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18 S T U F F • F a l l 2 0 1 6 By Susan Shalhoub Special to the Worcester Business Journal And that may be part of the problem when it comes to a labor gap and misconceptions. "I thought of it as standing in a line making things repetitively all day," said Nate Bowen, 23, of Burrill- ville, R.I., who had a less-than-pos- itive impression before he began work at Worcester custom glass maker Modern Manufacturing. Dreams won't come true In the 1993 film "Rudy," a bi- ographical movie about motiva- tional speaker Rudy Ruettiger, who played football at Notre Dame, factories are depicted as dirty and dangerous. Manufacturing in a steel mill -- complete with sweaty welders -- is framed as employment to rise up from, not to keep or advance with- in. In the movie, the Rudy's friend dies in a factory accident, helping to perpetuate manufacturing work as unsafe. From dirt & death to jokes & riches D espite a greater focus on entrepre- neurs, modern entertainment hasn't quite caught up with a realistic concept of the American manufacturing work- place and its advancements. Instead of the 20- and 40-year old portrayals of man- ufacturing as dirty and life-threatening industry, today television and movies will show characters who led successful lives because of manufacturing, although the industry is still more likely to be a punchline or word of warning. Throughout the entire movie – even in its tag line: "When people say dreams don't come true, tell them about Rudy" – Rudy's life is said to be unfulfilled unless he gets away from the dead-end life of a manufacturing worker. The 1978 movie "The Deer Hunter" shows friends played by Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken as living and working in an industrial Pennsylvania town. Even though the movie is more of crit- icism of the Vietnam War, but the industrial town is shown to be dirty. Even in the 2002 movie "8 Mile," the character played by the rapper Eminem must use his talent to arise from poor manufacturing condi- tions. His love interest in the movie Jay Pritchett (center) from "Modern Family " built a closet manufacturing business from the ground up and uses his riches to take expensive vacations, buy jewelry for his much younger wife and live in an upscale mansion in Southern California. Pop culture's portrayal of manufacturing has evolved over the decades, although still not positively Ron "Child labor laws are killing this country " Swanson became independently wealthy by working at a manufacturing facility at a young age, investing heavily in gold and preferring to make his own items instead of buying what he needs. I L L U S T R A T I O N / D A N I E L L A U R D I N L A I Z