: In the Dish Pit

This is a documentary about a dishwasher. Not a machine, a person who works as a dishwasher in a restaurant in New York City. He is actually the inspiration for this whole series. 

I'm not sure exactly when I realized that I sort of casually assumed that all dishwashers must be unhappy, but as soon as it hit me, I thought it was crazy that I had worked in the hospitality industry for so long without ever really examining that clearly oversimplified view. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how pervasive that idea was. I recalled conversations with friends wherein things like "Man, it was the worst week ever. But I could be washing dishes or something, so I guess it could be worse," were said. I also recalled being threatened with "a life of washing dishes" by people who wanted me to do well in school, as if it were a terrible consequence. So what does "a life of washing dishes" really look like? Angel Cruz will tell you all about it, because he's living that life, and (spoiler alert!) it turns out he's pretty darn happy about it. 

**The awesome soundtrack was composed by the incomparable Monk Turner. The song is entitled "Kind Katie," from his album "Instrumental Friends," and you can find more of his music at: http://monkturner.bandcamp.com/

I also was going to use music by the two artists listed below. I ended up simplifying my soundtrack down to one composer, but I think they are both awesome and wanted to credit them anyway for inspiring me. Go check them out! 

Jason Shaw: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/

Gilicuddy: http://gillicuddy.bandcamp.com/ 

Thanks to Matthew Callahan for being the most awesome husband ever and without whom this project would never have gotten off the ground.