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Technological advancement, economic development, population increase - are they signs of a thriving society? Or too much of a good thing? Based on the best-selling book A Short History of Progress, this provocative documentary explores the concept of progress in our modern world, guiding us through a sweeping but detailed survey of the major "progress traps" facing our civilization in the arenas of technology, economics, consumption, and the environment.
Featuring powerful arguments from such visionaries as Jane Goodall, Margaret Atwood, Stephen Hawking, Craig Venter, Robert Wright, Michael Hudson, and Ronald Wright, this enlightening and visually spectacular film invites us to contemplate the progress traps that destroyed past civilizations and that lie treacherously embedded in our own. Leading critics of Wall Street, cognitive psychologists, and ecologists lay bare the consequences of progress-as-usual as the film travels around the world - from a burgeoning China to the disappearing rainforests of Brazil to a chimp research lab in New Iberia, Louisiana - to construct a shocking overview of the way our global economic system is eating away at our planet's resources and shackling entire populations with poverty.
Providing an honest look at the risks and pitfalls of running 21st Century "software" (our accumulated knowledge) on 50,000-year-old "hardware" (our primate brains), Surviving Progress offers a challenge: to prove making apes smarter was not an evolutionary dead end.
Reviews
"Koyannisqatsi meets The Corporation in this thought-provoking, brilliantly crafted film about nothing less than the history of the modern world and the fate of civilization." - Kevin Laforest, Montreal Hour
"In the tradition of the best 'issue docs' of recent times, this economically crafted, exquisitely argued essay makes its disquieting case without hysteria or prejudice, without irony or jingoism, and with just a soup?on of self-loathing." - Greg Quill, Toronto Star
The final film in Micha X. Peled's Globalization Trilogy examines the epidemic of suicides amongst India's cotton farmers, deeply in debt after switching to genetically modified seeds.
As industrial agriculture spreads around the world, many small-scale farmers are losing their land. Nowhere is the situation more desperate than in India, where every 30 minutes one farmer, deep in debt and unable to provide for his family, commits suicide. It's an epidemic, which has claimed over a quarter million lives.
Following a U.S. complaint to the World Trade Organization, India had to open its doors to foreign seed companies like the U.S.-based Monsanto. Now only genetically modified (GM) seeds for some major crops are available at the seed shops. The GM seeds are much more expensive; in addition to precious water, they need additional fertilizers and insecticides and must be re-purchased every season. Large farms have prospered, but the majority of farmers are now struggling to make a living off their land.
Ram Krishna, a cotton farmer at the epicenter of the suicide crisis region, is struggling to keep his land. Manjusha, the neighbors' daughter, is determined to overcome village traditions and become a journalist. Ram Krishna's plight becomes her first assignment.
BITTER SEEDS raises critical questions about the human cost of genetically modified agriculture and the future of how we grow things.
Reviews
"Films like this can change the world." - Alice Waters, owner Chez Panisse, author and activist
"A tragedy for our times." - Michael Pollan, Knight Professor of Journalism, University of California, Berkeley, author The Omnivore's Dilemm
"Better than a Batman movie...with real villains making up their own lines." - Peter Sellars, theater director
Global business has been growing rapidly in recent decades for a number of political, economic, technical and social factors. Despite the growth of global trade and investment, globalization is not without controversy. This video reviews the essential issues that have been debated by governments, businesses, and NGOs.
To some, the term "globalization" means ruthless exploitation by corporations; to others, it means bringing economic development to all the peoples of the world. This program explains key principles at the core of global economics and takes a historical look at their effects, focusing on market liberalization and the failed "East Asian miracle"; privatization of basic resources in Bolivia and the severe backlash against it; Russia's rapid transition to capitalism and the oligarchism and kleptocracy that came to characterize it; and China's incremental implementation of capitalism under communism. The video also takes stock of the seismic shift in the U.S. economy and its probable effect on the rest of the world.
We live in the Age of Plastic. It's cheap and practical, and it's everywhere ¡V even in our blood. But is it a danger to us?
This feisty, informative documentary takes us on a journey around the globe - from the Moroccan Sahara to the middle of the Pacific Ocean, from a factory in China to the highest peaks of the Alps - to reveal the far-flung reaches of our plastic problem. Interviews with the world's foremost experts in biology, pharmacology, and genetics shed light on the perils of plastic to our environment and expose the truth of how plastic affects our bodies and the health of future generations.
