Title: The China Question
Director: Brook Silva-Braga
Starring: Brook Silva-Braga
The discussion of international economics, politics and morals, particularly in a documentary, often turns people away if they’re not watching it for a school assignment. But director Brook Silva-Braga proves in his new movie ‘The China Question’ that when a subject truly affects people, particularly in a negative manner, they’ll be more intrigued to look further into the manner. With the current decline in the U.S. job market, Americans will surely be fascinated with the filmmaker’s questioning of why factory jobs are being shipped to China. They’ll also be curious why products are continuously being produced so cheaply in China instead of America.
‘The China Question’ follows Silva-Braga’s mission to understand the economic, politic and moral repercussions of China’s rise as the leading exporter of products to the United States. The filmmaker spent 2009 traveling across both America and China, interviewing experts, including historians and authors, as well as citizens. The filmmaker was determined to find out their thoughts on the increasing number of products China ships to America, and to discover how this process affects both economies.
Silva-Braga was effectively able to raise empathy towards American factory workers who are negatively affected by America’s continued purchasing of discounted products. One of the most emotional scenes in ‘The China Question’ is when he travels to Demopolis, Alabama, which used to be the home to one of the factories of the cap brand New Era. After the company closed its plant in the city, due to declining hat sales, over 300 people lost their jobs. As one of Demopolis’ largest employers and one of the few remaining factories in the city before it closed, the workers are now struggling to find other jobs. New Era officially stated that it was moving all of its business to its headquarters in Buffalo, New York, but Silva-Braga found a worker in China claiming that New Era is indeed shipping jobs overseas to save money.
As Fudan University Executive Vice Dean of the Institute of International Affairs and Professor Shen Dingli told Silva-Braga, American’s patriotism is declining, due to the loss of jobs, as seen in Demopolis. While Americans may be happy while they’re at the store buying cheap products that were made in China, Silva-Braga proves the only people winning in the transfer of factories to China are the company officials. Since the public continues to buy products at cheap prices, the company officials see no reason to keep jobs in America; they can continue to hire workers in China for lower wages.
Silva-Braga also raises compassion for the Chinese factory workers as well. While Americans may be upset that their jobs are being taken away and given to the Chinese, ‘The China Question’ shows what little pay they actually make. For only $200 a month, Chinese workers must stay in sometimes dangerous conditions in the factories for long hours. The low wages can also be contributed to the fact that the government must make 25 million new jobs a year to accommodate the growing population.
‘The China Question’ DVD, which features over an hour of deleted scenes and extended features in its bonus features section, will be released on June 7, 2011. While Silva-Braga is not yet a well-known filmmaker, anyone interested in seeing how the production of cheap goods in China and their sale to the U.S. affects the American and Chinese economies, job forces and governments, should see the documentary; they’ll be pleasantly surprised how much insight the director presents on the subject.
Technical: B
Story: A-
Bonus Features: A-
Overall Score: A-
Written by: Karen Benardello
