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AS GOES JANESVILLE
AS GOES JANESVILLE
 
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Description
 
As Goes Janesville reports from ground zero of the recession-ridden heartland. When bankrupt General Motors shut down their century-old plant in Janesville, Wisconsin, in 2008, thousands of workers lost their jobs. Meanwhile, local business leaders seized the moment to woo new companies with the promise of lower wages, reduced regulation, and tax breaks. To that end, they formed a powerful alliance with newly-elected Republican governor Scott Walker, whose “divide and conquer” anti-union strategy would divide the state, trigger an historic recall election, and thrust Wisconsin politics onto front pages nationwide. A cautionary tale for a polarized country, the film follows three years in the lives of laid off workers struggling to survive, business leaders trying to reinvent their local economy, and a state senator caught in the middle. "An up-close view of one of the meanest and most dramatic chapters in recent American politics...The film has a narrative drive unusual for a 60-minute television documentary, pulling us along like a political thriller" (NY Times). Nominated for Best Documentary at the Chicago International Film Festival.

Brad Lichtenstein---USA---2008---88 mins.