POST 13: OUTSOURCING/OFFSHORING: Two Cartoons

The frist image is a cartoon made by the cartoonist named Matson where we can see Mitt Romney who is the 70th governor of Massachusetts but he also was Republican party's nominee for president of the United states in the 2012 election against the actual president of the U.S.A ,Barack Obama .On the boat next to him named '' Believin' in america '' are his grandchildren who are watching him and chatting with him. Romney is digging a hole in the sand of the cayman islands that are tax havens to put all his money in it . He is talking to his grandchildren and telling them that he offshores his money so he won't have to pay taxes in the united states and that he outsources jobs so he doesn't have to pay more wages and benefits to workers . This cartoon denounces not only Mitt Romney but also politicians that win good wages and that put their money in tax havens so they won't have to pay 

taxes in their own country.The boat is named "believin' in America" which is ironic because Mitt Romney is kind of betraying the U.S.A by transfering all his money to the Cayman islands.

The second image is a cartoon named "simply explained part 10 : offshore"made by Geek and Poke,in this cartoon we can see two men Talking to eachother ,one man is wearing a bue short with a red tie and the other Man is wearing a green shirt.We can suppose they are colleages and that they work in the same company.The man with the blue shirt and the red tie is talking about offshoring one of his companies in another country because in the country where the actual company is the workers are too demanding for them , they want to get paid , which looks like common sense to us but 

apparently they are outraged by the workers demand to have wages.This cartoon denounces big businesses that offshore their companies to countries where they don't have to pay the employees and when they pay them it's not enough for them to survive .It also criticizes bosses that only think about their firm and not about the workers needs.

To conclude we can say that these two cartoons represent the notion "spaces and exchanges" .First of all because the themes of the cartoons are offshoring which can be related to spaces because it means that entreprises move to a country to another for many different reasons , and the term of outsourcing can be related to exchanges because politicians or important people move their money to one Space to another.

POST 12: EXCHANGES IN REAL/PHYSICAL SPACES

Spaces & Exchanges

in Real Spaces

Find definitions for the following sub-notions (mostly on www.en.wikipedia.org)

1.INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION

International migration occurs when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum length of time. Migration occurs for many reasons. Many people leave their home countries in order to look for economic opportunities in another country. Others migrate to be with family members who have migrated or because of political conditions in their countries. Education is another reason for international migration, as students pursue their studies abroad.While there are several different potential systems for categorizing international migrants, one system organizes them into nine groups: temporary labour migrants; irregular, illegal, or undocumented migrants; highly skilled and business migrants; refugees; asylum seekers; forced migration; family members; return migrants; and long-term, low-skilled migrants. These migrants can also be divided into two large groups, permanent and temporary. Permanent migrants intend to establish their permanent residence in a new country and possibly obtain that country’s citizenship. Temporary migrants intend only to stay for a limited periods of time; perhaps until the end of a particular program of study or for the duration of a their work contract or a certain work season. Both types of migrants have a significant effect on the economies and societies of the chosen destination country and the country of origin. 

2.MIXED/HYBRID LANGUAGES

A mixed language is a language that arises through the fusion of two source languages, normally in situations of thorough bilingualism, so that it is not possible to classify the resulting language as belonging to either of the language families that were its sources. 

3. HUMAN INTERACTION/INTERDEPENDENCE

Interdependence is a relationship in which each member is mutually dependent on the others. This concept differs from a dependence relationship, where some members are dependent and some are not.

Human interaction is communication of any sort, for example two or more people talking to each other, or communication among groups, organizations, nations or states: trade, migration, foreign relations, transportation.

4.TECHNOLOGY TRANSFERS
Technology Transfer also called Transfer of Technology (TOT) and Technology Commercialisation , is the process of transferring skills, knowledge, technologies, methods of manufacturing, samples of manufacturing and facilities among governments or universities and other institutions to ensure that scientific and technological developments are accessible to a wider range of users who can then further develop and exploit the technology into new products, processes, applications, materials or services.

5. OUTSOURCING/OFFSHORING

Outsourcing is the contracting out of an internal business process to a third party organization. The practice of contracting a business process out to a third party rather than staffing it internally is common in the modern economy. The term "outsourcing" became popular in the United States near the turn of the 21st century. Outsourcing sometimes involves transferring employees and assets from one firm to another but not always.

