Making Movies at the Factory

I consider myself fortunate to be working for a manufacturing company in the state of California. Some of my early memories of childhood were when we picked up my father from work at the Buick plant in Flint, Michigan. As he moved on to different jobs, he went to different plants, including GMC Truck & Bus and New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI), the joint venture between General Motors and Toyota.

Since my father worked at GM he would lease a new car as often as every six months. We enjoyed the experience of riding in several types of vehicles. I'll never forget the Cadillac he ordered at the request of my grandfather, who planned to buy it after the lease ended. We needed to bring it back to the dealer for warranty issues over ten times during the few months we owned it. My grandfather did buy it from us, but he ended up selling that Cadillac not more than a year after acquiring it. My brothers and I thought the automatic seats were by far the best feature.

According to the last U.S. Economic Census in 2007, over thirteen million people were employed in manufacturing. In the state of California, 1.6 million people worked in manufacturing across forty-eight thousand different business locations. With that in mind, here are some movies that take place in the world of manufacturing.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971): Rather than the 2005 version of the same story, this film featured much more of the Oompa-Loompas actually doing work to make the candy. There is no truth to the rumors that Jimmy Hoffa negotiated their pay and vacation days.

Gung Ho (1986): The events in this movie were partially inspired by NUMMI, where my father spent three years in the 1980's. The movie stars Michael Keaton as a factory manager who tries to bridge the gap between American employees and the Japanese company who bought the auto factory. Also look for Norm from "Cheers" as one of the plant workers.

Tucker: The Man And His Dream (1988): Jeff Bridges plays Preston Tucker, an entrepreneur who tries to challenge the big auto companies with a revolutionary car of his own. The Tucker Torpedo had independent four-wheel suspension, a center headlight, disk brakes -- and major enemies in the auto industry and government.

The Hudsucker Proxy (1994): The manufacturing company in this movie makes hula hoops, but this is hardly based a true story. A company tries to tank its stock price by making some random guy its president, because the board of directors wants to buy back the company on the cheap. Did the filmmakers anticipate something like this in the future?

Tommy Boy (1995): One of my favorite comedic actors, Chris Farley, needs to sell brake pads from his family's factory after his father passes away. Watch for a quick but painful sequence starting with a tiny accident in the plant at the end of the film.

Monsters, Inc. (2001): This family film pokes fun at the modern manufacturing facility, with a crazed hazardous materials team and infinite rows of rotating storage racks. Be aware that the concept of alternative energy sources arises; focus on the laughs and cuddly characters instead.

All these films illuminate the portrayal of some manufacturing folk (and monsters, and Oompa-Loompas) with their noses to the grindstone and producing what they need to each day. Forget about the movie stars for a moment - we have those everyday people across the country as the real stars of American ingenuity. Would someone please send them some movie tickets?