Smile, With 8 Teeth Showing: Remarkable Portrait Of China Emerges In Oscar-Shortlisted ‘Ascension’
deadline.comIn just a few days the Winter Olympic Games begin in Beijing, a massive event China will use to present an idealized image of itself to the world.For a truer picture of China, in all its complexities and contradictions, ignore the Olympic pageantry and check out the documentary Ascension.
The Oscar-shortlisted film, directed by Jessica Kingdon, creates a nuanced portrait of contemporary China, with emphasis on its increasingly stratified class system.Ascension begins with aspiring workers pouring into cities in search of opportunity. “A lot of it is migrant laborers,” Kingdon notes, “people from the countryside coming in.”There are plenty of jobs, for those who don’t mind menial labor at less than munificent wages.
Loudspeakers tout the advantages of signing up for one employer over another.“Now recruiting, jobs at a foreign company,” one announcement says. “Factories and dorms with air conditioning.
Standard uniform is required. Seated work available.”If that doesn’t sound appealing, there are other options: “Hiring now, free ride to the factory!” “Dorm and food provided, no health test required.”But would-be applicants often face restrictions: “No hair dye.
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