| As Goes Janesville | |
| Director: | Brad Lichtenstein |
| Producer: | Brad Lichtenstein Nicole Docta |
| Editing: | Leslie Simmer |
| Runtime: | 88 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
As Goes Janesville is a 2012 independent documentary film, produced by Kartemquin Films and 371 Productions.[1] It explores the future of the American middle class by focusing on the stories of Janesville, WI.
The film was broadcast on PBS through the Independent Lens program.[2] It later played a successful festival run and was nominated for an Emmy award in Outstanding Investigative Journalism—Long-Form.[3]
As Goes Janesville was funded by the Macarthur foundation and ITVS.[4] [5] It was directed by Brad Lichtenstein.
As Goes Janesville follows the lives of residents of Janesville, Wisconsin. The close of a major GM plant in the city brings about massive layoffs and a desperate search for new work. Through the stories of business leaders, laid-off workers, and elected officials, the film examines the theme of the American Dream and how a town can reinvent itself in the face of economic upheaval.[6]
The film's storyline surrounding corporate transparency inspired the creation of BizVizz, a corporate accountability app. The app makes corporate tax and employment data accessible to consumers. The filmmakers' experiences a company that received 20% of Janesville's budget in incentives without public vetting led to the creation of the partner app.[7]