Review
"Plastic Planet is that rare call-to-action documentary that might rouse viewers to do something more than nod their heads in agreement. A methodically researched yet engaging examination of the environmental and health problems associated with plastic, this wide-ranging warning cry uses an intelligent investigative style along with animation and vintage footage to drive home its message." - Jay Weissberg, Variety
DVD (English and German with English Subtitles) / 2009 / 99 minutes
Globalisation has resulted in increased competition for Australian businesses and sometimes this is seen as a negative. But whether a business decides to stay local or branch out internationally can be the deciding factor in its survival. There are numerous Australian businesses that are successfully competing in international markets and one of the best is Intrepid Travel.
In this program we introduce the concept of transnational corporations and multinational corporations and then look specifically at Intrepid Travel's niche beginnings and growth, their global moves, evidence of success and what's in store for the business's future. Along the way, we hear from the cofounders of the business, director Geoff Manchester and chief executive officer Darrell Wade. This is an exciting, practical and information-packed insight into Australian business at the international level.
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With breathtaking clarity, renowned University of Massachusetts Economics Professor Richard Wolff breaks down the root causes of today's economic crisis, showing how it was decades in the making and in fact reflects seismic failures within the structures of American-style capitalism itself. Wolff traces the source of the economic crisis to the 1970s, when wages began to stagnate and American workers were forced into a dysfunctional spiral of borrowing and debt that ultimately exploded in the mortgage meltdown. By placing the crisis within this larger historical and systemic frame, Wolff argues convincingly that the proposed government "bailouts," stimulus packages, and calls for increased market regulation will not be enough to address the real causes of the crisis, in the end suggesting that far more fundamental change will be necessary to avoid future catastrophes.
Richly illustrated with graphics and charts, this is a superb introduction that allows ordinary citizens to comprehend, and react to, the unraveling crisis.
Review
"With unerring coherence and unequaled breadth of knowledge, Rick Wolff offers a rich and much needed corrective to the views of mainstream economists and pundits. It would be difficult to come away from this viewing with anything but an acute appreciation of what is needed to get us out of this mess." - Stanley Aronowitz, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Urban Education, City University
Mainak Bhaumik's film provides insight into India's often-overlooked Chinese population, examining the thriving Chinatown in Kolkata, Bengal. There, skilled Chinese immigrants have historically established themselves in business Despecially tanneries and shoemaking - and created a unique Indo-Chinese cuisine. Exploring the factors that make up Chinese-Indian identity, the film looks at the Indian cultural stereotypes of Chinese immigrants and the effects of government resettling of Chinese-Indians during the 1962 border conflict between the two countries. A portrait emerges of a hardworking and traditionally enclosed immigrant community, but one that is becoming increasingly assimilated with mainstream Indian culture. Melting Wok pays attention to the unique contributions and experiences of Chinese-Indians, while also helping the audience to understand the larger phenomena of immigration and cultural identity.
The Indian software outsourcing industry has emerged as a key node of the global economy. The series of ethnographic films, Coding Culture, explores the cultures of outsourced work and the moulding of a new workforce to cater to this global high-tech services industry. Each of the three films focuses on a single company, representing one of the major types of software company found in Bangalore: a medium-sized Indian-owned company software services company (Mphasis: The 'M' Way); the offshore software development centre of a U.S.-based IT company (Sun Microsystems: Fun@Sun); and a small 'cross-border' startup company that produces its own software products and markets them to global customers (July Systems: July Boys). All three companies are engaged in the production of software products or services for markets outside of India, but the nature of their work and their position in the global economy differ, producing significant variations in their cultures of work. Each film revolves around a distinct theme that is central to the outsourcing industry as a whole, but that also has wider sociological significance: the systems of time and people management that are typical of these new global workplaces; the functioning of multicultural 'virtual teams' and the absorption of Indian software engineers into a global corporate culture; and the new identities that are emerging in this highly transnational sector of the Indian economy.
Fun@Sun: Making of a Global Workplace
Fun@Sun is an inside look at work and work culture in the software development centre of a large American multinational company, Sun Microsystems, located in Bangalore (Indian Engineering Centre, or IEC). The film highlights the multiple ways in which 'culture' operates as a management tool in the new global economy. In offshore centres such as IEC, work is organised through 'virtual teams' comprised of software engineers and managers located in Bangalore and Santa Clara, U.S.A. To integrate their employees and sites across cultural and geographical space, Sun attempts to initiate the Indian software engineers into Sun's corporate culture. The film depicts the techniques through which this American-style work culture is transplanted into the Indian subsidiary, such as induction programmes and 'soft skills' training programmes.
The film also points to the contradictory ways in which 'culture' is invoked in the global corporate workplace: while cultural sensitivity training programmes validate cultural difference, Indian software engineers are expected to conform to the dominant model of global corporate culture by learning appropriate communication and behaviourial styles.
