The Amazon Warehouse as Disneyland
By Jason Myles
Film Review
This short video is a review of Nomadland, the film that won best picture, director and female lead at this year’s Academy Awards.. According to Myles, this film is a pro-corporate propaganda flick totally at odds with the Jessica Bruder’s 2017 book. The purpose of her book was to expose the scandalous exploitation by Amazon, Walmart, Uber and other ruthless corporate retailers of itinerant American seniors who lost their homes and life savings in the 2008 financial crash. Homeless and unable to provide for basic needs on Social Security, they live in cars, campervans and tent cities while earning $11.50 an hour (without benefits) as contract workers in temporary warehouse jobs.
The film captures none of this real-life human misery. The main character comes from Empire, a former Nevada gypsum mining town that closed up when the 2008 recession produced so many vacant homes the construction industry (and demand for gypsum-based wallboard) collapsed. She ends up living in her van (which is totally unsuited to the region’s sub-zero weather) in Fernley Nevada working on a temporary contract in an Amazon “fulfillment center.”
Rather than accurately depicting the cruel exploitation of her situation (as the book does), the film portrays Fern’s exploitation as a modern day hobo adventure story based on poor lifestyle choices.
The Amazon warehouse she works in is totally unlike any I’ve previously read about or seen in documentaries. Rather than being stressed to the max with exhausting efficiency demands (see https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5004230/amazon-warehouse-working-conditions/), Fern is portrayed as casually laughing and joking with other employees as she works.
The Most Revolutionary Act 