Who makes your jeans?

I just saw the most amazing documentary called China Blue.

It follows the lives of two young girls (not yet really women) who come from the country to work in a blue jeans factory in the city.  It chronicles the 7-day-a-week, sometimes round the clock for 36 or more hours if there is a big order, working life of these women.  Their pitiful pay and the attitudes of the factory owners and management are shown at length too.

Fantastically enlightened management in this part of the world seems to be shown if you give the workers a free bun and cup of tea at midnight when you’re forcing them to work all night with no overtime pay.  The owner’s rants about lazy workers who will cheat him if they have a chance are amazing to us who see workers too exhausted to work any more, but who are prodded awake and urged to glue their eyelids open to stay awake (doesn’t work).

The horrible thing is, that even though our clothing manufacturers here are telling us that they’re on top of the situation as far as child labour and exploitation are concerned, it’s just not so.  They pay the factories so little per order that for the boss to make his expected profit the workers get unfairly paid.  The factories are notified ahead of time, either formally or through the grapevine, when an inspection is coming so they can temporarily improve things and give the workers scripts to spout about how wonderful their job is.

One of the very best things about this movie though is the way it focuses on the girls as whole human beings with dreams and aspirations.  Their thoughts, diaries and curiosity about the world are amazing.  I’m not sure I’d have energy for any of that if I worked those hours in those conditions.

You know though – we are all, each one of us that supports any company manufacturing its goods in China, responsible for this situation.  Look at the profits of these companies – they’re well able to afford to pay enough in China or elsewhere to get their jeans and whatever else made within reasonable hours and at a living wage.  If you buy things Made in China, until both the retailers here and the Chinese factory owners behave in a more humane fashion, you are as responsible for the unacceptable working conditions these people face as anyone else in the chain.

Money talks!! The only way we can change anything in this world is by “voting with our pocketbooks” and not giving our money to those who put profit – and excessive profit at that – before human well-being and dignity.

So, read your labels and tell your retailers you want alternative goods NOT “Made in China”.  And see this documentary if you ever get the chance!

A couple of reviews of this documentary:

“China Blue is more than an exercise in cinematic activism…the film develops a natural dramatic structure that’s profoundly affecting. Mr. Peled doesn’t just record the girl’s indignities, he listens to their dreams…China Blue examines the plight of the world’s largest pool of cheap labor and traces its exploitation to a retail outlet near you.” THE NEW YORK TIMES

“The most heartbreaking, moving film in theaters right now is not “Babel,” “Letters From Iwo Jima” or “Little Children.” It is China Blue…This is an unforgettable film.” THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

Looking for A Hero

Yeah, me and Bonnie.

Is anyone else tired of the “flawed” leading men in the TV drama series?  Those Oh-so-noble losers. Where are our heroes? The guys with the white hats?

I am so abysmally tired of trying to find some nice escapist entertainment, and being continually presented with “heroes” that booze, sleep around, avoid commitment, cut ethical corners and then whine about it all. And they’re everywhere! There isn’t a ‘leading man’ in any of the series I’ve seen lately that I would categorize as a decent human being.

If I wanted to spend my time watching gutless wonders get their tails caught in the door time after time, I would have trained as a psychiatrist.

And I guess when it gets right down to it, I’m not particularly interested in the personal life of any character in a TV drama. If I’m watching a cop show, I like to see the action, the procedures and the process. I could care less about who they’re sleeping with – or anything else that is peripheral to what the show is supposed to be about.

And don’t even get me started on “reality” television! Doesn’t anyone have a life of their own anymore? Do we so lack in initiative and imagination that we’re reduced to passively watching what passes for other people’s lives? I’ve tried watching some of it, but the small-minded, petty, mean-spirited content turns my stomach after only a few minutes.

If it wasn’t for PBS, TVO, Discovery and a few channels like that, I would have put the TV in storage long ago.  John Prine maybe had a point.

I’m just really glad I have a library card!

