Success in Circuit

My family immigrated to the United States and caught the wave of education into science and the middle class. In some way, their history reflects the arc of the United States as it prospered in the 20th century. I see a similar process in China today, and was inspired to tell the story of the US’s faltering pre-eminence and China’s ascent. I began thinking about microchip production – the invisible engine of our lives – and technology’s place in this shifting balance of global power. I visited closing factories in the Hudson River Valley and the new production sites in western China. Out of this, I have written a story of people trying to avoid their unresolved pasts through technology’s promise of a future of freedom and profit. Gary has become disillusioned with the technology industry, whilst Cai sees it as her future. She is determined to erase her history, just like deleting data, and start again. However, in using technology as an escape she risks emotional isolation. In the end, even the controlled precision of the silicon microchip seen under a microscope is like a jagged and dangerous terrain. To love and to survive, Gary and Cai must accept the same perilous landscape within themselves.