Offshoring describes the relocation by a company of a business process from one country to another—typically an operational process, such as manufacturing, or supporting processes, such as accounting. Even state governments employ offshoring. More recently, offshoring has been associated primarily with the sourcing of technical and administrative services supporting domestic and global operations from outside the home country, by means of internal (captive) or external (outsourcing) delivery models.

6. BRAIN DRAIN

Brain drain (or human capital flight), is the large-scale emigration of a large group of individuals with technical skills or knowledge. The reasons usually include two aspects which respectively come from countries and individuals. In terms of countries, the reasons may be social environment (in source countries: lack of opportunities, political instability or oppression, economic depression, health risks, etc.; in host countries: rich opportunities, political stability and freedom, developed economy, better living conditions, etc.).

7. INTERNATIONAL/GLOBALIZED TRADE

International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services acrossinternational borders or territories.In most countries, such trade represents a significant share of gross domestic product (GDP). While international trade has been present throughout much of history (see Silk Road, Amber Road), its economic, social, and political importance has been on the rise in recent centuries.

Globalization (or globalisation—see spelling differences) is the process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas, and other aspects of culture. Put in simple terms, globalization refers to processes that promote world-wide exchanges of national and cultural resources. Advances in transportation and telecommunications infrastructure, including the rise of the Internet, are major factors in globalization, generating further interdependence of economic and cultural activities.

8. MASS/SUSTAINABLE/ECO TOURISM

Mass tourism could only have developed with the improvements in technology, allowing the transport of large numbers of people in a short space of time to places of leisure interest, so that greater numbers of people could begin to enjoy the benefits of leisure time.

Sustainable tourism is tourism attempting to make as low an impact on the environment and local culture as possible, while helping to generate future employment for local people. The aim of sustainable tourism is to ensure that development brings a positive experience for local people, tourism companies and the tourists themselves. "Sustainable tourism is an adopted practice in successful ecotourism. Environmental sustainability is one of the essential six principles that must be achieved at a 100% level.

Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving visiting fragile, pristine, and relatively undisturbed natural areas, intended as a low-impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial (mass) tourism. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds forecological conservation, to directly benefit the economic development and political empowerment of local communities, or to foster respect for different cultures and for human rights.

9. HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING

People smuggling (also called human smuggling) is "the facilitation, transportation, attempted transportation or illegal entry of a person or persons across an international border, in violation of one or more countries laws, either clandestinely or through deception, such as the use of fraudulent documents".

Human trafficking is the trade in human beings, most commonly for the purpose of sexual slavery, forced labor or for the extraction of organs or tissues, including surrogacy and ova removal. Trafficking is a lucrative industry, representing an estimated $32 billion per year in international trade, compared to the estimated annual $650 billion for all illegal international trade circa 2010.

 10. ARMS TRADE/TRAFFICKING

The arms industry is a global business which manufactures weapons and military technology and equipment. It consists of commercial industry involved in research, development, production, and service of military material, equipment and facilities. Arms producing companies, also referred to as defense contractors or military industry, produce arms mainly for the armed forces of states. Departments of government also operate in the arms industry, buying and selling weapons, munitions and other military items. Products include guns, ammunition, missiles, military aircraft, military vehicles, ships, electronic systems, and more. The arms industry also conducts significant research and development.

Arms trafficking, also known as gunrunning, is the illegal trafficking or smuggling of contraband weapons or ammunition. What constitutes legal trade in firearms varies widely, depending on local and national laws.

11. ILLEGAL DRUG TRADE

The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, and sale of drugs, which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.

12. RURAL-URBAN/URBAN-RURAL MIGRATION

Urbanization is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of rural migration and even suburban concentration into cities, particularly the very large ones. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008.By 2050 it is predicted that 64.1% and 85.9% of the developing and developed world respectively will be urbanised.

13.  UPWARD SOCIAL/GEOGRAPHIC MOBILITY

Upward social mobility is a change in a person's social status resulting in that person rising to a higher position in their status system.

Geographic mobility is the measure of how populations move over time. Geographic mobility, population mobility, or more simply mobility is also a statistic that measures migration within a population. Commonly used in demography and human geography, it may also be used to describe the movement of animals between populations. These moves can be as large scale as international migrations or as small as regional commuting arrangements. Geographic mobility has a large impact on many sociological factors in a community and is a current topic of academic research. It varies between different regions depending on both formal policies and established social norms, and has different effects and responses in different societies.