My NEW Amusement

Hoo-boy, am I ever having fun with this!

It started out from necessity, having my ears a bit plugged, so in order to catch the dialogue on the TV and not disturb the neighbours, I turned on the captioning option.  I’ve left it on just for fun, though some days it’s more a strain not to bang your head than it is a giggle.

If you ever want to see what kind of impoverished vocabularies people who have gone through our dumbed-down reading and English classes have got, then this is the way to do it.  Some of the mistakes are simply hilarious, as on one of Sir David Attenborough’s bird shows, where he was talking about a budgerigar, and it came up on the captioning as bugery guard.

Sometimes the captioning is so bad, that I wonder how those who rely on it solely have any clue as to what is really going on!  I’m not talking about the odd – or even more – typo, as I know if I had to keep up my keyboarding to the speeds some of those folks talk, it might look a lot like Hungarian.  But things like on the newscasts, countries’ and people’s names spelled so wrongly that if you didn’t already know what they were talking about, you’d never guess at all from what was written.

For those of you who need some cheap thrills and astonishments, turn on your captioning.  It can really be a hoot!!

Fare Bistro, Toronto

Well, due to what I think were mostly personal problems between the owners, my favourite restaurant, Verveine, closed and a new place opened at the address.  It got good initial reviews, but I haven’t seen anything about it recently.

The first time I went, the food seemed good, and the service too, though the stools they have at the bar (I always sit at the bar when I go alone so I don’t take up a table) are the most uncomfortable things I’ve sat on in a long time.  But that’s minor.

I went again today and was sadly disappointed.  I ordered the risotto and it was crunchy, it was so undercooked.  It had some long brown strips garnishing the top, which tasted just like what I imagine 80 year-old wallpaper would taste like if you peeled it off the wall and added it to your dish.  The salad, the same one I ordered the first time I was there, was oily and not very good and the dessert was disappointing. 

 Actually, the dessert I had the first time I went was really awful, so I decided not to ever order anything that involved pastry there again, as they obviously don’t do it well.  So this time I ordered a chocolate thing – and it was like glue.  I practically had to pry my teeth apart with my fingernails.

The worst part was when they served someone sitting near me a fish dish, and the fishy smell was so overpowering I thought I’d retch.  You don’t get that smell with fresh fish.

I also noticed that they were using off-brands for the highball mixes, and I think that’s a sure sign of trouble.  Maybe this long and dreadful winter has put them in financial straits and they think that cutting corners will keep them afloat.  NOTHING will keep them afloat if their regulars don’t come back because the food doesn’t cut it any more.

They seem like nice people, and we surely need good food.  I’d hate to see this place go down the tubes too, but I don’t think I’ll go back again – at least not soon.  I’ll watch to see how it goes.

So I guess it’s back to Barrio when I want a night out for myself.  The food there is always top-notch, though you really can’t get a full meal.  I wish they’d offer that option.  And Kevin, Barrio’s owner, may be selling out and “moving to the country” to start a new place.  I’ll be broken-hearted if that happens.

 

Stomp and Soweto Gospel Choir

Took two of the grandchildren to see Stomp last night. The kids are 9 & 11, and were captivated by the performance. The 9 yr old was in danger of falling out of her seat she’d get leaning so far forward to keep track of all that was going on. I had seen it before, and was not at all bored by seeing it again. It is well worth seeing by anyone who has any love of rhythm.

And I took the youngest, who won’t be 4 until May, to see the Soweto Gospel Choir at the end of February. She’s my singing and dancing girl. She loved the singing and the tribal dress, and ended up out in the aisle trying to follow the dance sequences so she could show her mom when she got home.

I love introducing the kids to new things. Broadening your horizons constantly is one of the only ways you are going to find what is your passion in life. And for most of us, even if we can’t make music a career, we certainly benefit from all the things we can get from music – peace, joy, exhilaration, hope . . . the list is huge.

I don’t know how I’d get along without music.

Dancing Girl with one of the Soweto Choir.