Da fabrikkerne lukkede: den amerikanske afindustrialiseringsfilm

This article presents readings of three American films that engage with American histories of deindustrialization: Gung Ho, Roger & Me, and 8 Mile. Since the publication of Barry Bluestone and Bennett Harrison’s The Deindustrialization of America in 1982 much research has explored important economic and social-historical aspects concerning the waning number of industrial jobs in the U.S. and the im-pact of factory closings on many cities in the so-called Rust Belt. This paper explores a cultural side of that story, especially taking its cue from Sherry Lee Linkon’s The Half-Life of Deindustrialization (2018). The paper argues that Gung Ho’s comedic depiction of deindustrialization all but elides important class tensions in 1980s deindustrialization, that Roger & Me, among other things, intervenes in discus-sions regarding priorities in leftist discourse in the U.S., and that 8 Mile explores a tension between industrial and creative work in 1990s Detroit. It closes with an argument for the relevance of further research into the cultural aspects of deindustrialization.