Globalization

This edition of Life looks at how Uganda has achieved a remarkable turnaround over the last ten years by halving the number of Ugandans living in absolute poverty and questions whether Uganda could now be on course to meet the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.    (26 minutes)

“Another World is Possible:  North American Voices at the World Social Forum”

This video documents the experience of community- based organizations from the U.S. at the 2002 World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil. It features the dynamic Jobs with Justice delegation, other allies from the U.S., and special messages from international activists and friends. It includes a brief overview of the FTAA and corporate-led globalization.  (22 minutes)

"Black Gold" 

Do you know where your latte comes from? Follow Ethiopian coffee co-op manager Tadesse Meskela as he travels the world seeking fair trade policies for his growers in the exploding international coffee market.  This mesmerizing documentary tells the dark back-story of coffee, from the raw bean to your to-go cup. (2006/ 78 minutes/ Iron Weed Film Club)

“(The) Coffee-Go-Round (Life 4:  The Millennium Series)”  DVD     

The world’s 25 million coffee farmers receive less than one percent of the price of a cup of coffee sold in a coffee bar.  This video visits Ethiopia, the cradle of coffee cultivation, and speaks to players in the international coffee trade to find out how individual coffee growers can survive the boom and bust of the global coffee market.  (26 minutes)

Shilmundi is a village in southeastern Bangladesh, very nearly the poorest and certainly the most densely populated country in the world. Its inhabitants live on the edge of poverty, for the big banks of Bangladesh, like other banks around the world, don’t lend money to the rural poor. But the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee does. This video shows how taking out a loan revolutionized the lives of the village women, not only increasing their incomes, but helping to improve their health and that of their children. (23 minutes)

“Danger Ahead!  The FTAA is Coming Your Way”

The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) is a proposed trade agreement that would extend NAFTA to the entire western hemisphere. A whole new set of rules could potentially privatize all of our public services and get rid of laws protecting workers, public health and the environment. Through the words of labor and community activists, this video explains how the FTAA would affect manufacturing workers/job loss... all of us!  It ends with inspiring scenes of resistance and the clear message that WE CAN STOP the FTAA!  (18 minutes)

"Doing the Right Thing"

An amazing transformation has occurred in Porto Alegre, Brazil: unemployment has fallen, public transportation is excellent, and poor neighborhoods have improved dramatically. These changes are due to a process of direct democracy known as the "Participatory Budget." This process gives citizens a say in how their city is run and spawns exceptional neighborhood leadership. It devotes the bulk of the city’s resources to renewing the infrastructure of the town’s slum areas and improving living standards for its neediest residents. The video follows the stories of two women leaders, both born in slum areas, who are making a difference in their community.    (28 minutes)

Fair Trade: The Story

A short film highlighting the role of TransFair USA in the ever-growing Fair Trade movement as they advocate for fair wages and better working conditions for farmers and their families in developing nations. (2006/ 8 minutes/ Iron Weed Film Club)

“Geraldo’s Brazil (Life 4:  The Millennium Series)”  DVD     

This film looks at the effects of globalization over the past five years through the life and eyes of Geraldo Da Souza (a laid off worker at the Ford factory in Sao Paolo).  (27 minutes)

Geraldo De Sousa worked his way out of a shanty town in Sao Paulo. His job at the Ford car factory supported his family and enabled them to move to a new apartment. Then suddenly, and through no fault of his own, Geraldo found there wasn’t any work for him anymore. He was told it was because of the financial crisis in faraway Southeast Asia. Was that just an excuse or the harsh reality of the new globalized economy? In this film, Geraldo sets out to find the answer.  (23 minutes)

"Globalization and Africa: Which Side Are We On?"

With film clips of local struggles in the townships of South Africa, material from the Durban Anti-Racism Conference (9/01) and the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (1/02), this video raises questions about the impact of globalization on ordinary South Africans. It also looks at the stance taken by the African National Congress politicians - increasingly a part of those elite global institutions targeted by anti-globalization groups. (55 minutes)

“Interfaith Program Video: Agent of Change”
This short video is a great conversation starter and introduction to Fair Trade. From the mountains of Nicaragua to a congregation in the United States, this video traces your cup of coffee and the impact of our consumer choices.  (11 minutes, VHS Format)

“Is Wal-Mart Good for America”  (Frontline)  

"Life: The Story So Far"

