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Adjustment & Work

Name: Adjustment & Work
Director: Frederick Wiseman
Released: 1986
Duration: 120 min

Representation Score

6.8/10

Good

1986

Director

Frederick Wiseman

Runtime

120 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Frederick Wiseman’s documentary offers a rigorous, observational look at individuals adapting to sensory loss and entering the workforce. Its strength lies in its dignified portrayal of disability, presenting subjects as active participants rather than objects of pity. However, the film lacks a broad range of social identities, offering limited representation of LGBTQ+ characters or narratives centered on non-straight identities. It also does not fully explore the intersection of gender and labor or utilize actively leading narratives for characters of color.

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Category Breakdown

Does Adjustment & Work have LGBTQ+ representation?

Limited

The film focuses on vocational training and sensory adaptation but does not include any LGBTQ+ characters or narratives centered around non-straight identities.

How does Adjustment & Work portray gender?

Fair

The narrative centers on professional hierarchies within the workplace, avoiding traditional domestic roles but lacking specific character-driven ability to act.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Adjustment & Work?

Fair

Set in Talladega, Alabama, the film captures the local workforce within a Southern socioeconomic context. It observes the existing social fabric without highlighting actively leading narratives for characters of color.

How does Adjustment & Work represent religion and culture?

Good

The film critiques the rigidity of Western labor structures, emphasizing how individuals navigate bureaucratic systems and the tension between personal experience and institutional capitalism.

Does Adjustment & Work include disability representation?

Excellent

The narrative centers on individuals with significant sensory disabilities, granting them ability to act by focusing on their active process of skill acquisition and professional reintegration.

Present on Screen

Provides a sophisticated, non-sentimental portrayal of individuals navigating significant sensory disabilities.
Focuses on the active skill acquisition and professional reintegration of subjects with disabilities.
Critiques how individuals navigate bureaucratic and economic systems.

Limited or Absent

Lacks representation of LGBTQ+ characters or narratives centered on non-straight identities.
Does not utilize actively leading narratives for characters of color.
Fails to deeply explore the intersection of gender and labor.

Official Synopsis

Wiseman enumerates the sights and sounds of Talladega, Alabama — the railroad tracks, quiet streets and homes, a few shops downtown — almost as if to list those things most of us might take for granted. Of the four films in this series, Adjustment & Work focuses entirely on adults—specifically those who have recently lost their sight (and hence are adjusting to this change) and those without sight or hearing who are learning skills in order to enter the workforce.

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