Netflix -- American Factory

[sglowrider]

In post-industrial Ohio, a Chinese billionaire opens a new factory in the husk of an abandoned General Motors plant. Early days of hope and optimism give way to setbacks as high-tech China clashes with working-class America.



It’s too bad that the documentary American Factory will be largely seen on Netflix rather than in theaters, since it would benefit from a responsive, maybe even raucous audience — both to chortle at the culture-clash comedy and gasp as one, in a shared sense of helplessness. Even when viewed on a laptop, though, it’s a great, expansive, deeply humanist work, angry but empathetic to its core. It gestures toward the end of the working world we know — and to the rise of the machines.

How did the directors, Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, get such intimate access to both sides of the story? On the one hand there are the American workers of Dayton, Ohio’s Fuyao auto-glass factory, which takes over a GM plant that shut down in 2008, throwing 20,000 people out of work (and in many cases out of their homes).

On the other are Fujianese Chinese overlords who are ramping up their American investments and hope to build a factory as “happy” (a slippery concept) and as profitable as its Asian counterparts.

Each group will make sacrifices. One American says that when the GM plant closed, she was making over $29 an hour, while Fuyao is paying — wait for it — $12.84. (Goodbye, middle class — and new shoes for her kids.) But in some ways the Chinese (the bosses and several hundred imported workers) have a bigger adjustment to make. They are required to attend classes to understand Americans, who, unlike the Chinese, “say what they are thinking directly. They are very obvious.” The Chinese learn the U.S. is a very casual place: “You can even joke about the president.” But their output is pathetic. American workers, the Chinese managers observe, are “pretty slow. They have fat fingers.”

 

[Bulk VanderHuge]

 

[El Drado]

Finished it last night. It was really well done. Can't believe the American when he went to China and sat in those meetings was wearing a raggedy t-shirt.

• Makes me appreciate American individualism, however it can be a detriment too
• feel terrible for the Chinese, as they work non-stop and have been convinced it is for some greater good

about to start the Bill Nye doc.

 

[Marvin the Martian]

feel terrible for the Chinese, as they work non-stop and have been convinced it is for some greater good

In the book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell suggests farming is the biggest difference between east and west. Western farmers back in the ancient days (and today) worked hard at planting and harvest, not so much other times. Especially in the winter there was very little. I think he said in the middle ages, French farmers worked 900 hours per year.

On the other hand, rice farming is extremely labor intensive. Off memory I believe he said rice farmers worked 4000 hours per year. But the rice farmer was often the wealthiest in the village. In the west, the owner of the land was probably the wealthiest but they were not the one farming the land.

Culturally different mindsets were produced. The potato/wheat mindset was to value leisure as important and the rice mindset was became the value of unceasing work.

 

[All4You]

In post-industrial Ohio, a Chinese billionaire opens a new factory in the husk of an abandoned General Motors plant. Early days of hope and optimism give way to setbacks as high-tech China clashes with working-class America.

View embedded media

It’s too bad that the documentary American Factory will be largely seen on Netflix rather than in theaters, since it would benefit from a responsive, maybe even raucous audience — both to chortle at the culture-clash comedy and gasp as one, in a shared sense of helplessness. Even when viewed on a laptop, though, it’s a great, expansive, deeply humanist work, angry but empathetic to its core. It gestures toward the end of the working world we know — and to the rise of the machines.

How did the directors, Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, get such intimate access to both sides of the story? On the one hand there are the American workers of Dayton, Ohio’s Fuyao auto-glass factory, which takes over a GM plant that shut down in 2008, throwing 20,000 people out of work (and in many cases out of their homes).

On the other are Fujianese Chinese overlords who are ramping up their American investments and hope to build a factory as “happy” (a slippery concept) and as profitable as its Asian counterparts.

Each group will make sacrifices. One American says that when the GM plant closed, she was making over $29 an hour, while Fuyao is paying — wait for it — $12.84. (Goodbye, middle class — and new shoes for her kids.) But in some ways the Chinese (the bosses and several hundred imported workers) have a bigger adjustment to make. They are required to attend classes to understand Americans, who, unlike the Chinese, “say what they are thinking directly. They are very obvious.” The Chinese learn the U.S. is a very casual place: “You can even joke about the president.” But their output is pathetic. American workers, the Chinese managers observe, are “pretty slow. They have fat fingers.”

I watched this the other day, and commented about it elsewhere. While much of the theme was about the changing industrial landscape and the effects from the decline of labor unions, it wasn't anything we weren't aware of.

