My school chose an extract from Deborah Fallow's new book Dreaming in China to teach students about the nature of language. I really enjoyed the extract and it has spurred me to look for the book in the public library. The book explores the way the "minilist" Chinese language is intertwined with its culture - the cultural revolution emphasized the importance of the well-being of society as a whole over the individual. It was the group and the team that would benefit from the labour of each individual. As such, the pronouns in chinese language feature less in speech and writing, obviously in complete opposition to the English Language where the "I" is at the center of democracy and the source of capitalism.
While preparing for this class, I scoured the net for youtube clips and tangents that would "hook" my students. They are at an age where they know their brands better than I do, their eyes glazed by the glitz and glamour of haute couture strutting down the cat walk, so I picked knock-off goods as a way in. This documentary - "the fake trade" - by channel 4 was very useful because it showed the far reach of counterfeit goods - that they were no longer limited to small market stalls in asia hawking imitation LVs, Hermes, Pradas, Burberry but also to the US and the UK, affecting even pharmaceutical companies - even nature has lost its monopoly - chicken eggs (once a "product" of nature) have been counterfeited.
These companies had built massive factories in China in the 1990s, sold to prospect of higher profits and lower wages per worker. The documentary reckons that one in four parts (of a car/ airplane etc) are counterfeits even when we buy them from legitimate suppliers. This is scary - Quantas has been in the news recently for repeated engine failures on many of its airplanes - were any of these parts 'supplied by' engine manufacturer, Rolls Royce made in parallel Rolls Royce factories in China and sold as real parts? The line between what's real and what's not is blurring; China is the new frontier.
The 2 segment documentary can be found at the following links. They have been divided into four parts of 24 minutes each.
http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/33409/the_fake_trade_1_2/
http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/33410/the_fake_trade_2_2/
http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/33411/the_fake_trade_new___/
http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/33443/The_Fake_Trade_New_____2_2
Title: Dreaming in China
By: Deborah Fallow
Title: The Fake Trade
By: Channel 4.
At a restaurant with friends, a delicate choreography will have one person carefully select a few choice morsels from the common bowl and place them on a neighbour's plate. Itis a small, perfect gesture. Another person will pour tea or beer for everyone else before even considering pouring his own. And then, another will announce, "Gei Wo yan!". literally "give me salt!" with no sign of a plese or thank you involved. I'm always taken aback and, after so many years of training children in Western table manners, bite my tongue to stifle a "say please!"
While preparing for this class, I scoured the net for youtube clips and tangents that would "hook" my students. They are at an age where they know their brands better than I do, their eyes glazed by the glitz and glamour of haute couture strutting down the cat walk, so I picked knock-off goods as a way in. This documentary - "the fake trade" - by channel 4 was very useful because it showed the far reach of counterfeit goods - that they were no longer limited to small market stalls in asia hawking imitation LVs, Hermes, Pradas, Burberry but also to the US and the UK, affecting even pharmaceutical companies - even nature has lost its monopoly - chicken eggs (once a "product" of nature) have been counterfeited.
These companies had built massive factories in China in the 1990s, sold to prospect of higher profits and lower wages per worker. The documentary reckons that one in four parts (of a car/ airplane etc) are counterfeits even when we buy them from legitimate suppliers. This is scary - Quantas has been in the news recently for repeated engine failures on many of its airplanes - were any of these parts 'supplied by' engine manufacturer, Rolls Royce made in parallel Rolls Royce factories in China and sold as real parts? The line between what's real and what's not is blurring; China is the new frontier.
The 2 segment documentary can be found at the following links. They have been divided into four parts of 24 minutes each.
http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/33409/the_fake_trade_1_2/
http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/33410/the_fake_trade_2_2/
http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/33411/the_fake_trade_new___/
http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/33443/The_Fake_Trade_New_____2_2
Title: Dreaming in China
By: Deborah Fallow
Title: The Fake Trade
By: Channel 4.
No comments:
Post a Comment