Are the Right and the Left saying the same thing? Is US manufacturing dead?

 

Simple Mechanics is a print libretto and video operetta investigating labor in the US. Excerpts from talking heads, musicians across the political spectrum, and Car Talk excerpts are interlaced between original looping choruses (written in red). Inspired by political conversations around the working-class in a shrinking industrial job market, specifically the auto industry, this video piece chronicles US manufacturing from the 20th century through the present. Beginning with the Labor Movements wins of the ‘30s and ‘40s, it transitions through its decline in the ‘80s, and ultimately explores the state of contemporary labor and globalization. Most notably, it juxtaposes comments from both the Left and the Right, but the disembodied voices highlight the use of buzzwords that have been co-opted and re-adapted to serve the needs of both parties.

 

Created in collaboration with Carson Evans.