The 'M' Way: Time + People = Money
The 'M' Way was shot inside MphasiS-BFL Limited, a medium-sized Indian IT services company that typifies this highly competitive business, in which the provision of high quality and low-cost service is key to attracting and retaining customers. The film focuses on two teams - a software development team and a quality control (testing) team - that work on a project for a U.S.-based customer. The candid footage and interviews convey the high-pressure work atmosphere that prevails in this industry, especially due to the need for tight control over the work process and for coordination of activities within and between teams and with the customer site.
Two main themes are foregrounded in the film: the complex systems of time and quality control through which software projects are managed, and the techniques of people ('resource') management that are employed - especially how software engineers are motivated to identify with the company's goals and to work longer hours.
July Boys: New Global Players
July Boys focuses on a small 'startup' company in Bangalore that designs and produces software products for cellular service providers in Europe and the U.S. Turning the tables on the usual outsourcing story, July Systems has leveraged U.S.-based venture capital and Indian technical expertise to break into the latest high-tech markets.
The film explores the creation of a Silicon Valley-style work culture within this 'cross-border' company that has one leg in Bangalore and the other in Santa Clara, California. It also highlights the emergence of new kinds of identities (global, transnational, cosmopolitan) that incorporate and transcend pre-existing identities such as the national and the regional. But the narratives of the film's characters reveal a tension between their assumed global subjectivity and their nationalist pride in July's achievements as a company founded and run by Indians that makes 'cutting edge products' for the global market.
Looks at the plight of apple growers in the age of globalization, and points the way to sustainable US agriculture.
Wenatchee, Washington, the "Apple Capital of the World"; this pastoral valley in the heart of the Northwest prospered for nearly a century as home to the famed Washington apple. But the good times have vanished. Apple orchardists by the thousands are going out of business and thousands more await the dreaded letter from the bank, announcing the end of their livelihoods and a uniquely American way of life.
After his own father receives just such a letter, filmmaker Guy Evans sets out on a journey to find out what went wrong here in this natural Garden of Eden. Over the course of filming, Evans witnesses small farmers struggling to compete against the Goliaths that populate today's global economy, only to be ultimately forced off their land. The future looks grim for the Apple Capital until Evans happens upon an entirely new breed of farmer, practitioners of a new model called "sustainable agriculture".
BROKEN LIMBS explores these hopeful stirrings within agriculture, outlining ways in which any individual can play a role in saving America's farmers.
Reviews
"Broken Limbs is a very accurate and moving description of what is happening to agriculture in America." - Fred Kirschenmann, Director, Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa State University, organic farmer
Wenatchee, Washington, the "Apple Capital of the World"; this pastoral valley in the heart of the Northwest prospered for nearly a century as home to the famed Washington apple. But the good times have vanished. Apple orchardists by the thousands are going out of business and thousands more await the dreaded letter from the bank, announcing the end of their livelihoods and a uniquely American way of life.
After his own father receives just such a letter, filmmaker Guy Evans sets out on a journey to find out what went wrong here in this natural Garden of Eden. Over the course of filming, Evans witnesses small farmers struggling to compete against the Goliaths that populate today's global economy, only to be ultimately forced off their land. The future looks grim for the Apple Capital until Evans happens upon an entirely new breed of farmer, practitioners of a new model called "sustainable agriculture".
BROKEN LIMBS explores these hopeful stirrings within agriculture, outlining ways in which any individual can play a role in saving America's farmers.
