Obamas and Netflix Present 1st Joint Film Project, ‘American Factory’

 

Former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle made their Hollywood debut¹ on Wednesday with a film set in industrial Ohio. The documentary American Factory looks at a former American automobile² factory now operating as a Chinese business.

The film was released Wednesday on Netflix. It is the streaming service's first joint⁴ project with the Obamas' new production company, Higher Ground.

Filmmakers Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert said they learned of the Obamas' interest in the film as they were discussing placement of American Factory with Netflix. They were told the Obamas had seen the movie a few days earlier.

Bognar and Reichert live in the Dayton, Ohio, area. That is where Fuyao Glass replaced a General Motors factory. The filmmakers said they had first planned to explore a culture clash. But then, they said, the film deepened into a story about globalization and the rights of workers.

Chinese businessman Cao Dewang owns the Fuyao plant. He employs about 2,200 American workers and 200 Chinese workers. The film gives a close-up look at how the workers from different cultures interact. For example, many Chinese at the factory say Americans do not work hard enough. And at one point, a Chinese worker explains that Americans are slow because they have fat fingers.

The American workers question what they see as Chinese workers unquestioned service to a company that robs them of time to enjoy life.

Dave Burrows⁵ was the vice³ president of the factory. In one part of the film, he privately⁶ criticizes Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown for suggesting that the Chinese consider letting employees unionize. Two years later, after having been dismissed, Burrows insults Fuyao as he drives by the factory.

Tensions rise when the factory does not meet production goals, leading to an angry disagreement about the right to unionize.

Near the end of the film, an employee gives Cao a tour of the factory floor. The employee praises how automation gives Fuyao the chance to dismiss workers.

Netflix worked in partnership⁷ with the Obamas’ production company. Netflix released a brief recording⁸ Wednesday of the Obamas discussing why they were interested in the project.

Michelle Obama said, "One of the many things I love about this film ... is that you let people tell their own story. I mean, you truly let people speak for themselves, and that is a powerful thing that you don't always see happen."

Former President Obama said that they want people to look outside of their own experiences to understand the lives of others.

That "is what a good story does," he said. "It helps all of us feel some solidarity⁹ with each other."

Reichert said she has seen some commentary that the Obamas were interested in the film as a criticism of President Donald Trump¹⁰. She said that suggestion is false.

"It has zero to do with Trump or Obama, or the political scene at all," she said. "It's about the lives of average working people in the heartland."

One of the American workers is shown growing close to Chinese workers at the factory. He invites several of them to a Thanksgiving dinner and to ride on his motorcycle. Later, the American worker is fired because it took him too long to use a computer.

Reichter said she and Bognar were thankful to Cao for letting them into the factory.

Bognar said, "We hope that people realize that without empathy for people who are different from you, you're not going to solve the political divide."

I’m Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

debut – n. a first appearance

globalization – n. the development of an increasingly integrated global economy marked especially by free trade, free flow of capital, and the tapping of cheaper foreign labor¹¹ markets

automation – n. the method of making a machine, a process, or a system work without being directly controlled by a person

scene – n. the place of an event or action

access – n. the right or ability to approach, enter, or use

empathy – n. the feeling that you understand and share another person's experiences and emotions : the ability to share someone else's feelings

1 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

2 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 burrows   

n.地洞( burrow的名词复数 )v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的第三人称单数 )；翻寻

参考例句：

• The intertidal beach unit contains some organism burrows. 潮间海滩单元含有一些生物潜穴。 来自辞典例句
• A mole burrows its way through the ground. 鼹鼠会在地下钻洞前进。 来自辞典例句

6 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

7 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

8 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

9 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

10 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

11 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。