With the recent implementation of age verification on certain websites in the UK, the focus is once again on disturbing and ‘offensive’ material on the net. American Sweatshop, the feature debut from prolific TV director Uta Briesewitz, takes us inside a company that moderates what we’re allowed to see when we browse social media when content has been flagged.
Daisy (Lili Reinhart) is one of many who work in shifts, either accepting or rejecting video content. It’s a grim, dehumanising job that exposes them to the worst of society. One of her colleagues (Joel Fry) fights the monotony by running a pool to see who will be the next worker to freak out over what they have to endure (his bet is on one of the new recruits). A particularly nasty video involving a woman having a nail hammered into her gets under Daisy’s skin, and when the higher-ups pass it as merely pornographic and not illegal, she takes it upon herself to find out who’s responsible and deliver some kind of justice.
While the subject matter these workers view is horrific, American Sweatshop isn’t played out as a horror film. Like Prano Bailey-Bond’s Censor (2021), Briesewitz uses this specific workplace burnout to craft a fascinating insight into the job of moderating what we’re allowed to see. Reinhart’s performance is captivating; her disgust at what she sees is palpable, even without us seeing anything, only hearing the harrowing screams and glimpses of what’s on screen.
Her investigations lead her to ask for help on forums and get friends to search for addresses, as the quest for justice for the woman in the video becomes an obsession. As Daisy gets further into the rabbit hole of depravity, the more depressing the film becomes. Briesewitz ramps up emotional levels and makes the viewer glad they’re not content moderators; hopefully, it’ll make people think about the impact of what they watch.
AMERICAN SWEATSHOP is available on digital platforms in the US.
