WCP: The Global Working Class in Art House Cinema

Posted in Visiting Scholars  |  Tagged Belgium, Cinema, Films, John Russo, Movies, Sarah Attfield, Sherry Linkon, Two Days One Night, WCP, Working-Class Perspectives

Have you already finished House of Cards, Season Four? Want to learn about working-class culture around the globe but can’t travel? In today’s Working-Class Perspective, Sarah Attfield recommends eight films that focus on the working class and, in many cases, were produced by filmmakers from working-class backgrounds. They shed light on the differences and commonalities of the contemporary global working class.

Two Days One Night, Luc Dardenne & Jean-Pierre Dardenne, 2014, Belgium

The Dardenne brothers have made a number of excellent films that focus on working-class life. Their films often show characters who are unemployed or engaged in the informal economy. Two Days, One Night tells the story of a woman fighting to keep her job in a Belgian factory.  This is a story of working-class resilience and the power of collective action and is an incredibly realistic portrayal of life at the edges of society.

Check out the blog post in its entirety (new window) for more working-class movie suggestions as well as other Working-Class Perspectives (new window) posts on our website.

John Russo, our Visiting Scholar for the 2015-16 academic year, brings the renowned Working-Class Perspectives blog to the Kalmanovitz Initiative. The blog is edited by him and Sherry Linkon, a professor of English at Georgetown University. It features several regular and guest contributors.