"Unorthodox"

Based ~very~ loosely on a autobiographical novel, this is the tale of Esty, a 19 year-old NYC Hasidic girl who tries to serve in the role she is born into but is consistently called to independence.  Things don't go well.  In a drastic move, she tries to escape and find herself.  This choice she makes, also, is filled with challenges.  But she perseveres.  It's a powerful four-part miniseries.  The performance of Shira Haas, a wisp of a young woman, makes it brilliant.  Through her eyes we see the struggle, the unknowing, and the overwhelming world in front of her when she makes the leap.  It's touching, engaging and worth binging in a single day.  Is it reality?  Not exactly.  But it's real enough, and the ambiguous ending leaves you with the understanding that Esty's place will always be a little tenuous.  That's okay.  By the finale, you see the strength she carries which so many others miss.

"American Factory"

You probably missed this Academy Award-winning documentary, and first offering from the new production company set up by Barack and Michelle Obama.  I did.  It came along just before Covid and there we were in our sweatpants watching "Tiger King".  A thoughtful documentary wasn't really on the menu.  That being said, this film is extremely well-done and is provocative in a nice, quiet way.  Set in the GM plant near Daytona, OH, which closed in 2008, the documentary shows how a Chinese businessman re-opened the plant as an auto glass factory, Fuyao American.  Billed as a look at the cultural challenges of American workers working alongside Chinese workers, it is actually more of a story of the changing nature of blue collar work in our increasingly disparate economy, and the struggle of workers to negotiate proper workplace conditions.  There is cultural clash, but this is more about the workers on the floor vs the men in power.  It's an old tale, and no (spoiler alert), it doesn't end well.  That being said, there is a lot here to learn about.  And a lot to unpack.  The very rich corporate owners can easily be dismissed as the bad guys.  But one, once he is ousted, recognizes that the workers need support.  Another lives in luxury but muses, however briefly, that his work helps to destroy the environment.  Every featured person has shadings and angles.  The documentary makers did a great job of stepping back and just filming.  They don't paint the picture for the viewer, they just show it all to you.  As someone who watched it, I could tell that much of what you get out of it will depend on what you bring to it.  My life experiences and politics definitely colored how I viewed the events of the film, and I did think about it a good long while after viewing it.  In the end, the hardest thing for the Americans to get their head around?  The Chinese belief that the purpose of life is work, not joy or affirmation.  While I recognize the difference (thanks to a month-long trip in China), I have to say ... it makes me sad.