American Dream

Depicting the effects of a mid-1980s strike by the employees of a Hormel meat-packing plant in Austin, Minnesota, Barbara Kopple's Academy Award-winning documentary American Dream observes both the daily struggles of the striking workers and the behind-the-scenes conflicts amongst the union leaders. ...more

Barbara Kopple's unflinching look at labor troubles is a potent look at organized labor's diminished stature in Ronald Reagan's America. Kopple understands that this story bears only slight resemblance to her previous foray into this territory, Harlan County, U.S.A., where determined coal miners and their strong union squared off against unyielding company bosses over basic issues of safety, job security, and decent wages. In that film, the good guys and the bad guys were clearly delineated; ...more