As Goes Janesville
"It's the Economy, Stupid!"
•
1h 27m
Directed by Brad Lichtenstein • Documentary • 2012 • 87 minutes
As Goes Janesville catapults viewers to the front lines of a national debate over the fate of the American economy and the survival of the middle class – a debate that turned into a pitched battle in the normally tranquil state of Wisconsin.
Our story begins the day before Christmas, 2008, when GM shuts down its Janesville, Wisconsin plant. Thousands of workers bring home pink slips as GM’s closing triggers a chain reaction of factory shut downs that triples unemployment and threatens to undermine a mighty middle class that has thrived in Janesville for more than a century. While workers try to figure out how to move on with their lives, town leaders dig in for what will become an epic showdown over the future of the American Dream — a battle that bursts onto the national scene when 14 Senators — including one of our main characters — leave the state to try to prevent newly-elected Governor Scott Walker’s bill to end collective bargaining. Meanwhile, Janesville's leaders try to attract new business and reinvent their community despite the division that has taken over the state. As Goes Janesville, so goes America.
Up Next in "It's the Economy, Stupid!"
-
Howard Zinn: A People's History of th...
Directed by Olivier Azam, Daniel Mermet • Documentary • With Howard Zinn • 2016 • 100 minutes
"As long as rabbits don't have historians, history will be written by the hunters."
With the tremendous success of his book, A People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn radically changed the w...
-
The Forgotten Space
Directed by Allan Sekula & Noel Burch • Documentary • 2010 • 112 minutes
The 'forgotten space' of Allan Sekula and Noel Burch's essay film is the sea, the oceans through which 90% of the world's cargo now passes. At the heart of this space is the container box, which, since its invention in ...
-
Going Private
Directed by Stina Werenfels • Drama • With Michael Neuenschwander, Susanne-Marie Wrage, Bettina Stucky • 2005 • 98 minutes
H-P is an investment banker who lives with his wife and son in a luxurious lakeside villa. But things aren’t as perfect as they seem. H-P is involved in some dodgy deals and...