllier aspects of both cultures, (but especially the regimented and self-congratulatory aspects of the Chinese). come through with particular acuity, you can't help buy muse on how Americans have acted with equal tin-earedness and cultural arrogance around the world, over many more decades than the Chinese have been at this game.
At the same time, America's neediness of manufacturing jobs, even if they don't pay a living wage, and the ways that so many of what we would normally consider our core values go out the window to accommodate anyone who will invest in them, come through particularly clearly. This all comes together in a fight over the establishment of a union that would protect workers' rights and uphold our eroding safety and environmental standards that is the vivid core of the movie.
A final note: This film has an extraordinarily compelling musical score by someone names Chad Cannon that propels and highlights the narrative and is amazingly effective on its own terms. Although the idiom is different, Cannon's score does for this film much of what Philip Glass's have done over the years for the films of Errol Morris, and that is high praise indeed.
At the Q&A at the premiere at IFC Center, co-director Julia Reichert was at pains to stress that the film was never meant to be polemical, that this was an effort to immerse and learn. While some of the silllier aspects of both cultures, (but especially the regimented and self-congratulatory aspects of the Chinese). come through with particular acuity, you can't help buy muse on how Americans have acted with equal tin-earedness and cultural arrogance around the world, over many more decades than the Chinese have been at this game.
At the same time, America's neediness of manufacturing jobs, even if they don't pay a living wage, and the ways that so many of what we would normally consider our core values go out the window to accommodate anyone who will invest in them, come through particularly clearly. This all comes together in a fight over the establishment of a union that would protect workers' rights and uphold our eroding safety and environmental standards that is the vivid core of the movie.
A final note: This film has an extraordinarily compelling musical score by someone names Chad Cannon that propels and highlights the narrative and is amazingly effective on its own terms. Although the idiom is different, Cannon's score does for this film much of what Philip Glass's have done over the years for the films of Errol Morris, and that is high praise indeed.
- Mengedegna
- 22. Aug. 2019
- Permalink
This documentary showcases a frightening experiment where a Chinese company tries to take advantage of a needy Ohio community to exploit the desperate unemployed people for the company's benefit.
This Chinese company openly attacks all-American values like worker rights and our Freedom to assemble in unions while demanding that the workers give their all to the company in a cultish, obsessive culture.
In a time when you have American companies outsourcing our jobs in cheap labor countries like India and China, you have a Chinese company coming to American to do the same an exploit our own people. Let's put a stop to this, let's support our worker's rights and protections and freedom to unionize. Workers have families and livelihoods to take care of to reach own American dream, we are not brainless robots who will live and die for a Chinese company. Or any company for that matter.
This Chinese company openly attacks all-American values like worker rights and our Freedom to assemble in unions while demanding that the workers give their all to the company in a cultish, obsessive culture.
In a time when you have American companies outsourcing our jobs in cheap labor countries like India and China, you have a Chinese company coming to American to do the same an exploit our own people. Let's put a stop to this, let's support our worker's rights and protections and freedom to unionize. Workers have families and livelihoods to take care of to reach own American dream, we are not brainless robots who will live and die for a Chinese company. Or any company for that matter.
- jboothmillard
- 2. Aug. 2020
- Permalink
Don't let the trolls fool you...this is NOT a Roger & Me-style documentary hit piece, its a surprisingly fair look at the complex nature of how the manufacturing industry works in the 21st Century, here in America and in China, and how both cultures are experiencing upheaval in the interest of progress.
- nuv-swdcarc
- 21. Aug. 2019
- Permalink
To be honest I can't believe they released this film... There are more than a few aspects that seem quite surreal and unbelievable.
I think for the most of the film you will be asking yourself a question where is all of this going, the answer is out there and it is quite broad.
One of the most shocking moments is the reveal of Chinese work culture. Workers are literally robots, they have numbers, they don't waste any time, they work 16 hours a day 26 days a month non stop.
In China, the corporation you work for is glorified to the point that you start to feel like you are part of a cult rather than a company that is simply making profit.
While it might be normal for China that there are small kids dancing, weddings happening and corporate bosses praised during one of the company celebrations, personally to me this looked surreal to the point of crazy.
For me the job is just a job, it's there because you need to make money, everything else is big bosses making big bucks off your back, nothing less nothing more, for chinese it's a cult.
Now I don't know if the goal of the globalization is to make everyone work like in China, but if it is, then everyone, literally everyone is in deep trouble, especially the biosphere of our planet ...
I think for the most of the film you will be asking yourself a question where is all of this going, the answer is out there and it is quite broad.
One of the most shocking moments is the reveal of Chinese work culture. Workers are literally robots, they have numbers, they don't waste any time, they work 16 hours a day 26 days a month non stop.
In China, the corporation you work for is glorified to the point that you start to feel like you are part of a cult rather than a company that is simply making profit.
While it might be normal for China that there are small kids dancing, weddings happening and corporate bosses praised during one of the company celebrations, personally to me this looked surreal to the point of crazy.
