Ball State’s Institute for
Digital Education and Entertainment and the Center for Middletown Studies
jointly produced Changing Gears, a feature-length
documentary film about the 2009 closing of Muncie’s century-old Warner Gear
auto parts plant and the loss of industry in the city.
A bookend for the original
Middletown research into the impact of industrialization, the film explores the
meaning and significance of deindustrialization by examining the experiences of
the plant’s workers and the community. In doing so, the project touches on
several parts of the center’s agenda. It documents the experience of
deindustrialization in rich fashion, it creates and exploits digital resources
connected with Middletown research, and it provided a group of Ball State
students with a unique immersive learning experience. Fifteen students
participated in the filming, editing, writing, and historical research
connected with the film, which aired on PBS stations throughout the United
States. View the film. To order a copy, contact the Center for Middletown Studies at 765-285-8037.