Reviews
"Inspiring and powerful...[Broken Limbs] is cutting new ground in terms of where agriculture in this state, country and the world needs to go." - Rev. Paul Benz, Director, State Public Policy Office of Evangelical Lutheran Church
"Broken Limbs is a powerful film that, using humor and drama, gives viewers a lot to think about in this increasingly globalized world we live in...What works in this film is its intellectual honesty and the sense of hope that is its underlying message." - Rufus Woods, Editor and Publisher, The Wenatchee World
"Broken Limbs is a very accurate and moving description of what is happening to agriculture in America. Focused on apple growers in Washington State, the story reflects what is happening to hog producers in Iowa, citrus growers in Florida and dairy farmers in New York. The video offers a ray of hope---the "new farmers" who add value to their production and retain more of that value on the farm by producing the quality, attributes and services that a growing number of food customers want. A moving and compelling story." - Fred Kirschenmann, Ph.D., Director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University and a North Dakota grain and livestock farmer
"Broken Limbs is amazing, excellent, and on the mark...The entire group was enchanted by this film... the first half of "bad news" was terrifically and delightfully offset by the second half of the film which focuses on solutions and alternatives to traditional style farming." - Michelle Frain, The Rodale Institute
"Broken Limbs will break your heart with its images of the sad plight of the independent American farmer being forced off the land by the global economic machine. But then, it will begin to heal your heart with its stories of new small scale farmers who are living well, low to the ground with a vision of a sustainable agricultural future." - Sam Keen, filmmaker, author
"Broken Limbs can well serve to demonstrate that sustainable ag "socializes" responsibility in the food system among all participants, while industrial ag "socializes" environmental and community costs onto society but jealously retains responsibility only for financial rewards." - Brad Redlin, Center for Rural Affairs
"This insightful documentary works through how agriculture is changing. It's a personal story for filmmaker Guy Evans...[b]ut the film's concerns affect us all. When Evans begins his inquiry, he is pushed toward accepting as inevitable the trends that squeeze the small-to-mid-size farmers, leaving only the largest, most globalized and vertically integrated or, maybe, a few of the smallest, niche-market producers. Evans captures the waste and sorrow this entails...But as Evans keeps searching, he finds another trend that, with nurturing, may offer hope-sustainable agriculture. It requires we reformulate decision-making so that the overall, long-term quality of life, land, and food become the defining terms. This can only be done when the farmer and the consumer understand how they are connected to each other. Starting in Washington State, Evans has examples around him. Farmers markets and produce stands abound in the Seattle area and beyond. For much of the rest of the country, the trend has weaker roots fornow, but its where we should be heading." - Deborah Popper, Co-author of The Great Plains: From Dust to Dust, Associate Professor of Geography at CUNY's College of Staten Island
"This is a poetic, lyrical film with excellent visuals of the land, appropriate musical soundtrack, and soft voiced narration. Environmental studies, science, and current events classes can utilize this film and be challenged to live with hope for the future and believe that 'one by one we change the world.'" - Patricia Ann Owens, School Library Journal
"If you're looking for a video to provide background information and be the springboard for a group discussion about agricultural issues [Broken Limbs is] worth considering... I can imagine this video being shown to church classes or social justice groups and being the impetus for a church or home becoming the drop-off site for a CSA operation or meat producer." - Dana Jackson, The Land Stewardship Letter
"Provides a vivid example of how agribusiness and world trade practices have disasterously impacted family farming of apple orchards...[a] strongly recommended addition to school, college, and community library collections." - Midwest Book Review
"The production elements of Broken Limbs are excellent. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in agriculture. Broken Limbs presents a refreshing look at ways that farmers can survive and even thrive without becoming bogged down in discussing the often depressing outlook for the future of the family farm." - Educational Media Reviews Online
Awards
The Chris Statuette, Columbus International Film & Video Festival
Globalisation offers many benefits to be enjoyed, but not all nations have benefited equally. There are vast differences in living standards and income around the world and this program explains these differences. People in industrialised countries live longer, more comfortable lives than ever before, whilst in poorer countries thousands die each year from preventable diseases such as measles and malaria.
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Over the past eight years world famous Swedish auto maker Volvo has gained a foothold in the South American market by establishing a major manufacturing plant in Brazil.
The program explores:
Why Volvo sought to expand its global business by building its plant where it did, including geographical, operational, human resource and political considerations;
How Volvo seeks to create a positive work environment for staff; ¡P Environmental initiatives and objectives; ¡P Community initiatives.
The company's contribution to Volvo's global business
How the plant is managed. Appearing on camera is Volvo's South American director Carlos Morassutti.
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Globalisation refers to the way the individual nations of the world are becoming more connected with each other, and in the process more interdependent. Using various case studies, this program investigates the nature of globalisation and the global economy. We see how financial markets in New York affect a farmer on the other side of the world. Other issues of the Global Economy examined are trade and financial flows, free trade and protection, trading blocs and agreements, and international economic organisations.
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Naomi Klein, acclaimed journalist and author of the best-selling book No Logo, examines the rise of international branding and the grassroots anti-corporate campaigns it has inspired. She asks viewers to consider the costs of globalization, including the disappearance of public space, consumer choice, and stable, meaningful work.
Review
"Not only inspires critical reflection...but prompts us to get up and fight for the kind of society that would truly be worth living in." - IMRE SZEMAN - Director, Institute on Globalization & the Human Condition
DVD (With English, Spanish, French Subtitles) / 2003 / 40 minutes
From humble beginnings in 1942 when Clarrie Mance started the business, Windsor Smith has grown to become one of the country's most prominent and successful footwear companies. This program focuses on the four key elements that make up Windsor Smith's marketing mix and are often described as the 'four Ps': product, price, place and promotion. The program looks at each of these areas in relation to the high profile marketing campaigns conducted by the company. Reference is also made to marketing objectives, market research, the target market and marketing channels.
