Review of Mardi Gras: Made in China (2005) by Elizabeth H — 09 Jun 2011

Very comprehensive look at the gaudy plastic ornamentation that has come to symbolize Mardi Gras and is the currency of choice for mammarian displays of pre-Lent revellers. The director walks a fine line between information gathering and casting a critical eye.

The film could as easily be a celebration of the success of global manufacturing as an expose of human rights abuses by the penny-pinching benefactors of cheap Chinese labor. There is some great industrial machinery footage of beads being churned out(check out Manufactured Landscapes for even more awe-inspiring industrial scenes).

The working conditions and mind numbing repetition are horrendous. The capricious rules and punishments of the Chinese factory owner make high-school principals look like anarchistic free-spirits. Just because there is no ready solution to the inequities of globalization, doesn't mean Mardi Gras goers shouldn't have a better understanding of beads even amidst their oblivious drunken stupors.

Bead Companies, come on man.