What I think what stuck out for me was just how ill-equipped we are to compete with Asian countries/companies in general, and China specifically, on so many levels in a global marketplace. It's truly scary just how ingrained state indoctrination is as part of Chinese culture, how much their people are willing to sacrifice of their time, family and efforts in working 12 hour days, 6-7 days a week with a day or two off per month, only being able to go home a few times per year. And when they are @ work, these people hustle and work as if their livelihood depends on it, and it does. Whether it's fear, indoctrination, gratitude, national pride or some combination of these things, these people work so much harder for so much less I just can't see how compete with it.

 

[sglowrider]

I watched this the other day, and commented about it elsewhere. While much of the theme was about the changing industrial landscape and the effects from the decline of labor unions, it wasn't anything we weren't aware of.

What I think what stuck out for me was just how ill-equipped we are to compete with Asian countries/companies in general, and China specifically, on so many levels in a global marketplace. It's truly scary just how ingrained state indoctrination is as part of Chinese culture, how much their people are willing to sacrifice of their time, family and efforts in working 12 hour days, 6-7 days a week with a day or two off per month, only being able to go home a few times per year. And when they are @ work, these people hustle and work as if their livelihood depends on it, and it does. Whether it's fear, indoctrination, gratitude, national pride or some combination of these things, these people work so much harder for so much less I just can't see how compete with it.

My very first trip to China for work was in 1992 and done countless trips ever since. From thousands riding around in bicycles in the middle of winter to get around the place to having LA-style traffic jams on their highways within 15yrs.

One thing I noticed is a significant change since the early to mid-2000s is their American attitude towards the world. You felt the shift into a very China-centric conversation. National pride was beaming, the inward-looking was starting to develop, sense of we are the centre of the world (aka The Middle Kingdom) was developing or re-emerging after being dormant for a few centuries.

So in many way, this New China is very similar to America.

What they have now is a very nouveau-riche mentality and is ironically looked upon like what the Europeans looked at Americans a few decades ago. Different shoe now. The assertion of wealth and power for the purpose of affirmation is par for course for the nouveau-riche.

If you know anything about China's history and its a very long one of 5,500 years of recorded history. They have always seen themselves as a leading civilised society but that was dormant for a century or two and allowed to be humiliated because of poor internal politics, mismanagement and eventually leading to the ceding of its territories (aka colonised) to foreigners a century ago.

From the Manchus, to British, French, Americans etc have at once time had control over sections or swarths of land in China. This is one lesson they will always ensure will never happen again.

This is why the understanding of history is vital -- not just in the case of dealing with China but with the Europeans, Russians and large parts of Asia, Africa. They have all been colonised or even invaded at some point in their recent history. It put a different perspective on their culture, politics and economics.

America was attacked once in the last 50years by a handful of men and you saw the reaction relative to it. Imagine being humiliated as an independent nation, having chunks of land being provided as 'concessions' to foreign governments?

So what Trump is doing is dangerous. The various words, deeds and threats he has done so publicly is very detrimental to the country and will be way long after Trump is dead. He is seen as a bully and like you remember bullies at the playground as a kid (vis a vis a young re-emerging nation like China), you will always remember him as such the rest of your life. Insulting one's national pride ie national and personal identity isnt something easily forgotten.

I see modern China much more similar to young America a century ago in attitudes, approaches and culture. Ethnocentricity, patriotism and developing that pride in their country are on the rise.

You are basically looking at the mirror --

On one side is a young you -- vibrant, self-centred, confident/arrogant and the world is your oyster attitude.

On the other side is another that is greying, wrinkly and starting to feel insecure about yourself especially with young up-starts around.

 

[All4You]

My very first trip to China for work was in 1992 and done countless trips ever since. From thousands riding around in bicycles in the middle of winter to get around the place to having LA-style traffic jams on their highways within 15yrs.

One thing I noticed is a significant change since the early to mid-2000s is their American attitude towards the world. You felt the shift into a very China-centric conversation. National pride was beaming, the inward-looking was starting to develop, sense of we are the centre of the world (aka The Middle Kingdom) was developing or re-emerging after being dormant for a few centuries.

So in many way, this New China is very similar to America.

What they have now is a very nouveau-riche mentality and is ironically looked upon like what the Europeans looked at Americans a few decades ago. Different shoe now. The assertion of wealth and power for the purpose of affirmation is par for course for the nouveau-riche.

If you know anything about China's history and its a very long one of 5,500 years of recorded history. They have always seen themselves as a leading civilised society but that was dormant for a century or two and allowed to be humiliated because of poor internal politics, mismanagement and eventually leading to the ceding of its territories (aka colonised) to foreigners a century ago.

From the Manchus, to British, French, Americans etc have at once time had control over sections or swarths of land in China. This is one lesson they will always ensure will never happen again.

This is why the understanding of history is vital -- not just in the case of dealing with China but with the Europeans, Russians and large parts of Asia, Africa. They have all been colonised or even invaded at some point in their recent history. It put a different perspective on their culture, politics and economics.

