American Sweatshop: Losing Minds While Overseeing Social Media Horrors
By Liz Braun
Rated: B
In the aptly titled American Sweatshop, Daisy (Lili Reinhart) and her colleagues have the worst job in the world.
They are content moderators. They sit at computers all day, reviewing the appalling videos, news clips and random posts on social media that have drawn complaints from viewers — their task is deciding if indeed the material in question has violated the company’s code of use.
If so, hit delete.
First, of course, there are considerations — is it real or is it fake, what you’re looking at? Is it satire? Always consider intent, their boss says. “Nuance is key.”
Yeah, nuance.
Looking at this material all day — porn, torture, suicide videos, beheadings, child abuse, animal killings and … “fetus in blender” as one video is titled — takes a toll on everyone who works at the company. People freak out on the regular, sickened by having to see what their fellow humans are capable of.
One particular co-worker, Bob, (Joel Fry) screams and throws things to express his revulsion, but he is also jaded enough to be running the office betting pool on who will melt down at work next.
It’s a grim environment.
On her own time, Daisy doesn’t really stop scrolling — who does? She looks at various dating apps, social sites and — because she aspires to be a nurse — medical videos.
In a genuine effort to make her job make sense, Daisy reckons that she and her co-workers are the first responders of the internet, protecting others from potentially harmful material; that hopeful notion evaporates when Daisy sees and must assess a particularly violent video. (The content is mostly suggested from Daisy’s horrified point of view, which makes it all the more terrifying.) Daisy wants to go to the police. Her boss regards that idea as a non-starter.
But Daisy can’t get what she’s seen out of her head. Has someone been tortured or killed? She goes to the police, eventually, but they do nothing. Somewhat obsessed, she begins to investigate and decides to take matters into her own hands.
American Sweatshop is an anxiety-soaked story, but it’s not a thriller — it’s smarter than that. Director Uta Briesewitz has created a character study set in a kind of cautionary tale. Lili Reinhart’s understated performance is what keeps the story intriguing. American Sweatshop falters in its third act, but Reinhart will keep you watching regardless. On the off-chance you didn’t already grasp the toxic nature of the internet, this one’s for you.
American Sweatshop. Directed by Uta Briesewitz, written by Matthew Nemeth, starring Lili Reinhart, Daniela Melchior, Jeremy Ang Jones, Joel Fry. On digital & on-demand Friday, September 19.