14. RELIEF ORGANIZATIONS/AID AGENCIES

An aid agency is an organisation dedicated to distributing aid. Many professional aid organisations exist, both within government (e.g.AusAID, USAID, DFID, EuropeAid, ECHO), between governments as multilateral donors (e.g. UNDP) and as private voluntary organizations (or non-governmental organisations, (e.g. ActionAid, Oxfam, World Vision). The International Committee of the Red Crossis unique in being mandated by international treaty to uphold the Geneva Conventions.

15. STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAMS

A student exchange program is a program where students from a secondary school or university study abroad at one of their institution's partner institutions. Student exchange programs may involve international travel, but does not necessarily require the student to study outside of their home country. For example, the National Student Exchange program (NSE) offers placements throughout the United States and Canada.

16. GLOBAL CITIES/GLOBAL CULTURAL EVENTS

A global city (also called world city or sometimes alpha city or world center) is a city generally considered to be an important node in the global economic system. The concept comes from geography and urban studies and rests on the idea that globalization can be understood as largely created, facilitated, and enacted in strategic geographic locales according to a hierarchy of importance to the operation of the global system of finance and trade.

17.GLOBAL WARMING

Global warming is the rise in the average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans since the late 19th century and its projected continuation. Since the early 20th century, Earth's mean surface temperature has increased by about 0.8 °C (1.4 °F), with about two-thirds of the increase occurring since 1980.

POST 11: SPACES & EXCHANGES: A MIND MAP

POST 10 BIS: REDACTED: THE MAIN ISSUES IT RAISES, PLOT SYNOPSIS AND FILM REVIEW

Redacted as an illustration of the notion of power

Redacted is a movie directed by Brian De Palma. It was released in 2007.
It is based on true events as it is the reconstruction of the rape and murder of a sixteen-year-old Iraqi girl by American soldiers in Samarra (Iraq) in 2006.
It is told entirely through 'found footage' (i.e. lengths of films or video tapes, shots or series of shots of a specified nature or subject, for example 'news footage').

The main issues it raises are the abuse of power (i.e. the perpetration of an unlawful act, done in an official capacity), more particularly military power abuse but also the misuse of power, especially that of the media, often called the fourth power, and of political power, and as a consequence the manipulation of truth which, right from the start of the film, is said to be the first casualty (=victim) of war.

 1. Military power

The main story line of the film is that a squadron of US soldiers based in Iraq decide to avenge the death of one of their comrades who was blown to pieces by a bomb planted by Iraqi terrorists/insurgents.
The film director shows that instead of fighting against the insurgents on the battle field, they abuse their power and go on a hateful, vengeful raid on an Iraqi house where they kill the whole family (except for the father who had been previously arrested).
Although not all the soldiers involved in the operation were willing to go, under peer pressure they eventually do and clearly abuse their power and authority as the invading military force in Iraq and turn a military operation into a horrendous criminal expedition.

So why show such horrors?
Of course everybody knows that war is hell and makes monsters of people, that innocents suffer and die in ways and numbers beyond our comprehension - and yet, we still allow it to happen, again and again, by yielding to the pressure of the powers that be, i.e. those in control who often make wrong decisions and contribute to the horrors perpetrated in war. Redacted denounces the reasons behind this indifference and 'apathy' and most of them lie in the following 'form and location of power'.

2. The Fourth Power = The Media

The starting point of Brian De Palma's imaginary reconstruction is that the media, more particularly American TV networks, provide an extremely limited, censored and sanitized view of the reality on the battle ground

By telling the story of one young girl, raped, shot in the face, her corpse burnt, her family slaughtered, Redacted restates truths that have been carefully edited out of our daily discourse about “surgical strikes” (the war seen as a video game on TV!) and politicians' promises of a "quick war".
Actually, the word 'redacted' means 'prepared, revised or edited for publication', which means that the media do not or cannot do their job properly, so that the war we are shown on TV and elsewhere is not the real war.
Therefore, there is a lot of material that we do not usually see but which is shown throughout the film: 

