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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 23 of 23. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Beckett on February 14, 2012, at 18:59:57
I read this days ago and find it haunting. I had no idea the factories were so immense. So I wanted to share. It concerns Apple's dealings with Foxconn and along the way talks about how the factories function. It is a fairly brief transcript or podcast.
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/2/10/apple_accustomed_to_profits_and_praise
Posted by sigismund on February 14, 2012, at 19:55:30
In reply to Foxconn In China, posted by Beckett on February 14, 2012, at 18:59:57
Have you ever seen Mike Daisy?
He is AMAZING.
I must tell you about the show of his we saw one time.
Not the latest one. The one before.
Posted by sigismund on February 14, 2012, at 20:10:33
In reply to Re: Foxconn In China » Beckett, posted by sigismund on February 14, 2012, at 19:55:30
These distracting toys are made in Asia and end in Africa in places like this.....
Posted by sigismund on February 14, 2012, at 20:12:25
In reply to Re: Foxconn In China, posted by sigismund on February 14, 2012, at 20:10:33
Posted by sigismund on February 14, 2012, at 20:56:36
In reply to Hang on, posted by sigismund on February 14, 2012, at 20:12:25
Posted by Beckett on February 19, 2012, at 9:38:28
In reply to Re: Hang on, posted by sigismund on February 14, 2012, at 20:56:36
Well, that was heartbreaking and apalling.
I am posting all this on my iPad ironically.
I hadn't seen Mike Daisey, but after your comment, downloaded a podcast of This American Life and listened to an hour of his story on his Chinese visit. He's a fantastic storyteller. I wonder what show you saw.
Posted by sigismund on February 19, 2012, at 11:45:49
In reply to Agbogbloshie » sigismund, posted by Beckett on February 19, 2012, at 9:38:28
I forget what the show was called, but it involved the Solomon Islands or somewhere like that and was about money.
On walking in everyone was given an uneual amount of money, from $50 to $5. (It occurred to me later that if he could he might like to have handed out some fines.) So you went to your seat and stared at your money and compared it to everyone else and held it up to the light to see if it was real. Then he spoke for 2 hours telling stories the point of which was that money was what we worship. At the end he told us that in spite of everything he said he actually needed it back to pay his bills, because he had handed us the takings of the night. If we had enjoyed the show we might like to give him that money back and tell our friends.
The best live theatre I have ever seen.
Posted by Beckett on February 19, 2012, at 13:45:52
In reply to Re: Agbogbloshie » Beckett, posted by sigismund on February 19, 2012, at 11:45:49
sigi, I have often thought so much would remit if I lived in a town where I could walk to or attend good live theater.
There is nothing like theater.
Posted by sigismund on February 19, 2012, at 14:11:57
In reply to Theater » sigismund, posted by Beckett on February 19, 2012, at 13:45:52
This is it.............
The Last Cargo CultGroundbreaking monologist Mike Daisey returns with the story of his journey to a remote South Pacific island whose people worship America and its cargo. This narrative is woven against a searing examination of the international financial crisis that gripped the globe at the same moment. Confronting the financial system that dominates our world, Daisey wrestles with the largest questions of what the collapse means, and what it can tell us about our deepest values. Part adventure story and part memoir, he explores each culture to unearth a human truth between the seemingly primitive and achingly modern.
Praise for The Last Cargo Cult:
"One of the elite performers in the American theater...with an effortlessness that comes from years of spinning tales, he imbues this trip with the punch of the first explosion of an action movie."
NEW YORK TIMES"Perfectly balances humor and genuine angeran incredibly ballsy and humble indictment of the banking system, American materialism and the audience."
VARIETY"An intellectual omnivore with the theatrical authority and flair of a Gen-X Orson Welles."
SEATTLE TIMES"One of the most daring things I've ever seen in a theatrical performance. A brilliant storytellerhysterically funny."
THEATERMANIA"A hilarious and rueful commentary on consumerism, the financial crisis and our own misplaced values. Daisey is the natural heir to Spalding Gray."
NEW YORK POST"A wry, exuberant and hilarious response to the global financial meltdownDaisey remains equal parts philosopher, historian and social critic."
TIME OUT NEW YORK"Insightful and hilariousDaisey reminds us why we go to live theater in the first place."
ON PORTLAND"A seriously funny manhe makes cogent, provocative connections to reinforce his point that our hunger for money and material things is the true religion of the Western world."
ASSOCIATED PRESS"Comic and searing, a form of literary standup blending autobiography, history, and philosophy."
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER"Daiseys stories subvert your expectations and constantly ask us to engage. He travels from comic outbursts to moments of such quiet sincerity that you can hear a dollar bill drop in the audience."
BACKSTAGE"Sharp and funny. Nobody connects the dots the way Daisey does."
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS"Daisey deftly weaves multiple narratives together in unexpected and revelatory ways that get to the heart of the question, What is money and what is its effect on us?"
CULTUREBOT"Mike Daisey again proves that hes the best performance artist working in the United States. His charisma, his corrosive wit, his scorn, and his mountainous anger dont just amuse. They make you roar. And then they make you ponder. Simply put, Daisey is the best sit-down comic youll ever see."
EDGE NEW YORK
Posted by sigismund on February 19, 2012, at 14:15:48
In reply to Our deepest values, posted by sigismund on February 19, 2012, at 14:11:57
I too was reminded of Spalding Gray, but Daisey is much more confronting.
Posted by Beckett on February 20, 2012, at 12:10:34
In reply to Re: Our deepest values, posted by sigismund on February 19, 2012, at 14:15:48
This is what I was able to find on podcast:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/454/mr-daisey-and-the-apple-factoryAnd this talk in Sydney on YouTube from late 2011:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7mun2TRCbg&feature=youtube_gdata_player
I would love to see Cargo Cult. I watched an excerpt on YouTube.
