Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Blood, Sweat, T-Shirts & Bratty English Kids

Planet Green, in their attempt to enlighten us to the conditions in the garment sector of India, has begun airing Blood, Sweat & Tshirts. Originally produced by BBC, Planet Green is currently airing on Monday nights.

The premise of the show is something that really appealed to me. Having read "Travels of a T-shirt in a Global Economy" by Pietra Rivoli, I am quite familiar with the conditions and lifestyles that people endure in order to bring me my cheap tshirt. However, seeing it first hand and getting to experience it along side twenty somethings like myself, really caught my attention. Unfortunately, the show is more about 6 BRATTY SELF INVOLVED British kids "coping" with living in these atmospheres.


In the first episode the kids had to sew in a REALLY NICE sweat shop. Within hours, one had quit, and another had had a mini temper tantrum. I was so embarrassed to have been a Caucasian watching these kids openly mock the workers and their lifestyles.

Now, if you are interested in how a tshirt in India is made, the show is somewhat informative. The kids are living in conditions similar to the workers and are trying to get by on the working wage. Additionally, you do get to see the cotton mills, and sewing shops. However, I just watched 5 young adults argue over who was going to clean the squat toilet they stopped up, so my spirits are low.

If you are interested check out the listings on Planet Green for Blood, Sweat and Tshirts....

2 comments:

Maggie Cats said...

This is a perfect example of a concept that could have shown how reality television can be a force for good (by giving the audience an opportunity to learn and experience) but instead has been twisted and used for the forces of evil. Ugh.

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