- soldiers' home videos (showing the battalion of US Marines’ daily life thanks to systematic filming by one of them, using a small digital camera) 
- objective, artful French reportage (documenting US soldiers watching over a checkpoint)
- close-circuit security cameras (filming the US soldiers in one part of their military precinct, thus showing their moral dilemmas but also their gross and occasionally illicit behavior) 
- embedded journalists allowed to follow the US army on particular operations but whose reports are 'redacted' (here they follow the US Marines and interview them on a raid on an Iraqi house to find evidence against suspected terrorists but they are thrown out of the place as soon as they become too insistent)
- the eerie green footage from the troops' helmet-mounted night vision cams (filming the brutal rape and murder of an Iraqi girl and her family on a nighttime raid on this defenseless Iraqi family) 
- angry Iraqi TV news (showing a video of the terrorists’ decapitation of an American soldier held hostage or the moving testimony of the only survivor of the murderous raid, that is to say the father of the family)
- video chats between soldiers and their families back home (showing a father and his guilt-ridden son talking about what to do to denounce the crimes)
- YouTube clips from activists, terrorists and insurgents (shown on the terrorists’ own Web site). 
- posts on a girl’s blog as well as on a soldier’s own blog (in which she violently criticizes the US soldiers’ horrific actions while he denounces his former comrades’ criminal acts, his face covered with a hood)
- home videos on returning to civilian life after the war (in which a US Marine tells his friends and girlfriend about the atrocities committed in Iraq before bursting out in tears)

Actually, Redacted is entirely made up of this fictitious "found" footage to recreate the appalling images which have been systematically removed (= ‘redacted’) from the "news" about Iraq.

3. Political Power

In fact, political power can be held responsible for the illegitimate war that was fought in Iraq as it was not mandated by a UN resolution and was launched and waged at first on the misleading assumption that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMD), which soon turned out to be entirely wrong. Therefore, the film also denounces the manipulative tendency of political power in our democracies.
As some critic put it, "the film's impact is impossible to dismiss. It feels like a well-aimed punch to the gut - or perhaps a stab in the heart."
As long as wars keep breaking out all over the world, the least we can do is listen, watch and testify, which is what Brian De Palma had in mind with Redacted.

IMDB plot synopsis of Redacted

This film is about the real-life rape and killing of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl by U.S. soldiers with shocking images that will leave some viewers in tears.

Inspired by one of the most serious crimes committed by American soldiers in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, it spares the audience no brutality to get its message across.

Made in a deliberately episodic form, Redacted tells various stories about the war in Iraq, ostensibly from different viewpoints. One film portion by a French filmmaker tells the story of U.S. soldiers watching over checkpoints. In another episode, a superior soldier makes a casual mistake dealing with garbage that was set out in a road and is blown to bits. It's all leading to the pivotal rape and murder of the pretty girl who is discovered by the soldiers on a raid of an Iraqi house in order to find evidence. One night, the drunken and mostly morally lost U.S. soldiers discuss going back for the "skank" whom they saw in the house they raided. One soldier straps a camera to his helmet, and the footage of the girl's rape is secured.

The rest of the film mostly deals with measures taken by the army against the criminals. A final scene has a soldier from the criminals' unit confessing to his friends a war story that he will never forget: the plundering and murder of the Iraqi girl.

RYM film review of Redacted

When I was 14 years old one leftist history teacher asked us to comment on the upcoming Iraq War, to say if it was justified (or not) and why. Back then I was uninterested in politics or war so I only knew about it from television and newspapers... and I thought it was justified, I did believe in Bush's justification for the war... the teacher was kind of disappointed with me.

This was my introduction to international politics. Years later when the politicians admitted that there was never any WMDs I was not surprised (it was obvious then) but I realized that they were nothing but liars all along. And even though I was an ignorant kid who had nothing to do with this war, since then I have always felt guilty about thinking otherwise.

And as time passes we only learn more about the crimes they committed, both from positions of power and on the ground. If this film is one-sided, it is because the War on Iraq was an illegal, immoral, one-sided war of aggression. The director doesn't even bother to attack the war or the occupation or the actions or the soldiers because what they did is indefensible.

The real villain in this film is the media, this is Brian De Palma's attack against the journalists, the newspapers, the tv channels, the media conglomerates of the United States of America who were part in the abuse and murder of the people in Iraq. They were part of this and they have the blood of innocents on their hands.

At times the metaphor is way too obvious but that does contribute to making a point about the soldiers' morality: If the leaders of the nation can lie and kill over nothing why shouldn't they do the same?

