Rivetheads - Tales from the Assembly Line - Book Report/Review Example

? Rivetheads: Tales from the assembly line Rivetheads are people associated to the Industrial dance scene of music. The Rivethead scene along with its dress code started in the last few years of the 1980 decade on the fundamentals of industrial rock, electro-industrial, and EBM music. Hints of fetish wear and Punk aesthetics in a militaristic style is the dress code for a Rivethead. The group is associated with rebellion. Rivethead: tales from the assembly line is a book authored by Ben Hamper and published in 1991, which gives an autobiographical account of the author’s life in Flint followed by his employment on the assembly line of the General Motors from 1977 to 1988. The story talks about assembly line workers lives, work, and their interactions with each other and their employer. Though hamper had a gift in writing and humor, he was a third generation factory worker or “shop rat” (Heitman, 2009). His grandfather had worked at Chevrolet after moving to Detroit from Springfield, Illinois. Hamper’s grandmother worked for the AC Spark plug factory during the World War 2 building machine guns before working in an aircraft factory. His father worked for many factories and was a drunk with womanizer tendencies. When he visited his father who was working on a line and saw him repeatedly, install windshields he thought to himself, “Do something else!” However, the choices in hampers life were limited and he saw himself ending up working on the same assembly line so detested by his father. He was of the view that his life was predetermined and his theory nearly proven (Crumm, 2010). In high school, he was an under-achiever whose school experience was drug ridden and cocktailed with an unplanned pregnancy. He started painting apartments after his unaccomplished high school life. Lifting of the recession in the70s availed employment opportunities in the motor industry and Hamper was able to gain the employ of the General Motors through his sister-in- law. He worked in “the jungle”, cab shop, and installed splash shields in Chevy blazers’ rear ends. Hamper reveled in labor degradation and completed his assignment within one and a half shifts (Hamper, 1991). He enjoyed work in the motor industry because to him it was mindless and the pay of $12.82 was good. Hamper doubled up with Bud, a line mate, and one of them would do two jobs at a time as the other rested. Ben Hamper used his resting time to drink at his regular, read novels and the day’s paper or take a stroll around the factory. Even after the departure of Bud, Hamper doubled up with a new worker called Doug. Hamper tries to reveal how, many of the employees in the factory were big on drinking and on a regular basis used hard drugs. Roy an employee in the factory ingested acid and made a mess all over by vomiting on the line. Roy later, while under the influence, incinerated using a blazing torch, a pet mouse. Hamper tries to show that the people in the employ of the factory had tendencies like hard drug abuse, that are associated with Rivetheads. This shows that everyone has a little bit of Rivethead in him or her. Hamper goes on to put emphasis on this observation by writing “the money was right, even if we were not” (Hamper, 1991). In 1979, his employer laid off Hamper as part of a reduction of cost strategy. However, he still received a $238 wage weekly. His grandfather voiced his sentiments that he, Hamper, received pay for doing nothing, which led Hamper to think to himself that he did owe his grandfather and all those that participated in the historic 1937 sit down strikes. However, he was of the view that the working conditions were almost similar and he deserved the free pay for working tremendously hard. He deduced that factory workers generations had a low tolerance for the era of the other (Crumm, 2010). Hamper came back from the lay off to the cab shop line, which had a scheme meant to result in faster tailgate production as compared that of the feeder line. His speed gave him 45 minutes of free time. Nevertheless, his free time was short-lived when another layoff came into effect. This one lasted a few weeks after which he resumed employment on the rivet line. Work on this line was always flowing in constant motion leaving Hamper alone and bored to a point of desperation. In his attempt to kill boredom, Hamper came up with activities to pass time. Hamper fed Chee-tos mice, chain-smoked, shot rubber bands, and participated in spitting contents with the assumption it was an event in the Olympics (Hamper 1991 C.14). The activities that Hamper took part in to kill time illustrate the Rivethead in everyone. When people bored and have time on their hands, they tend to take part in activities that may seem rather foolish like the spitting contest or destructive like chain smoking all in the name of evoking excitement and killing time, which in reality describe activities of most Rivetheads. Since this behavior is common to many, it is safe to claim that everyone has a little Rivethead in them. Another instance in Hampers book illustrates the statement. The process of being laid off and being called happened again to Hamper a few weeks later. After getting the call back to active employment, Hamper narrates, an incidence involving a woman becoming unconscious because a rivet gun knocked her. The workers in the line shut it down completely because of the woman’s accident. This displayed typical Rivethead behavior of dropping everything to find out what is happening. Everyone is always curious to know what has happened and put their activities on hold to get primary information on new happenings (Hamper, 1991). After a period, the factory tried to motivate its workers using a mascot. Later on, they erected a big electronic board that transmitted messages for encouraging workers. One of the messages emphasized quality for good workmanship while telling the workers not to be quitters. It also advocated for safety and described squeezing rivets as fun. The workers, Harper included ridiculed the messages and viewed them negatively, a Rivethead behavior. People take the negatives from messages meant to be positive. General Motors transferred jobs from factories in Flint to Pontiac, Michigan. Harper was among the 30,000 shortlisted. On July 12, 1986, Hamper had an intense panic attack and ended up in a mental hospital. His transfer was never to be, as he never returned to General Motors. This shows the Rivethead characteristic of fear of change that is common among people. Ben hamper’s book, Rivetheads: a tale of the assembly line brings out several instances when behavior of characters in the book is similar to those of Rivetheads. These support arguments that used to deduce that it might be in small traces but there is a Rivethead in every one of us. References Hamper, B. (1991). Rivethead: Tales from the assembly line. New York, NY: Warner Books. Heitmann, J. A. (2009). The automobile and American life. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Co. Crumm, T. A. (2010). What is good for General Motors?: Solving America's industrial conundrum. New York: Algora Pub. Read More