Review
"The presenter will appeal to students... She speaks naturally, and with a lot of expression... It will be easy for a teacher to expand on each section of the video during showing..." - Lyn Chisholm, VET Business Coordinator, Claremont College, TAS.
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Examines a phenomenon that truly characterizes our time. The rapid expansion of the international market place and the power of those who control it is perceived to be the principal reason why the gap between the rich and the poor is increasing, not diminishing. This viewpoint was also expressed by the thousands who demonstrated against the WTO in Seattle and Prague. On the other hand, some view globalization as being the only way for prosperity to spread to developing countries.
Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky in our Times gives the public a rare opportunity to see and listen to one of the most articulate, committed and hard-working political dissidents of our time, MIT linguist and political philosopher Noam Chomsky.
Chomsky has been called "the most important intellectual alive" by the New York Times, yet he has generally been ignored by the mainstream in America. Recently, in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, Chomsky found himself called upon to provide much-needed analysis and historical perspective regarding this moment in American history. In the months following 9/11, Chomsky gave dozens of talks on four continents, conducted scores of media interviews, and published a book called 9-11 - a surprise bestseller in some of the 22 countries in which it was published.
Chomsky remains a steadfast critic of United States foreign policy and presents his often unpopular, but always incisive arguments based on decades of research and analysis, ultimately contextualizing recent events in light of the history of Imperialism.
Chomsky places the terrorist attacks of 9/11 in the context of American foreign intervention throughout the postwar decades - in Vietnam, Central America, the Middle East, and elsewhere. Beginning with the fundamental principle that the exercise of violence against civilian populations is terror, Chomsky - in stark and uncompromising terms - challenges the United States to apply to its own actions the moral standards it demands of others.
Reviews
"Highly recommended. While some may label Chomsky a leftist ideologue, his message transcends polemics and needs to be seriously considered." - Library Journal
"Functions well... as an introduction to the current state of Chomsky's political views." - Online Journal for Peace and Conflict Resolution
Increase in urban poverty and population, caused by globalization, threatens Peruvians.
Urban poverty is one of the biggest challenges facing the world in the 21st century. In 1950, three hundred million people were living in urban areas; by 2001 that figure had increased to 2.85 billion, or almost half the world's population. And the flow of rural migrants arriving in the world's mega cities shows no signs of slowing down. -- "It is a trend which cannot be stopped," says Anna Tibaijuka, the new executive director of the UN Center for Human Settlements, "even in the developing countries..."
With the backdrop of Lima, Peru, this program examines the enduring magnetism of big cities -- and asks whether the migrants who have moved here now feel that city life is the answer to their dreams.
Award
Honorable Mention, Columbus International Film & Video Festival
Globalisation has had major effects on Australian companies and the consumers of their products. In this ground-breaking study of one of our most fascinating companies, we see how globalisation:
Forced Rip Curl to manufacture overseas
Heightens competition between suppliers
Pressures companies to go public in order to increase finance for expansion
Creates special problems because of currency movements
Makes companies even more subject to constant and rapid change * Forces improvements in quality and efficiency
Brings up major issues related to brand protection, political instability, treatment of low wage workers and cultural differences.
A great program for teachers and students of Business Management and Business Studies
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A humorous but pointed look at globalization as Bangladesh tries to impress the President of the world's only superpower.
For the inhabitants of the small village of Joypura in Bangladesh, the visit of the President of the United States to their village was a matter of great pride and honor. After all, he was the 'King of America' and the most powerful man on earth. The chaos, the upheaval, the widening of roads, the removal of unsightly shops, not to mention the invasion of hundreds of troops and officials was a small price to pay for having such an honored guest. But Joypura was only a small part of President Clinton's busy 12-hour visit to Bangladesh in March 2000.
Arrangements started a month prior to his visit in the capital of Dhaka. Marines, secret service agents and U.S. security personnel arrived in the city from the beginning of March. Security equipment, bulletproof cars, scent dogs, packaged food and mineral water arrived daily at the airport. The capital's only five-star hotel was all but taken over by the President's men. The airport security and city's traffic system were scrutinized by U.S. security personnel. Roads were repaired, trees painted, road markings re-painted. Posters, portraits, American flags decorated the city. But, not everyone was ready to celebrate the arrival of the first U.S. presidential visit.
