Cinema of Globalization

Tom Zaniello's fascinating new guide to films about globalization—its origins, its relationship with colonialism, neocolonialism, the growth of migratory labor, and movements to counter or protest its adverse effects—offers readers and viewers the opportunity to both discover new films and see well-known works in a new way. From Afro@Digital to Zoolander, Zaniello discusses 201 films, including features such as The Constant Gardener, Dirty Pretty Things, and Syriana; documentaries and other nonfiction films such as Blue Vinyl, Darwin's Nightmare, and Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price; online films; and television productions. Zaniello casts a wide net to provide cinematic representations of globalization from all angles:-films about global labor and labor unions affected by globalization;-films about global capital and multinational corporations;-films about the transnational organizations (WB, IMF, WTO) most closely identified with globalization and global capital;-films about labor history and the daily life of working-class people as they relate to the development of globalization;-films about the environment directly related to changes in labor or capital; and-films about changes in both the workplace and the corporate office in the era of multinational corporations. Each entry in The Cinema of Globalization offers a summary of the main issues in the film and their relationship to globalization, sometimes a reference to the film's place in a director's work or tradition of cinema, and an often-opinionated assessment of the film's strengths and weaknesses. Like the best film guides, this book is an addictive reading experience full of ideas for future viewing. At the same time, it serves as an inviting and accessible introduction to a difficult topic—the central themes and aspects of globalization.To read Tom Zaniello's blog on the cinema of labor and globalization, featuring even more reviews, visit http://tzaniello.wordpress.com.

A clear and easy-to-navigate survey of films dealing with different aspects of globalization.... Strongly geared to educators, programmers and other concerned citizens, the main value of The Cinema of Globalization is simply in alerting the reader to the wealth of material that is out there awaiting discovery. The individual entries are generally informative on the content of films and the key issues covered.... It is a wonderful resource for dipping into and finding what you didn't know you were looking for., It was bound to happen. A societal trend gathers enough steam to warrant not just one movie or a handful of films, but an entire genre. Just so you think the genre didn't begin and end with Dirty Pretty Things, Tom Zaniello, has assembled an eminently workable guide to more than 200 films where globalization and the mobile market for human capital registers in the plot. Zaniello doesn't offer his own thumbs-up or thumbs-down. Rather, he gives a rather dispassionate plot summary and includes at least one article on the film-often, a published critical review-that prospective viewers can read for further context and insight. Zaniello points to additional literature on the broad subject areas of the filmmakers, as well as a topical index at book's end. Not surprisingly, Wal-Mart merits its own citation, one of the largest in the index. This could be an indispensable reference work for an eyes-open labor studies program. A credit course would be feasible, either on globalization films, or on labor films, based on Zaniello's earlier work. Or these could be extra-credit options. This would also serve as a terrific resource if students wanted to start a film discussion group, since distribution details for virtually every film listed are included.

Tom Zaniello is Director of the Honors Program at Northern Kentucky University and Adjunct Professor at the National Labor College, George Meany Center for Labor Studies. He is the author of Working Stiffs, Union Maids, Reds, and Riffraff: An Expanded Guide to Films about Labor, also from Cornell.