Film/TV Jun 11, 2009 at 4:00 am

The Best Science Fiction of the Decade Is About Mexican Labor in the 21st Century

Comments

1
Yay, more Cyberpunk. Interested to see this, especially being from Mexico. Foreign films tend to be a bit more intelligent than US films =o]
2
Sounds cool. Always looking for a fresh take on the dystopian cyberpunk genre. If its anything like Bladerunner than it is probably worth watching.
3
Sweet, we've got this and soon _Moon_... I can't remember when I had this much quality SF on my plate at the same time!
4
You say "neoliberalism" several times. Is this turn of phrase from the movie? If it's not, I'm wondering what world you live in where neoliberalism is equated with worker exploitation rather than a living wage, stronger unions, collective bargaining, and respect for others.

While this may not be the place for it, I'm tired of people buying the right wing talking point that liberal is a bad word. It's the political version of "That's gay." at this point. It doesn't refer to any actual political stance. It's just an insult for the sake of insult something you don't like on a visceral level. Seeing that sort of thing in the relatively left leaning Stranger is just sad.
5
maybe if people didn't come to this country illegally they wouldn't be taken advantage of and would be protected under the laws and rights granted to a US citizen...

6
You totally forgot to mention Tank Girl.
7
Well, the average low income Mexican worker doesn't enjoy those kinds of rights in Mexico, so I'm guessing they feel they have nothing to lose by coming here illegally.
8
@4 Please google the term "neoliberalism" and stop making progressives look like idiots.
9
@4 - In the rest of the world "Neo-liberalism" refers to the pre-20th century definition of economic liberalism="free" markets.

If you call yourself a "liberal" in Latin America(my experience) you then have to explain that you don't support Cheney/Bush or Milton Friedman or the Chicago Boys or the IMF/World Bank. Most politically aware Latin Americans, right and left, know all about these neo-liberal economic theories and policies and proponents.

The Obama administration(as Clinton's before) support those same policies as well, at least for the rest of the world, but seem to get a pass. Read or re-read The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein and see how many economists that helped loot South America, Asia, and Eastern Europe you recognize now appointed to the Obama economic team.
10
@4 - In the rest of the world "Neo-liberalism" refers to the pre-20th century definition of economic liberalism="free" markets.

If you call yourself a "liberal" in Latin America(my experience) you then have to explain that you don't support Cheney/Bush or Milton Friedman or the Chicago Boys or the IMF/World Bank. Most politically aware Latin Americans, right and left, know all about these neo-liberal economic theories and policies and proponents.

The Obama administration(as Clinton's before) support those same policies as well, at least for the rest of the world, but seem to get a pass. Read or re-read The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein and see how many economists that helped loot South America, Asia, and Eastern Europe you recognize now appointed to the Obama economic team.
11
they're takin' our cyber-jobs!
12
I saw this last year at SIFF and it's not that great at all. The threadbare story, bland performances, and distractingly cheap FX make it a chore to sit through. Watching someone virtually work on a construction site is about as interesting as watching them physically work. The biggest problem is somewhat elaborated on in the article - the film is about something that's already occurring today. Usually the best sci-fi is used as a tool to reflect on society or humanity in ways not limited by reality. The film would have been far more effective if it dropped the sci-fi trappings entirely and presented a realistic story of a migrant worker - dressing it up in futuristic garb doesn't provide any further insight into the situation or the characters at all. Instead you get gatling guns and omnipresent cameras as symbols of oppression (original!), a cliched romance, and weak excuses for some explosions at the end.
13
@4 - To build on what SoSea said, neo-liberalism refers to the doctrine that if markets are opened and workers are given the right to work in competitive export-oriented industries (rather than in traditional subsistence farming jobs), the wealth that comes into the country through industrialization will lift all the boats and the people will live happily ever after. Taiwan, S. Korea, and Singapore are examples of showcases of neo-liberal philosophy. They're nice enough places, if you like that sort of thing. Unfortunately, for every showcase there are dozens of failures (see SoSea's message).

Charles Mudede used the word in this context and if you're familiar with his body of work or his lectures at SCCC, he is decidedly NOT a liberal-baiter in the Rush and Hannity vein.
14
@12
your review is "not that great at all". Sleep Dealer is a good sci-fi movie that may not be to your taste, full stop. Nothing more needs to be said. But to compare it to what passes for a story in hollywood? - all out pornographic violence, explosions, macho pissing contests in space, over the top shoot outs (that somehow the protagonist always, always excapes from) testosterone-torrid-torture scenes, imbecilic one liners, retarded supporting roles for women, superfluous romanctic plot, oh and did I mention explosions?(now that IMO is boring). If you like that go see that and make some idiot richer, but why trash a new director? I am sure you have better things to do. It may be slow but the story has significance and no it's not really what is happening YET!!! Nodes? Memory download?
15
@12
your review is "not that great at all". Sleep Dealer is a good sci-fi movie that may not be to your taste, full stop. Nothing more needs to be said. But to compare it to what passes for a story in hollywood? - all out pornographic violence, explosions, macho pissing contests in space, over the top shoot outs (that somehow the protagonist always, always excapes from) testosterone-torrid-torture scenes, imbecilic one liners, retarded supporting roles for women, superfluous romanctic plot, oh and did I mention explosions?(now that IMO is boring). If you like that go see that and make some idiot richer, but why trash a new director? I am sure you have better things to do. It may be slow but the story has significance and no it's not really what is happening YET!!! Nodes? Memory download?
16
YET!!!

I am sure you mean YET!??!

There are two answers to that rhetorical question for those of you in the *real seats, they answer is yes, and as you are aware you must bow down and fully submit to everything that is false and wrong with this world, as misery loves company and those who secretly live off of the work of others and justify your taking away from them with the false belief of the working class not being hurt by events they are not aware of,

those who already live off the others hard so that they may reap the majority of the benefits of another's hard work without ever lifting a finger (know as the dispensation of Heaven)

are well aware of the hell they created because they believe they are entitled to it, and they aren't about to let you "fix" anything, as that would prove that the lies they tell themselves to justify stealing from the very class of people that they now abuse, will be damned if you turn the lights on so that they may see

The know the truth, like they did when the demanded an innocent man executed, better one should die then all of the people spoken of in the scriptures as Jews

The irony is that not only is such a world, YET occurring, ("yet" with the meaning asked by Ephraim's father, when he asked his dipshit brothers (not blood related but the same species); "...I am Joseph; doth my father yet live?..." ))

YET because he does not say "Here" his idiot brothers (in the biblical sense or the history of the Oregon of Man) fail to see the error in their behavior and choose to remain in the dark, but as these days serve as the line that defines the difference between those who desire to learn , and those who choose to not, their origin will not be to pass through new gates and their story is Or is gone, as in they can choose to live in the house of human being honestly, or they is gone from the books and all chapters of Life in this house. But nobody get's forced to do what they cannot understand, so they will on their own voluntarily return to houses they do comprehend

but we will see, as of yet this is only my hope, of course someone with more knowledge and wisdom will tell me that it's impossible for me to make such statements with any degree of certainty, that my words are nothing more than wishful thinking

Those who receive word from the "multitude" of those behind the scenes generally make fairly accurate predictions of all forms and tenses of any word
17
sorry bout that, the short version of all that complicated gibbrish, without the expletives, is NO

NO I will not bow down

Please wait...

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