America was attacked once in the last 50years by a handful of men and you saw the reaction relative to it. Imagine being humiliated as an independent nation, having chunks of land being provided as 'concessions' to foreign governments?

So what Trump is doing is dangerous. The various words, deeds and threats he has done so publicly is very detrimental to the country and will be way long after Trump is dead. He is seen as a bully and like you remember bullies at the playground as a kid (vis a vis a young re-emerging nation like China), you will always remember him as such the rest of your life. Insulting one's national pride ie national and personal identity isnt something easily forgotten.

I see modern China much more similar to young America a century ago in attitudes, approaches and culture. Ethnocentricity, patriotism and developing that pride in their country are on the rise.

You are basically looking at the mirror --

On one side is a young you -- vibrant, self-centred, confident/arrogant and the world is your oyster attitude.

On the other side is another that is greying, wrinkly and starting to feel insecure about yourself especially with young up-starts around.

Or to sum it up, we as a young nation with a short history have very little relative experience in "doing without", long term hardship or being on the weak side of a geopolitical power struggle compared to the rest of the developed and developing world. That's why I commented that long term it has to be unnerving for us to know that they get buy in from their working class in a way that rivals or eclipses what we used to for the better part of the 20th century, and no longer do.

I didn't want to write a novel about it (J/K heh) so I didn't delve nearly as deep in my explanation of what I thought when watching. I believe we are thinking along the same lines, but you took it a step further than my "what" and provide the "why" as well. Thanks for that. And of course in matters that actually mean something such as this, having our president throwing tweet tantrums and making asinine threats is the last thing we need.

 

[sglowrider]

Or to sum it up, we as a young nation with a short history have very little relative experience in "doing without", long term hardship or being on the weak side of a geopolitical power struggle compared to the rest of the developed and developing world. That's why I commented that long term it has to be unnerving for us to know that they get buy in from their working class in a way that rivals or eclipses what we used to for the better part of the 20th century, and no longer do.

I didn't want to write a novel about it (J/K heh) so I didn't delve nearly as deep in my explanation of what I thought when watching. I believe we are thinking along the same lines, but you took it a step further than my "what" and provide the "why" as well. Thanks for that. And of course in matters that actually mean something such as this, having our president throwing tweet tantrums and making asinine threats is the last thing we need.

Plus if you throw in that there is a different societal perspective on time.

Asians: You are born, live and then you prepare for the next generation (whether financially or societal standings) ala filial piety and reverence to the dead. (We do ceremonies for the dead a few times a year. From prayers to offerings etc) There is a continuous, perpetual time-line.

Western: You are born, live then you die (and you may marginally prepare for the next generation.)


This changes how you see time. Shit may not happen this generation but hopefully, it will in the next. In some ways, aboriginal cultures or just basically old cultures carry stories down from one generation to the next is similar. There is a continuum.

That's why they have long memories (or the flip side of that coin, Patience) and what Trump did will be remembered for a long while -- but unfortunately for most Americans, it won't be painted on Trump, 10 years from now.

But brushed on the country as a whole.

 

[Bill4411]

Plus if you throw in that there is a different societal perspective on time.

Asians: You are born, live and then you prepare for the next generation (whether financially or societal standings) ala filial piety and reverence to the dead. (We do ceremonies for the dead a few times a year. From prayers to offerings etc) There is a continuous, perpetual time-line.

Western: You are born, live then you die (and you may marginally prepare for the next generation.)


This changes how you see time. Shit may not happen this generation but hopefully, it will in the next. In some ways, aboriginal cultures or just basically old cultures carry stories down from one generation to the next is similar. There is a continuum.

That's why they have long memories (or the flip side of that coin, Patience) and what Trump did will be remembered for a long while -- but unfortunately for most Americans, it won't be painted on Trump, 10 years from now.

But brushed on the country as a whole.

The superior attitude of Donald Trump can not be playing well in any other countries.

 

[sglowrider]

The superior attitude of Donald Trump can not be playing well in any other countries.

Yeap. They like their leaders to have a nice confident, paternal smile and to look humble the same time. Even those the West have considered despots and dictators that I have known, all look somewhat benevolent.

Unlike the despots/dictators of other continents whos, looks can kill with a stare.

 

[sglowrider]

A total of 1,500 construction workers built a train station in in southeastern China in just nine hours. It is part of a high-speed rail project connecting southeastern and central China.



Infrastructure/Construction sectors are being dominated by the Chinese now. They are subjected to some pretty and complex standards here due to the dual need/objectives for both commercial and military functions for infrastructure like subways/bunkers, highways etc. (Surrounded by nearly 300 million muslims.)