China Blues

This documentary was very disturbing yet eye-opening and insightful. It made me think twice about where my clothes come from. I can't imagine working for 17 hours and not having time the freedom to go to the bathroom when I need to, not getting paid overtime. These factory workers are so young. What stuck out to me was when "Little Jasmine" wanted to write a letter and put it in the jeans pocket for the person who wears the clothes. In a way, this documentary was her letter and outlet to the world showing people her working conditions.

The workers get paid so little, and their boss is not really nice. I would think since he came from a peasant farming background that he would understand, but his own success has made him blind to the downward cycle of inequality he is running at his company. However, I don't think there is too much he can do because he is at the mercy of international client's laws and their demands for lower prices. The film portrays him as a prideful man, and I'm sure the owner has to be strict in order for things to get done. I wonder how in the world they got cameras in the factory to capture all the footage we saw when the workers refused to go back to work, and them shouting at each other shortly after lunch.

One sentence I remember from the film was that if China treated their employees fairly and followed the labor rules, they were not be competitive. Unfair treatment just has a snowball effect, from the buyers/sellers to the production-line workers.

It was humorous how a Walmart attack just had to be included. The filmmakers are very clear in their stance towards big multi-national companies. Anyways, the living conditions were extremely strict and unfair. It felt like a labor camp. They had tiny bunks, and there was no cafeteria... they went back to their rooms to eat. The owners try to cut costs in every way and they dock from your pay when you are late. Workers fall asleep at work because they are so tired when big orders come in. They had to fight to get paid in time, the owner kept stating they have no money and no means to pay them, like the owners were the ones who are the victim. I know that the owner understands very well the concept of predator/victim. He displays big banners on the walls to restructure their thinking, like "If you don't work today you’ll be looking for hard work tomorrow.”

Workers were easily disposed of if they didn't like it, and first payments were put as a deposit, to prevent workers from leaving. Room/board and meals were taken from they pay. Workers were paid per garment made, and would receive less than one dollar for an hour's wage. This makes me think when people spend $50 for a pair of jeans... where is all the money going? It doesn't even go to the factory owners, which say ~$40,000 was their annual profit. I'm guessing the money goes to the companies overseas to Europe, the US etc.

The workers must have envisioned a glamorous and hopeful lifestyle in the city before arriving from the farmlands. Jasmine missed her family and the freedoms of childhood and the open wheat fields. She was only 17 but some of the workers were as young as 14. I think these young girls/boys are forced into maturity, taking care of themselves and their families much earlier than the youth in developed nations. This film gave me something to think about.