Posted by sigismund on February 20, 2012, at 12:46:17
In reply to Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory, posted by Beckett on February 20, 2012, at 12:10:34
He was in Sydney a few years ago for the writers festival when he put on the last cargo cult. I kept on seeing him at different sessions. I seemed like he was interested in everything.
Posted by sigismund on February 20, 2012, at 20:17:02
In reply to Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory, posted by Beckett on February 20, 2012, at 12:10:34
I'm halfway through. He is so good. The image of him outside the Foxcon plant wearing a Hawaiian shirt is quite something. He is a big man. A fat man. (He would say himself, rather like Dostoyevsky starting Notes from Underground). In person he is very active. He gets hot and looks unwell. I almost found myself praying for his health.
Posted by sigismund on February 20, 2012, at 20:28:06
In reply to Re: Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory, posted by sigismund on February 20, 2012, at 12:46:17
And it reminds me of the hush that went over the room. Like on the link when he says 'Do you really think that Apple doesn't know.........Do you think it's credible that they don't know or are they all doing what we're all doing.....they just see what they want to see?'
There were moments like that in The Last Cargo Cult, a sort of a shocked and impressed silence. It was that which made it the most impressive theatre I have ever been to.
Posted by sigismund on February 20, 2012, at 20:35:31
In reply to Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory, posted by Beckett on February 20, 2012, at 12:10:34
Isn't he wonderful?
Posted by Beckett on February 21, 2012, at 8:55:36
In reply to Re: Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory, posted by sigismund on February 20, 2012, at 20:28:06
This had me in tears, this transition here. There are more layers of meaning than I can say.
It's a long day. At the end of it I'm packing up everything to go, and Kathy says something to me out of nowhere. She says, do you think these people are mentally ill? Do you think it is possible they are making all this up? And I look at her as though for the first time, because I mean, let's be clear. She's my Chinese worker. I pay her for her time. I don't think about her very much at all. But now I really look at her. She is exactly who all these workers I've been talking to for weeks, she is exactly what they are all dreaming that their children will one day be. She has a good life in the center of Shenzhen for her, for her family. What does this look like to her?
I say to her, what do you think? Do you think they're mentally ill? And she suddenly looks very tired. She takes off her glasses, and she rubs the bridge of her nose. And she says, no, I do not think they are mentally ill. It's just that you hear stories, but you do not think it is going to be so much. You know? It's just so much.
And I reach across the table, and I touch her hand. It's the first and last time we will ever touch, I and this woman whose real name I don't even know. I say to her, I know exactly what you mean.
Posted by sigismund on February 21, 2012, at 18:07:25
In reply to Re: Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory, posted by Beckett on February 21, 2012, at 8:55:36
Yes.
So often in his performance the whole audience seemed breathless to me. He says it with a great deal of feeling, gets up out of his seat and walks around.
This is why, at the end of The Last Cargo Cult he could say in effect, well I know we worship this sh*t, but I have rent to pay and bills and all the usual stuff, so if you feel the performance has been any good, you can give me the money back, and tell your friends and come next time.
Posted by Beckett on March 18, 2012, at 22:28:54
In reply to Re: Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory, posted by sigismund on February 21, 2012, at 18:07:25
This American Life broadcast this retraction today. Here's the podcast and link to the transcript.
Posted by Beckett on March 19, 2012, at 13:41:03
In reply to Our deepest values, posted by sigismund on February 19, 2012, at 14:11:57
It seems to be heating up a little Delivered to my inbox.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/evanosnos/2012/03/mike-daiseys-mistakes-in-china.html
Posted by sigismund on March 19, 2012, at 15:39:13
In reply to Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory: Retraction TAL, posted by Beckett on March 18, 2012, at 22:28:54
When I saw The Last Cargo Cult I never felt that I was watching something that was journalistically true. He had in that show many conversations that seemed there for dramatic effect. The show depends on it being true to be effective dramatically. I don't know how you square that.
Posted by Beckett on March 19, 2012, at 19:32:15
In reply to Re: Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory: Retraction TAL, posted by sigismund on March 19, 2012, at 15:39:13
Two aspects interest me. Why Daisey agreed to air on This American Life and obscure the fact-check process, and how his audience is invested in the various versions of the truths he presented.
I know I was moved. I also believed on a literal level. I was surprised, but now I am just curious.
Posted by sigismund on March 20, 2012, at 0:23:03
In reply to Re: Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory: Retraction TAL, posted by Beckett on March 19, 2012, at 19:32:15
>and how his audience is invested in the various versions of the truths he presented.
You are referring to what they like about it?
Which is not just the meaning of the text but the creation of significance and empathy.
He should not, of course, allowed it to be put out on This American Life. The whole argument is something of a red herring.
Posted by Beckett on March 20, 2012, at 9:20:03
In reply to Re: Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory: Retraction TAL, posted by sigismund on March 20, 2012, at 0:23:03
>
> Which is not just the meaning of the text but the creation of significance and empathy.Yes, that's a nice way to put it. In this context I think of my desire as he performed for the stories to be true, not completely unlike a child hearing a fantastic tale. This would implicate me in some of the exoticism mentioned by the NYer blogger..
>The whole argument is something of a red herring.Whose argument?
I listened to the Daisey portion again, and if only he had not had it aired. Because the piece was not built for the scrutiny it is receiving. And now the indignation by those other than TAL. You used the word 'square'. Theater and journalism do not always neatly.
This is the end of the thread.
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