I'm working as a TA for a summer course in political theory, and we're just starting a unit on Marx. I wanted to do his theory of alienation, but I'm sure that my students are bored as hell of me trying to explaining abstract concepts to them without successfully grounding them. To that end, I'm bringing a fan-friggin'-tastic DVD to class today. From the movie's website:
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Mardi Gras: Made in China follows the "bead trail" from the factory in China to Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras, poignantly exposing the inequities of globalization. First-time director David Redmon cleverly illuminates the clash of cultures by juxtaposing American excess and consumer culture against the harsh life of the Chinese factory worker.
The film confronts both cultural and economic globalism by humanizing the commodity chain from China to the United States. Redmon follows the stories of four teenage women workers in the largest Mardi Gras bead factory in the world, providing insights into their economic realities, self-sacrifice, and dreams of a better life, and the severe discipline imposed by living and working in a factory compound.
This thing was just released to DVD yesterday. I'm so excited about playing this for undergrads.
And I'm sure your class will be excited to see girls earning their beads. Maybe you could even bring some beads with you and try to get your students to "earn" them. Take pics obviously.
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