As the wealth gap in the United States grows, class consciousness is becoming an increasingly common topic in public discourse. Sean Claffey adds to this discourse by highlighting true stories and the ripple effects that put the working classes in crisis. With American, Claffey takes us from the founding of the Amazon Labor Union, led by Chris Smalls in Staten Island, to the forced evictions of families in Orlando. While the film doesn’t offer new revelations about inequality, it does make grassroots activism a viable strategy to sow the seeds of tangible change.
The majority of American wealth is concentrated in the pockets of a privileged few, and significant numbers of people are suffering the repercussions of this disparity. One of Claffey’s subjects is Christina, a single mother of three who lost her job as a truck driver and had to apply for food stamps. When the person handling her request said, “You drive a truck, you can pick up something else to deliver,” Christina replied, “Okay, I’ll bring my kids to your office and take your job while you find something for me.” This exchange illustrates the oft-repeated narrative that the resource problem lies with the unemployed. Christina’s “punishment” for losing her job is having to defend herself to receive public assistance .
American weaves together archival material with an insightful story of how labor movements are started by people who are fed up with the unfair treatment of their employers. Billionaires like Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos earn their wealth less by the sweat of their brow than by their desire to exploit workers to maximize profits and reduce costs. The film argues that the concept of free market capitalism is designed to make people feel guilty for being poor. Claffey points to Milton Friedman and Regan-era libertarianism as the architects of this type of ideology. Proponents of policies favoring corporate tax credits, unregulated work practices and anti-union control are those who own most of the wealth, while the super-rich have created the public perception that those who use and need public services (food stamps, cash assistance, etc.) escape from society (“welfare queens”) and contribute nothing in return.
By devoting most of the film’s time to grounding audiences in his subjects and their situations, Claffey takes a pragmatic approach. By the end, I felt like I knew someone like Chris Smalls or Christina, or one of the many interviewees. The doc speaks with academics, social justice activists and a venture capitalist, who are all saying the same thing: the system is broken and it is unsustainable.
If Claffey made one point very clear, it’s that intentional agents of change are needed to make the world a better place. Smalls never expected to become the leader of a labor movement, but he did what he had to do for his family. American demonstrates the power of organization and how people can lift each other up through action. If everyone is a spectator, the monster of capitalism will only grow.
American is playing in select theaters and is available on select streaming services.
