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Mardi Gras: Made in China

Where do those beads come from?

By PETER KEOUGH | April 25, 2006

3.0 Stars

MARDI GRAS: MADE IN CHINA: Where do those beads come from?

David Redman’s film takes a tiny aspect of globalization and makes a case about the new class warfare between corporations and individuals. He wonders where those beads come from that people exchange for nudity during Mardi Gras (an issue now overshadowed by Hurricane Katrina). He tracks them down to a Chinese factory that hires teenage girls from the provinces to work for pennies an hour around the clock in a concentration-camp environment. He shows the Chinese workers images of Mardi Gras revelers baring their tits for beads; the workers are embarrassed. He shows the revelers images of the laborers slaving to make the beads; the revelers feel guilty. Then both groups go about their business as if nothing had happened.

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