KING FOR A DAY is the diary of a cynical Bangladeshi journalist as he follows the arrangements for the arrival of President Bill Clinton in March 2000, the growing tension, the demonstrations, the disappointments, whilst he tries to find out what the common man really feels about President Clinton's visit.
KING FOR A DAY is a satire on globalization and its implications for the citizens of developing nations. When the president of the world's wealthiest nation decides to spend 12 hours in the capital of one of the world's poorest nations, the build up to the visit is perhaps far more important than the day itself.
Reviews
"The King of America," "King of America, he'll come here, see our village, meet us, and see how we live!" -said the villager.
"For anyone still perplexed by widespread resentment at the smug exercise of American power around the globe, this inventive docudrama-narrated through the eyes of a jaded young journalist-will provide an unvarnished education. King for a Day neatly captures the phony hypocrisy of a U.S. presidential tour through South Asia in May, 2000, providing a street level view of the theatrics of American power. Clinton's insular entourage is shown blowing through Bangladesh in 12 hours like an indifferent cyclone: secret service agents stake out Dhaka's luxury hotel, while brigades of day laborers sweep and buff the road from the airport. Street vendors and beggars are banished from view. Asked to speculate on 'King' Clinton's identity and intentions, the urban poor imagine that he might be the president of Iraq or that he might even convert to Islam. Meanwhile, we learn that the American delegation has its eyes fixed on Bangladesh's vast untapped natural gas reserves while sycophantic Bangladeshi ministers go begging in vain for an enhanced garment export quota. In a sickening, if predictable, denouement, Clinton's scheduled visit to a rural village is cancelled for 'security' reasons and the village is resurrected in the U.S. embassy compound for photo-ops instead. For American viewers unaccustomed to distinguishing between Hollywood, corporate media, and democracy, the well-honed cynicism of Bangladesh's public intellectuals and print media shown here will be salutary indeed." - Eric Worby, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Yale University
"A tongue-in-cheek poke at Bangladesh officialdom for doing theirbest to spruce up the country to impress the most powerful man in the world...Bangla humor at it's best. A real gem for those who know and love Bangladesh." - Tom McMahon, Returned Peace Corps Volunteer -- Bangladesh
Awards
Best Short Film, DerHumALC International Human Rights Film & Video Festival, Buenos Aires
Honorable Mention, Columbus International Film & Video Festival
Voices Breaking Boundaries, South- Asian Film Festival, Houston
Award of Excellence, Visual Anthropology Film/Video Festival, American Anthropological Association
Award-winning journalist, John Pilger, investigates the realities of globalization by taking a close look at Indonesia.
In order to examine the true effects of globalization, Pilger turns the spotlight on Indonesia, a country described by the World Bank as a model pupil until its globalized economy collapsed in 1998. The film examines the use of sweatshop factories by famous brand names, and asks some penetrating questions. Who are the real beneficiaries of the globalized economy? Who really rules the world now? Is it governments or a handful of huge companies? The Ford Motor Company alone is bigger than the economy of South Africa. Enormously rich men, like Bill Gates, have a wealth greater than all of Africa.
Pilger goes behind the hype of the new global economy and reveals that the divisions between the rich and poor have never been greater -- two thirds of the world's children live in poverty -- and the gulf is widening like never before.
The film looks at the new rulers of the world -- the great multinationals and the governments and institutions that back them -- the IMF and the World Bank. Under IMF rules, millions of people throughout the world lose their jobs and livelihood. The reality behind much of modern shopping and the famous brands is a sweatshop economy, which is being duplicated in country after country.
The film travels to Indonesia and Washington, asking challenging questions seldom raised in the mainstream media and exposing the scandal of globalization, including revealing interviews with top officials of the World Bank and the IMF.
