Pre-master Sociology Tilburg University Sociology of Work
Summary of the mandatory
movies
For this course there are three mandatory movies: Made in Dagenham, Sorry we missed you and It’s a
free world. This document contains of a summary of the three mandatory movies, all extra movies
available are not included in this.
Made in Dagenham
The movie made in Dagenham is about women working for Ford (automobiles) who are going on
strike.
In the beginning of the movie it is seen that the women working for Ford have terrible working
conditions. With the working space being so overheated that women decide to take of their clothes to
make it bearable. The ceiling of their facility is leaking water whenever it is raining.
A bit later in the movie we see two women of the factory going to a higher up to complain about
things going on in the working place. But, they are told by a man that they are not allowed to speak up
for themselves, as he will be the one doing so. They are only allowed to nod in agreement. One of the
women decides this is total BS and therefore stands up for herself and her female colleagues, arguing
that the work they do is underappreciated and that they are not properly trained to perform their jobs.
The women then decide to go on a strike.
Next we see a male representative for the women workers explaining to the women mentioned before,
that the women in the facility aren’t being paid less because they are not properly trained, but simply
because they are women. The man explains this goes to his heart, because of his own experiences with
his mother being a single mom providing for the family and seeing her being paid half of what her
male colleagues are making.
The main female character (Rita) then goes on with some of her co-workers to get the support of
women across different Ford factories as well, demanding equal pay.
At some point in the movie there are no more seats for the cars available (which is the main thing the
women would work on). Because of this the factory is being closed down, putting a pause on the
production, with many people being laid off. The women are to be blamed for this by the other men
working in the factory. Instead of being supported for demanding equal pay, women are seen as the
scapegoat of the issue at hand.
Women are seen as hysterical and uncontrolled asking for privilege, when in reality all they are asking
for is to be treated equal to men. After over an hour and a half (some of the) men finally start to realize
this.
The Union Secretary wants to meet with Rita for a conversation, but is made aware by a man (idk
who) that she should not speak to them, because “England is in enough trouble with America as it is”,
diminishing the problem at hand. In meeting with the Union Secretary, Rita demands for some outlook
on equal pay for women. Only this cannot be guaranteed straight away, the women agree to go back to
work with wages of 90% of what the men are making, with the outlook on getting equal pay in the
near future with the creating of the Equal Pay Act by the autumn of the same year. Two years later the
act became law and many other countries followed the example that was set in the UK.
Summary of the mandatory
movies
For this course there are three mandatory movies: Made in Dagenham, Sorry we missed you and It’s a
free world. This document contains of a summary of the three mandatory movies, all extra movies
available are not included in this.
Made in Dagenham
The movie made in Dagenham is about women working for Ford (automobiles) who are going on
strike.
In the beginning of the movie it is seen that the women working for Ford have terrible working
conditions. With the working space being so overheated that women decide to take of their clothes to
make it bearable. The ceiling of their facility is leaking water whenever it is raining.
A bit later in the movie we see two women of the factory going to a higher up to complain about
things going on in the working place. But, they are told by a man that they are not allowed to speak up
for themselves, as he will be the one doing so. They are only allowed to nod in agreement. One of the
women decides this is total BS and therefore stands up for herself and her female colleagues, arguing
that the work they do is underappreciated and that they are not properly trained to perform their jobs.
The women then decide to go on a strike.
Next we see a male representative for the women workers explaining to the women mentioned before,
that the women in the facility aren’t being paid less because they are not properly trained, but simply
because they are women. The man explains this goes to his heart, because of his own experiences with
his mother being a single mom providing for the family and seeing her being paid half of what her
male colleagues are making.
The main female character (Rita) then goes on with some of her co-workers to get the support of
women across different Ford factories as well, demanding equal pay.
At some point in the movie there are no more seats for the cars available (which is the main thing the
women would work on). Because of this the factory is being closed down, putting a pause on the
production, with many people being laid off. The women are to be blamed for this by the other men
working in the factory. Instead of being supported for demanding equal pay, women are seen as the
scapegoat of the issue at hand.
Women are seen as hysterical and uncontrolled asking for privilege, when in reality all they are asking
for is to be treated equal to men. After over an hour and a half (some of the) men finally start to realize
this.
The Union Secretary wants to meet with Rita for a conversation, but is made aware by a man (idk
who) that she should not speak to them, because “England is in enough trouble with America as it is”,
diminishing the problem at hand. In meeting with the Union Secretary, Rita demands for some outlook
on equal pay for women. Only this cannot be guaranteed straight away, the women agree to go back to
work with wages of 90% of what the men are making, with the outlook on getting equal pay in the
near future with the creating of the Equal Pay Act by the autumn of the same year. Two years later the
act became law and many other countries followed the example that was set in the UK.
