The Sociology Video Project

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Title: The future of work

Rating: 2.9 out of 4

Reference: Toronto: CBC, 1996.
30 minutes
Call number: video 4557

Abstract: Examines the future of work. Economist Jeremy Rifkin foresees a calamity of global proportions. He warns that underemployment will cut the income stream necessary to uphold production/consumption ratio and the economy will collapse as it did before the Great Depression. Economic historian Stanley Hartt says the transition will be painful but there is no turning back.

Reviews and Numerical Ratings

3 Heavily dependent on Jeremy Rifkin's book, The End of Work, this short documentary explores themes relating to the so-called New Economy & its impact on work. This video would be valuable to explain ideas such as technological determinism, the information society, & their impact on work. What's interesting about this video is what's missing: issues of gender & race on the nature of work organization. This video would be particularly good if instructors encouraged students to critique Rifkin's ideas that technologically replacement of workers is inevitable, and that race & gender are not factors in the stratification of work. My pedagogical rating of this video is “3", my general rating of it would be a “2". Sam Ladner

2 Interviewer too wide-eyed. Pace is slow: first 5 minutes establish only that technology eliminates some jobs; next 5, that it is workers who can’t join the new “knowledge sector” who are vulnerable. Yawn. I’d rather read this than watch it. Kathy Bischoping

4 Viewers will appreciate the enlightening & fascinating materials presented in this video - its rich content will surely stimulate students. This provocative video will raise many issues & concerns for its viewers regarding their future in the economy. This video an excellent choice to evoke classroom discussions from students across the curriculum of Sociology & Business. It included two opposing interviews regarding the future economy from economists Jeremy Rifkin & Stanley Hartt, which makes the overall of this video excellent because it is non-biased. Students will find the content straightforward, clear, & comprehensible - so it’s appropriate for students at any level of the curriculum. This video would be a great choice for the curriculum & the sociology video festival. Minh Hoang (undergraduate)

2.5 Doesn’t demonstrate information on the new economy; useful only for a class on Jeremy Rifkin’s thesis, “The end of work”. Kate Laxer & Riley Olstead

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