(First in the series)
This is the introductory video in a series about how the newly globalized world economy is affecting people across the planet. While many people are enjoying increased levels of economic prosperity, more than one billion people live in absolute poverty. This program asks whether the globalized economy is running out of control and whether ordinary people can still hope to share in its fabulous wealth. (23 minutes)

"Lines in the Dust"

The "Reflect" program uses participants’ own knowledge and experience as starting points for learning, and instead of importing textbooks from the outside, participants create their own learning materials. This video shows how villagers in northern Ghana and people in the Eastern Ghats of India are using "Reflect" to change their lives. Besides helping people learn to read and work with numbers, the "Reflect" program allows men and women to exchange ideas about their separate workloads, to stand up for their rights in the face of corporate exploitation, to earn more money for their families, and to grow in self-assurance. (28 minutes)

“(The) Millennium Goals:  Dream or Reality? (Life 4:  The Millennium Series)”  DVD  

"Pavements of Gold"

Urban poverty is one of the biggest challenges facing the world in the 21^st century. In 1950, 300 million people were living in urban areas; by 2001 there were 2.85 billion, or almost half of the world’s population. Set against the backdrop of Lima, Peru, this video examines the enduring magnetism of big cities and asks whether the migrants who have moved there now feel that city life is the answer to their problems. (28 minutes)

This video investigates the history of AIDS treatment in Africa. It details Uganda’s success with a UN-sponsored program of price reduction and medical education, and South Africa’s refusal to begin a national AIDS treatment program despite defeating a drug company court challenge to the government’s import and manufacture of generic anti-retroviral drugs. It also looks at the success of smaller programs that are bringing hope to many HIV-infected Africans. (28 minutes) Also listed under HIV/AIDS

“Reel to Real:  Balancing Acts (Life 4:  The Millennium Series)”  DVD     

This program, made in collaboration with women broadcasters and producers around the world, explores how women from very  different cultures, often faced with extremes of inequality, are taking on the status quo.  (23 minutes)

Thirty years of war have left Cambodia ravaged and poverty-stricken. Poverty, global tourism and corruption have combined to make it particularly vulnerable to the child labor industry. Children as young as 10 years old are trafficked into cities from rural areas to work as beggars, domestic laborers or laborers on construction sites. International trafficking gangs target poor families when poverty strikes hardest. In return for their children, the gangs offer "loans" which then accumulate into huge repayments, leaving children trapped in bondage for life. This video examines new efforts by the International Labor Organization and local groups to rescue children and stop the traffic. (28 minutes)

This documentary explores the nature and spectacular rise of the most pervasive institution of our time.  Combining analysis with footage from advertising, television news and industrial films, this program is an entertaining and provocative look at the inner workings, curious history, controversial impacts and possible futures of the modern global conglomerate.  (145 minutes)

This video helps viewers to understand the deeply destructive aspects of the corporate globalization of food. It shows how free trade policies, advanced mainly by the World Trade Organization (WTO), allows a handful of powerful corporations to control the world’s food system. These corporations, which enjoy enormous profits, are largely responsible for the destruction of the family farm economy in the U.S. and the eradication of the livelihoods of peasant farmers throughout the developing world. (2 parts, 25 minutes each. Study guide available.)

“The Take”     

"Trade Secrets: The Hidden Costs of the FTAA"

The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) would extend NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) to the entire western hemisphere, encompassing 31 more countries and another 400 million people. If implemented, the agreement would accelerate job loss and endanger environmental protections and basic public services like education and health care. This video, narrated by Mike Farrell, illustrates these very real dangers of so-called "free trade."   (16 minutes)

Everyone has heard about NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, but almost no one has heard about one of NAFTA’s obscure provisions, except for multinational corporations who are using it to challenge democracy. Trading Democracy by Bill Moyers is the first television investigation of NAFTA’s Chapter 11 - what has been called "an end run around the Constitution." Corporate investors are using Chapter 11 to attack public laws that protect our health and environment - and even to challenge jury verdicts. The cases are not heard in open court, but before international trade tribunals that rule in secret. The program details a system of private justice that is enabling companies to obtain covertly what they would be unlikely to achieve publicly in America’s legislatures or courts. (57 minutes)

“Wal-Mart:  The High Cost of Low Price”  DVD

“Whose Agenda Is It Anyway? (Life 4:  The Millennium Series)”  DVD     

This video explains the purpose and structure of the World Trade Organization and the effects of its decisions and sanctions. It helps viewers understand the language of the debate about the WTO and offers strategies for people of faith to address trade issues as part of their work for economic justice. Produced by the United Methodist Women. (26 minutes, Study guide available.)