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REVIEWS / COMPTES RENDUS
| Tom Zaniello, The Cinema of Globalization: A Guide to Films About the New Economic Order (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press 2007)
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| FILM GUIDES ARE a curious form of literary text. They require a great deal of writing because they often cover substantial amounts of material and yet they do not require the creation of a sustained argument like a monograph. Metaphorically, they are more like postcards rather than letters – brief statements that are meant to encapsulate a specific moment or express a mood. In the case of film guides the text is meant to provide an assessment of the worth of the films that are also described. Description and assessment are the two essentials because users of guides are looking for short bursts of information to help them decide about a particular film. |
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Tom Zaniello is an academic at Northern Kentucky University and an Adjunct Professor with the National Labor College's George Meany Center for Labor Studies. Among other books, he has published a previous guide titled Riffraff: An Expanded Guide to Films about Labor, which, I suspect, has contributed content to this new book. |
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He is an educator and this book is meant to help other educators discover films that help them discuss issues of globalization and labour with students of the subject. While the goal is worthy, the key question concerns Zaniello's success or failure in its pursuit. |
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The book begins with an introduction that outlines the terminology and issues associated with globalization and provides a list of recommended readings. It offers two ways of accessing the films – by title or by topic/ key term. The films are listed in alphabetical order with topic areas underneath. There is a topic index at the back of the book, which allows one to pick a film or films under the topic area and then return to the main text alphabetically under the film's title to access its description and assessment. There are suggested readings associated with each film. The mechanics of searching through the material work well in general, though films on the same topic can be spread throughout the book, which means that flipping through the book to compare commentaries on each film can be irritating. Sticky notes help. The commentaries themselves range in length from half a page to a full page per film with text that uses small script. So there is sufficient detail to imagine the film's content and approach. The technical details on the film's length, director, and distributor are also available for each film. |
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There are two hundred films covered in the guide, including animation, documentary, and feature films from the 1970s to the present day. As a reference work the book covers the field well, but it is aimed toward an American market with us distributors and a us orientation and approach. What do I mean by "us orientation and approach?" Under the topic of "Canada" there are 3 entries out of 201! In contrast Wal-Mart gets 17 entries because it is an important socioeconomic phenomenon in the us, more entries than "oil" or "outsourcing." The recommended readings, when taken from newspapers, are usually American. This does not mean that Latin America, Asia, Europe, and Africa don't get coverage. They do. It means that even for an internationally oriented guide, it is still predominantly American in its focus and viewpoint. However, Zaniello should be complimented on his serious efforts to include a wide range of titles from different national film cultures. |
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What about the writing itself? The publicity blurb for the book describes the writing as "smart, concise, and funny." I wouldn't go quite that far. Judge for yourself. For example, on the topic of neocolonialism, he offers the following description of a Belgium/Benin co-production in French titled Divine Carcasse (1998) that uses the fate of an imported Peugeot that is turned into a fetish as an allegory of the neocolonial relationship: "Secondhand neocolonialism becomes first-class colonized semideity: the perennial struggle in African films between modernizing forces and cultural traditions is resolved in a curious way. As a car the Peugeot works fitfully; as a divinity it works superbly. As a former colony Benin must turn shadows of things into realities." |
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These rather cryptic phrases and sentences are insightful, but they are often left as "shadows of things" for readers rather than realities. The smartness, conciseness, and laughter may belong more to the films. Even so, Zaniello is a lively writer with his own idiosyncratic style, who comes across as someone engaged in his topic. He likes films and this shows. |
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He has produced a valuable guide that offers a wide selection of material for use in labour studies courses. It is doubtful that people who work in this field would know even half the films he discusses. And for those who know only what comes across the big screen from time to time, it is a revelation. So here is something of value. The topic is important, the approaches to it are varied, the subject areas he has identified are extensive, and he has been able to muster a valuable multinational commentary on globalization. He has met his goal. On the other hand, the users of the guide, if they were to access the majority of the films available, would have several years of viewing ahead of them, which is overwhelming. But I am sure that Zaniello's generous listing of films is meant to encourage disciplined selectivity in consumption. A guide is not something one consumes from beginning to end; one dips into it with specific purposes in mind. |
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GEORGE MELNYK
University of Calgary |
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