For me the job is just a job, it's there because you need to make money, everything else is big bosses making big bucks off your back, nothing less nothing more, for chinese it's a cult.
Now I don't know if the goal of the globalization is to make everyone work like in China, but if it is, then everyone, literally everyone is in deep trouble, especially the biosphere of our planet ...
As someone who grow up in China, and have working experience in a Chinese factory. I think I can provide some extra Chinese prospective to this Movie.
The factory workers in the movie is no longer the average Chinese experience. Chinese middle class now bigger than the entire population of US, and you cannot became a middle class just by doing a entrance level job in a factory.
Factory workers can became middle class just like anywhere else in the world, one needs to out work or out perform their piers. With promotion, comes easier work, more flexible timetable and better pay.
Second, Chinese put all their faith on the next generation. In China, if you don't want to just be a factory worker, you need to study hard, get into a good University and study a promising major. One of the bigger difference I felt in America, is that, people always talking about what a great time they had in College. Which is weird, because there is already a lot of job hunter pressure when you study in a Chinese University.
Third, there is a strong start-up culture in China. Besides Silicon Valley, Americans seems to forget they can just start their own business. In the documentary, one pro-union speaker says his daughter is making more money than him doing nails. If he really thinks nail salon is an easy job and he would be better at it, why doesn't he just open his own nail salon. That is what a under-appreciated Chinese would do.
In conclusion, what American workers are experiencing is nothing more than just good old capitalism. China did once believed in Socialism and Communism, but every western country seems to reject the idea and their people believe they worth more than what the society can measure. So today, when China piratically abandoned Communism, western country needs to step up their Capitalism, or else they will loss the game. The game of prosperity. (And this is not a threat. From the bottom of my heart, I hopes Americans can continue to be rich and free. After all, I am living in America now)
The factory workers in the movie is no longer the average Chinese experience. Chinese middle class now bigger than the entire population of US, and you cannot became a middle class just by doing a entrance level job in a factory.
Factory workers can became middle class just like anywhere else in the world, one needs to out work or out perform their piers. With promotion, comes easier work, more flexible timetable and better pay.
Second, Chinese put all their faith on the next generation. In China, if you don't want to just be a factory worker, you need to study hard, get into a good University and study a promising major. One of the bigger difference I felt in America, is that, people always talking about what a great time they had in College. Which is weird, because there is already a lot of job hunter pressure when you study in a Chinese University.
Third, there is a strong start-up culture in China. Besides Silicon Valley, Americans seems to forget they can just start their own business. In the documentary, one pro-union speaker says his daughter is making more money than him doing nails. If he really thinks nail salon is an easy job and he would be better at it, why doesn't he just open his own nail salon. That is what a under-appreciated Chinese would do.
In conclusion, what American workers are experiencing is nothing more than just good old capitalism. China did once believed in Socialism and Communism, but every western country seems to reject the idea and their people believe they worth more than what the society can measure. So today, when China piratically abandoned Communism, western country needs to step up their Capitalism, or else they will loss the game. The game of prosperity. (And this is not a threat. From the bottom of my heart, I hopes Americans can continue to be rich and free. After all, I am living in America now)
Shocking experience for these US workers, having to grovel at the feet of their new Chinese masters. I felt embarrassed for them, and sad at what they had to endure.
Film should be watched by our youth, to show them that a good education will help them avoid a similar fate. Unfortunately, our US education system is not up to the task.
- kenbond-53805
- 22. Aug. 2019
- Permalink
The scary thing to me was not the cult like indoctrination and working conditions at the Chinese branch of the company and the expectations of the same from American workers. People can get used to almost anything. The scary part is that the film showed us the limits of human performance, a futile desperate attempt to outperform the robots, to delay the inevitable. A worker in China, even working 12 hours a day can maybe be 3 times as productive as an American worker, but so what? A machine will work 24/7, never complain, never get tired and be 10 times as productive.
I think the Chinese understand it but American workers in the film are in complete denial, longing for the past that was just a fleeting moment in history.
I think the Chinese understand it but American workers in the film are in complete denial, longing for the past that was just a fleeting moment in history.
- vladimir-rodionov
- 26. Dez. 2020
- Permalink
- lau_howard
- 25. Aug. 2019
- Permalink
I watched this documentary to see what direction it would take, Left, Right or Center. As expected it took a left turn very shortly into it and didn't surprise me. I realize the company brought "jobs" to America but this in my opinion is the way we want to do it. I would like to see more American investors (Bezos, Gates, Buffett, Zuckerberg, Ellison, Page, et al) invest in MANUFACTURING in America instead of just "High Tech".
With American investment there is no need nor want of foreign influence in our job market. And after you see the way the Chinese Investor and his "staff" talk and think about the American workers you'll hopefully understand what I mean. The factory is located in middle-America yet the investors want to treat it and the workers like they were in Beijing or Shanghai.
