Boobs and beads can mean only one thing, Mardi Gras. The new film “Mardi Gras: Made in China” explores where those beads are traditionally thrown and manufactured, a journey starting in China and leading all the way to New Orleans. We discover the lives of several women who work at this factory, ranging in age from 16 to 18, and paid about 10 cents an hour.
Roger Wong, owner of Tai Kuen bead factory, says that if the workers make more than their quota for the day they can earn an extra 10 percent, but also lets us know that if they don’t make quota they are docked 5 percent. The boss seems almost oblivious to who will actually be seeing this film. At one point he goes so far as to say sometimes his workers sweat like black people. He is quite proud of his product and his workers, and wants us to believe that they are treated fairly and allowed to do “anything they like.” But that statement is juxtaposed with the fact that the workers report to working 14 to 16 hours a day, leaving them little time for much else other than sleep.
To make things worse, the factory workers are not allowed to talk on the job with the fear of being docked a day’s pay. They all live in the same facility, and are fed there as well. It is not unlike a prison; the employees sleep six to a room, eat cafeteria-style food, and aren’t allowed to leave except for one week a year, if they are lucky. Yet the owner maintains that his employees are happy. That there has never been a stoppage of work. But the girls who work there tell us they have gone on strike for better pay.
This is all counter-balanced by footage from Mardi Gras where rich kids yell, drink, and take off their clothes all to get these same beads. When asked if they know where the beads are from and who made them, most just stare blankly at the camera. One person asks “Is it bad?” When the response is China he asks “Thirteen year olds?” No, but they were paid 10 cents an hour. “That’s bad; don’t bring my conscience into this.” That seems like the general view, and he is more aware than most, but it is good to hear many of the partiers do feel a little remorse, even as they continue to party.
David Redmon, who directed the film along with Ashley Sabin, does a good job of not telling us what to think, but still raising valuable questions. Redmon asks both the factory workers, and the party-goers, about the two very different worlds, although neither is aware of the other. The main goal is to bring two disparate peoples together. In the rush to globalize, we may have lost our humanity, and the things that make being a person, be you American or Chinese, good and exciting.
These girls — and they are mostly girls (at least 90 percent, according to the owner) are definitely employed. On one trip home a father tells us that if his daughter wasn’t at the Tai Kuen factory she would be at another. This is probably the only shortfall in the film, that we can’t compare this factory’s conditions to the conditions of other plants. Without a broader understanding of how Chinese are treated and paid in other industries, we can’t tell if it has a negative impact or not. Either way, what is the price we pay for little trinkets? While the conditions may be bad what is worse is that what they make becomes mostly waste. According to the film, 90 percent of beads are thrown away at the end of Mardi Gras, which shows little respect to the people making them.
So the question is; will you show your boobs for a little trinket if you knew the people who made it? The sad answer in America is yes. So, anyone who wishes to understand the world in which we live today should put their shirts back on and go see this movie.
Brian Feist has a degree in video production and has produced several videos, including the film, “Sequel: The Movie.” He recently moved to Portland and works as a free-lance editor on music videos and other projects.
