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The Automat
Movie

The Automat

2021 • Unknown

Woke Score
1
out of 10

Plot

The 100-year story of the iconic restaurant chain Horn & Hardart, the inspiration for Starbucks, where generations of Americans ate and drank coffee together at communal tables. From the perspective of former customers, we watch a business climb to its peak success and then grapple with fast food in a forever changed America.

Overall Series Review

The Automat is a historical documentary that functions as a nostalgic celebration of an iconic American institution, the Horn & Hardart restaurant chain. The narrative is centered on themes of communal dining, democratic accessibility, and entrepreneurial ingenuity. It features effusive, fond recollections from a diverse array of former patrons, including Mel Brooks, Colin Powell, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The film celebrates the automat as a uniquely American and egalitarian space where people of all classes, races, and backgrounds shared tables. It is overwhelmingly positive about the cultural contributions and atmosphere of the establishment, viewing it as a highlight of mid-century American urban life and a symbol of optimism.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics2/10

The film notes that the automat was a place of cultural harmony where people of all colors and backgrounds sat together, highlighting its role as a uniquely desegregated space during the Civil Rights era. The focus is on the meritocratic idea that anyone with a nickel could get a good meal, which celebrates equality and common humanity rather than establishing an intersectional hierarchy or vilifying any group.

Oikophobia1/10

The documentary is a love letter to an American enterprise and a specific, optimistic era of Western culture. Core Western institutions like innovation, enterprise, and community are viewed positively as shields against chaos, not as fundamentally corrupt or racist. The tone is one of gratitude and respect for American cultural history.

Feminism2/10

Historical context is provided, noting that the automat's clean environment and quick service catered to the growing number of women entering the urban workforce who needed an appropriate place to dine alone. This is presented as an organic consequence of social change and business innovation, not as a 'Girl Boss' lecture or an anti-natalist message. Male figures, including the founders and interviewees like Mel Brooks and Colin Powell, are presented respectfully.

LGBTQ+1/10

There is no evidence of sexual or gender ideology in the documentary. The focus remains strictly on the restaurant's business history, its food, and its role as a shared, normative social space for the general public and nuclear families.

Anti-Theism1/10

There is no hostility toward traditional religion. The sense of community and quality is often described with an affectionate, almost spiritual reverence, such as Mel Brooks remarking on the coconut custard pie that 'God made that.' The narrative acknowledges objective truth in the quality of the food and the reliability of the service.