Reviews
"In another in a long line of passionate, wide-ranging and informative reports, John Pilger examines globalization: a process which, he believes, enslaves the many in order to empower the few. It is a deeply impressive, informative, heartfelt piece of journalism, and it proves that the small screen still can, when it has a mind to, bring us the big picture." - Graham McCann, Financial Times
"Pilger's analysis is sophisticated, interweaving Cold War politics and the workings of the World Bank and the IMF, and shows how corporations such as Ford now have bigger economies than South Africa, and the way many countries have been turned into giant sweatshops." - Gerard Gilbert, The (London) Independent
"Globalization is a big subject to tackle and there's no doubt this latest film is a full meal, throwing a lot of factual information at the viewer. That it never feels overwhelming or unfocused testifies both to Pilger's film-making experience and to those political news instincts he developed at the Daily Mirror, in the days when the Mirror really mattered." - Kieron Corless, Time Out
"John Pilger is back with another quietly impassioned report on the insidious nature of globalization. His grilling of an IMF spokesman is beautifully understated, although it doesn't stop the man from spouting absolute rubbish. A must-see for those who think anti-capitalist demonstrations are led solely by thuggish anarchists." - Mary Novakovich, The (Manchester) Guardian
"Any new investigation by John Pilger is going to be an event, and rightly so as his brand of crusading journalism is so rare on the box today...In this compelling hour...he contends that the real power in today's global economy no longer resides with the governments but in the hands of a few huge multinationals...And watching him among the sweatshops of Indonesia, it's hard to disagree." - Jan Jurczak, Daily Express
"Even if you vehemently disagree with most of what John Pilger says, he puts forward a case that needs to be answered." - David Chater, The (London) Times
"A calm, carefully articulated account of the monstrous crimes perpetrated by the heroes of globalization." - Timothy McGettigan, Professor of Sociology, University of Southern Colorado
"A scathing portrait of the way Western commerce has taken over the economy of Indonesia and continues to maintain its grip in a way which prevents the country from ever rising above its poverty." - Doug Cummings, filmjourney.org
Awards
Honorable Mention, Columbus International Film & Video Festival
MountainFilm, Telluride
Vermont International Film Festival
Global Justice Film Festival, Washington, DC
American Anthropological Association Conference
Taos Talking Picture Festival
Amnesty International Film Festival
Special Award, Prix Leonardo
Silver Hugo, Chicago International Television Competition
Looks at the impact on a small town when Wal- Mart plans to build a mega-store there.
In the US, Wal- Mart opens a new mega-store every two business days. This is the story of the impact of discount chain stores on American towns and cities, and on our society as a whole.
STORE WARS follows events in Ashland, VA, over a one-year period, from the first stormy public hearing that galvanizes residents' opposition till the Town Council takes a final vote on the proposed Wal- Mart store. Arguments for the store (tax revenues, low prices, jobs) and against it (destroys small town character, traffic, low-end jobs) are articulated and hotly debated. The cast of characters includes the mayor and Town Council members who will eventually make the decision, Wal- Mart representatives and the "Pink Flamingos," the grassroots citizen group opposed to the store.
STORE WARS does not single out Wal- Mart, but rather highlights its position as the icon of the Big Box industry. While offering a critical view of this industry, the film presents fairly all viewpoints on this controversial issue
Reviews
"This film, with a suspense and narrative abillity unusual in a documentary, tells with exceptional precision and humour about the battle of a typical small, prosperous and tranquil little town against the arrival of a giant." - Buenos Aires International Film Festival Program
"This excellent program uses a David vs. Goliath scenario -- small-town citizens versus corporate behemoth -- to offer an engaging rendering of a placid community enlivened by political action." - Julie Salamon, New York Times
"The video provides a human perspective that is missing from textbooks. It's very well researched and balanced. I look forward to using it in my classes." - A. Bruce Dotson, Chair, Department of Urban and Environmental Planning, University of Virginia
"The year-long battle roughly reflects a larger cultural clash between homespun American values and cold corporate homogeneity...Palpable drama and suspense as a lame-duck Town Council gathers for its vote." - San Francisco Chronicle
"This story has been told in towns across the United States for many years, but rarely has it been told with as much clarity and verve." - Tim Feran, Columbus Dispatch
"A documentary about a town's struggle with the concepts of preservation and change -- it is a dramatic tale, and one with a true cliffhanger ending...Store Wars is a primer for social activism, a handbook for any David thinking of taking on a Goliath." - Business Week
"What chance does a small town have in a battle against a huge corporation? This engrossing film details the animosity and taut political intrigue sparked by Wal- Mart's saturation retail strategy in an unenthusiastic community." - Timothy McGettigan, Professor of Sociology, University of Southern Colorado
"Store Wars takes you inside the grassroots politics of Ashland, Virginia, and inside a campaign by Wal- Mart to overpower the town. It is not pretty, but it lays out why Wal- Mart has become the most reviled corporation in America today." - Al Norman, Sprawl- Busters
"[Store Wars] would be very useful for classroom use in courses in globalization, urban anthropology, or social movements, as well as in other disciplines like political science or sociology. Clearly this is not the usual journalistic approach, in which filmmakers invade a town and, in a short time, expect to capture all sides of the argument. They painstakingly saw through this process for a year, and were allowed to record scenes from which other outsiders may have been barred. In an era when globalization is rampant and multinationals enjoy increasing government support, the documentary video could not be more timely." - Helen Safa, Anthropology of Work Review
Awards
Golden Gate Award, San Francisco International Film Festival
Gold Plaque, Chicago International Television Competition
CINE Golden Eagle
Bronze Plaque Award, Columbus International Film & Video Festival
Jury Citation, New Jersey International Film Festival
Singapore International Film Festival
South by Southwest Film Festival
Dallas Video Festival
IMAGE Atlanta Film & Video Festival
Magnolia Film Festival
Port Townsend Film Festival
Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Festival
Conscientious Projector Film Festival
Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital
In Advertising & the End of the World, Sut Jhally, exposes the inherent conflict between commercial culture - as aggressively sold by private, global media systems - and environmental stewardship. This powerful program goes beyond simply critiquing commercial images to challenge us to evaluate the costs of consumer society and how we participate in it.