It shows the viewer in real time the thought process of the American mind and our philosophies on Work/Life balance compared to the of the Chinese.
I would recommend this documentary only as a learning tool as what NOT to become and by that I mean a Communist or Socialist country.
With American investment there is no need nor want of foreign influence in our job market. And after you see the way the Chinese Investor and his "staff" talk and think about the American workers you'll hopefully understand what I mean. The factory is located in middle-America yet the investors want to treat it and the workers like they were in Beijing or Shanghai.
It shows the viewer in real time the thought process of the American mind and our philosophies on Work/Life balance compared to the of the Chinese.
I would recommend this documentary only as a learning tool as what NOT to become and by that I mean a Communist or Socialist country.
- MasterChief71
- 10. Feb. 2020
- Permalink
The Americans and Chinese shown in the movie "American Factory" represent a segment in the vast societies of the US and China. That is, the movie tells a story mostly about the workers in the American and Chinese manufacturing sectors, about the mindset of a businessman from China who have built manufacturing factories, and about the managers who operate the factories. These characters are not representative of many businessmen, management, and employees in other sectors in the US and China, nor do they reflect the sweeping social, political, and cultural diversity in both countries.
While it is great to see the discussions about the economic and culture-related issues, such as:
the bigger questions at the society and humanity level beg for deeper discussions, such as:
The workers on the manufacturing floors in the US and China are someone's mom/dad/daughter/son, and they are part of our fellow earthlings, and what they want is similar to what all human beings want: to provide for their family, and many of them did not and do not have much choice which put them where they were and where they are. Everyone deserves a fair chance to start with their life, and deserves a life with basic dignity and with basic needs met.
Then how do we build a society that gives a fair chance to all for a decent life with dignity along their life journey on earth?
In today's fast-evolving technology-driven society where robots are replacing humans for better efficiency and profitability, corporations are operated to optimize profit without adequate regulations that hold them accountable for the long-term welfare of employees and the community/society. How could we enhance and improve our regulations to avoid a dystopia society where hundreds of millions of humans will end up having no access to resources or fair opportunities to provide for a decent life or for their family?
As the clashes continue to escalate among major economic powers for gains to one's own country, we all owe to ourselves and our children a better/safer/healthier/more efficient future by finding a solution for countries/ethnic groups/religious groups to co-exist in peace, to collaborate instead of confrontation, to progress toward a better society that provide basic education and a fair chance to everyone, treat each other with decency, dignity, respect, mutual understanding, and love one another who all dwell on earth as all Gods ask of their believers.
The critical question is: can we, or are we, the so-called most intelligent species on earth, capable to set ourselves to the right pathway before too late when we may end up destroying the good life and potentially the entire earth that we live on?
While it is great to see the discussions about the economic and culture-related issues, such as:
- How much of FGA workers' 50% wage-drop in Ohio is due to the emergence of technology and how much due to globalization?
- how come the FGA workers in Ohio and in China have such different values and cultures;
- how the workers in China are not individualistic, and they seem ok to work 12 hours daily and only visit their family once per year, and sync their every step to the corporate choreography;
- what the labor union's role should or should not be;
- how to view the businessman/the Chairman's life's shrine being "just work";
- how robots are replacing humans in doing repetitive jobs;
the bigger questions at the society and humanity level beg for deeper discussions, such as:
- Who are these workers on the manufacturing floors in Ohio and in China?
- Should corporations be held accountable for the long-term welfare of the employees and the community, other than the profitability interest of its shareholders?
- What is the right society that we all should aim at in the near future, as the emerging robotic technologies are projected to replace over 375 million jobs globally within the next 10-15 years?
The workers on the manufacturing floors in the US and China are someone's mom/dad/daughter/son, and they are part of our fellow earthlings, and what they want is similar to what all human beings want: to provide for their family, and many of them did not and do not have much choice which put them where they were and where they are. Everyone deserves a fair chance to start with their life, and deserves a life with basic dignity and with basic needs met.
Then how do we build a society that gives a fair chance to all for a decent life with dignity along their life journey on earth?
In today's fast-evolving technology-driven society where robots are replacing humans for better efficiency and profitability, corporations are operated to optimize profit without adequate regulations that hold them accountable for the long-term welfare of employees and the community/society. How could we enhance and improve our regulations to avoid a dystopia society where hundreds of millions of humans will end up having no access to resources or fair opportunities to provide for a decent life or for their family?
As the clashes continue to escalate among major economic powers for gains to one's own country, we all owe to ourselves and our children a better/safer/healthier/more efficient future by finding a solution for countries/ethnic groups/religious groups to co-exist in peace, to collaborate instead of confrontation, to progress toward a better society that provide basic education and a fair chance to everyone, treat each other with decency, dignity, respect, mutual understanding, and love one another who all dwell on earth as all Gods ask of their believers.
The critical question is: can we, or are we, the so-called most intelligent species on earth, capable to set ourselves to the right pathway before too late when we may end up destroying the good life and potentially the entire earth that we live on?