| Mardi Gras: Made in China |
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| Directed By:
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David Redmon
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| Produced In:
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USA 2004
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| Running Time:
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72 minutes
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| Genre:
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Documentary
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| Language:
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In English, Cantonese, Fujianese and Mandarin with English subtitles
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| Themes:
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China, Globalization
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| Distributor:
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David Redmon, Visit the film's website
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Synopsis:
Mardi Gras: Made in China tracks the “bead trail” from the factory in
China to Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras, poignantly exposing the
inequities of globalization. Filmmaker Redmon gained unprecedented
access to follow the stories of four young Chinese women working and
living in the largest Mardi Gras bead factory in the world, located in
Fuzhou, China. We witness their economic realities, self-sacrifice,
and dreams of a better life. Redmon inter-cuts these stories with
strikingly candid interviews with the factory manager and the US
businessman (who owns the factory) who offer their own visions on why
globalization is a success. Brilliantly interweaving factory life with
Mardi Gras festivities, the film opens the blind eye of consumerism by
visually introducing workers and festivalgoers to each other. A
dialogue results when bead-wearing partyers are shown images of the
Chinese workers and asked if they know the origin of their beads, while
the factory women view pictures of Americans exchanging beads,
soliciting more beads, and celebrating.
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Links:
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- Download a PBS lesson plan on the Pros and Cons of Globalization, Understanding the WTO
- Read about the working conditions in chinese factories making clothing for places like Walmart, Volkswagon, Sketchers, Timberland and more (China Labor Watch.org)
- Get Involved! Read about the local chapter of The National Mobilization Against Sweatshops
- BehindTheLabel.org is a multimedia news website covering the
stories of people fighting for fundamental human and labor rights against the goliath global clothing industry.
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