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Title: Migrant labour Reference: Host, Marjorie Cohen; speaker, Stephen
Hellman. Abstract: Many countries in Europe have expanded and contracted their labour forces by importing “Guest Workers” from other poorer countries. This program looks at the social conditions which force workers to leave their countries to find work and at the outcome of their sojourn in host countries. Library of Congress subjects: Reviews and Numerical Ratings (2) Useful for showing the central role of immigration in post-WWII European economies, and the related cycle of dependency in labour-exporting countries. Analysis of labour migration is outdated, however, and therefore this film is only relevant for historically and region specific focus. Narrator is articulate but monotone and inanimate. Morgan Poteet (3) This documentary exposes the social conditions that propel individuals to abandon their native countries and become migrant labourers. It also demonstrates a series of issues that migrant workers experience upon arriving to foreign lands. For example, they are over-worked and under-paid, abused physically and verbally, and exposed to racism, and hostile xenophobic attitudes. Further, this video highlights the economic & political benefits of migrant work to both governments. Carlos Torres (undergraduate) (2) This film is very informative but unfortunately also dull and hard to follow. Steve Hellman, a political science professor at York University, narrates this film, but his expressionless voice and blank stare are boring for the viewer. The historical footage used intermittently throughout the film is interesting but I do not think it is enough to connect students to the film. Sarah Newman (2) The narrator, a York political scientist, is lucid
about the complex structural factors that pull and push migrant labour
in Europe. This is basically a well-organized mini-lecture, illustrated
with a series of clips of people working. I didn’t get the impression
that any of the images were filmed for this production, so their scope
is limited, e.g., I’d like to see something attesting to the racism
experienced by migrant workers. A good reading could achieve just as
much as this video, but getting a strong analysis across quickly could
have great appeal. (Note: this is the 2nd of a 2-part video. To get
to it, forward past the scenes of African art and the interview between
two women, until the “Counter Parts” title again appears
on the screen.) Kathy Bischoping
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