Review
"Like a martial artist who deftly redirects his assailant's energies, Sut Jhally turns Madison Avenue against itself." NANCY FOLBRE - University of Massachusetts
DVD (With English, Spanish Subtitles) / 1997 / 40 minutes
This astonishing documentary investigates how an advertising slogan invented by Madison Avenue executives in 1948 has come to define our most intimate and romantic rituals and ideals. The Diamond Empire, which sent shockwaves through the transnational diamond industry when it first appeared, systematically takes apart the myth that "diamonds are forever."
It exposes how one white South African family, through a process of monopoly and fantasy, managed to exert control over the global flow of diamonds and change the very way we think about courtship, marriage, and love - an achievement all the more stunning given that diamonds are in fact neither scarce nor imperishable. Zeroing in on how "the diamond empire" managed to convert something valueless into one of the most coveted commodities in history, the film provides a riveting look at how marketing and consumer culture shape not only global trade and economics, but also our very identities.
Reviews
"In all my years of teaching, this is the single most important video I have ever shown. No film has proven as successful in showing students how a major part of their identities has been constructed by a corporate, commercial culture. This movie changes the way we see the world." - Sut Jhally, Department of Communications, Umass Amherst
Three generations of the extended Roychowdury family have resided for decades at 160 Bakul Bagan Road, Calcutta. Every now and then one of it's members has to leave the landscape of their childhood - a large sprawling house built around a courtyard and all the affection that dozens of relatives surround them with, to relocate for a job or to start a family elsewhere. In Leaving Bakul Bagan, Saborna, a 20 year-old girl prepares to leave for higher studies in the United States. The film is an intimate portrayal of her interactions with her family during her last few days at home. It is full of casual conversational humor and vignettes from typical familial interactions. Incidental to the time and woven into the film are the effects of race riots throughout India in the aftermath of the destruction of a Mosque by Hindu fanatics. This incident precipitates an already brewing political debate about the ethics of leaving for America, especially on the eve of such a tragic political disaster. The very last scene, rendered in slow motion to heighten it's sensibility, effectively creates a sense of deep loss and the feeling that the need for familial roots are indeed pan-ethnic and trans-cultural. Even though shot in cinema-verite style, Leaving Bakul Bagan has the grace and the flow of a dramatic narrative.
Festivals
Best of Category, New England Film and Video Festival, 1994
Special Invitation, 40th Flaherty Film Seminar, 1994
RAI, University of Kent Festival of Ethnographic Films, 1994
Whitney Museum Tour, New York, Bombay, New Delhi, 1994
This electronic publication is a professional quality DVD experience of Chongquing, Old Town, in China. Chongquing is a province of about 32 million (!) people in one of the hottest, most humid regions of China. It is one of China's biggest municipalities as well as one of the largest cities in the world. It is a major economic center, a hub of large rivers, land, and air transportation in Southwest China. It is also called the 'Mountain City', or 'River City' and noted for its scenery. It is situated at the upper region of the Yangtze River, where the Yangtze River and Jialing River join. Chongqing is a very old, cultural city with a recent history of over 3,000 years
The ecological footprint - this is the mark on the earth left behind by each person based on the amount of resources they have consumed. If the strain we put on natural resources continues at the present rate, the earth will no longer be able to support its inhabitants. This program examines possible solutions and asks the question: is it too late?
This program examines evidence of global change from the aspect of what has been induced by human activities and what is a result of natural process. An explanation of how each of the earth's ecosystems is tied together reveals why changes in one affect the others. The program also uses evidence of past global change to predict what we can expect in the future.
This program looks at atmospheric and biodiversity change and the global warming phenomenon. We investigate the effects of pollution on various ecosystems and why the Arctic has been affected by pollution from Southeast Asia, helping us understand how our local activities may be affecting people on the other side of the world for years to come.