Janesville: An American Story is powerful and provides a glimpse of towns throughout America where plants close and jobs disappear, devastating the fabric of a town. Lives are literally destroyed.
Following families and the impact of jobs moving out of Janesville, WI. GM plant is closed, put on standby, resulting in the loss of "good" jobs paying $28/hr or $58k/year.
Families are devastated. Fathers become GM Gypsies (like the Wopats) and work hours away from their families in WI or take new jobs but none pay as well as GM.
Mothers cobble together salaries at low hourly rate jobs. Daughters (like the Whiteakers) in high school use their salaries to buy family groceries.
People attend classes at Blackhawk Technical College to transition to new careers, but taking classes is not enough to transition into another career.
Fewer people who attended classes were employed four years later than those who chose not to pursue any training or education. Grim results show that job re-training adversely impacts employment.
There are also the two women who graduate from Blackhawk, Kristi Beyer and Barb Vaugh, who become success stories, managing to find careers in law enforcement. However, transitions are not easy.
Included in stories about the citizens, including children, devastated by plant closings, are stories of Congressman Paul Ryan, current speaker of the house, who fights to keep the GM plant open in Janesville.
Janesville would have been more powerful if it was more focused. Too many people are portrayed and the focus on politics remove the human interest. Politicians and community leaders fight to bring business to Janesville, but ultimately, have little to do with the basic struggles people face every day.