Post 10 : the notion of power as exemplified in Brian de Palma's Redacted movie

Post 9 : locations & forms of power : A mind map.

Post 8-Shooting Script for "Don't Give up"

PETER GABRIEL'S LYRICS

"Don't Give Up"

In this proud land we grew up strong
We were wanted all along
I was taught to fight, taught to win
I never thought I could fail

No fight left or so it seems
I am a man whose dreams have all deserted
I've changed my face, I've changed my name
But no one wants you when you lose

Don't give up
'cos you have friends
Don't give up
You're not beaten yet
Don't give up
I know you can make it good

Though I saw it all around
Never thought I could be affected
Thought that we'd be the last to go
It is so strange the way things turn

Drove the night toward my home
The place that I was born, on the lakeside
As daylight broke, I saw the earth
The trees had burned down to the ground

Don't give up
You still have us
Don't give up
We don't need much of anything
Don't give up
'cause somewhere there's a place
Where we belong

Rest your head
You worry too much
It's going to be alright
When times get rough
You can fall back on us
Don't give up
Please don't give up

Got to walk out of here
I can't take anymore
Gonna stand on that bridge
Keep my eyes down below
Whatever may come
And whatever may go
That river's flowing
That river's flowing

Moved on to another town
Tried hard to settle down
For every job, so many men
So many men no-one needs

Don't give up
'cause you have friends
Don't give up
You're not the only one
Don't give up
No reason to be ashamed
Don't give up
You still have us
Don't give up now
We're proud of who you are
Don't give up
You know it's never been easy
Don't give up
'cause I believe there's a place
There's a place where we belong

CREATIVE WRITING

Shooting Script  for Peter Gabriel's 'Don't Give Up' Video                  31/01/2013

OVER BLACK:

MUSIC SOUNDTRACK

The first notes of the song sound.

FADE IN:

1. EXT. FACTORY IN  THE OUTSKIRTS OF A BIG CITY (DETROIT) - MORNING

MUSIC SOUNDTRACK

Verse 1

PAN SHOT of a busy street, followed by TILT UP toward the top of high-rise towers (skyscrapers) and TILT DOWN to ZOOM FORWARD on factory workers noisily walking out of their work in an automobile plant.

They seem tired but full of pride and energy despite their night shift.

Then, CLOSE UP on the face of one man in the crowd. He looks young and enthusiastic.

ZOOM BACKWARD to show  the man walking on, now framed in a FULL SHOT.

Then, TRACKING SHOT, following the man who is walking away at a brisk pace, waving goodbye to his workmates with a broad smile on his face These people obviously stick together.

He is now seen in a LONG SHOT.

DISSOLVE TO BLACK & WHITE

2. INT. APARTMENT - MORNING

MUSIC SOUNDTRACK

Verse 2

FULL SHOT of a man who is sitting at home, sipping a cup of coffee. He is the same man as the one viewed earlier but he looks older and depressed.

CLOSE UP on the man's gloomy face.

PAN TO THE RIGHT: A song is playing on an old radio transistor.

CUT TO COLOR

MUSIC SOUNDTRACK

Chorus

3. EXT. STREET - SUNNY DAY

The man is seen in a FULL SHOT talking to friends. The conversation is lively and the group (both men and women) walk into a bar.

DISSOLVE TO BLACK & WHITE

MUSIC SOUNDTRACK

Verse 3

4. EXT. EMPTY STREET - RAINY DAY

LONG SHOT of a group of men lining up in front of what looks like a job center. ZOOM FORWARD to focus on the face of the same man standing in line. He looks ashamed and despondent.

CUT TO:

MUSIC SOUNDTRACK

Verse 4

5. EXT. ROAD - NIGHT

The man is driving at night. He is about to reach his destination,  a house on the lakeside barely visible in the distance.

CUT TO:

6: INT. CAR - EARLY MORNING

The man is looking at something outside. He looks stunned. EXTREME CLOSE UP on the man's eyes.

Then REVERSE SHOT: he was staring at the scorched earth which seems to have replaced a little wood which stood near the house and where he used to play as a kid. The house looks shabby, rundown, maybe even abandoned. There is nothing left of his roots.

CUT TO COLOR

MUSIC SOUNDTRACK

Chorus

7. INT. APARTMENT - AFTERNOON

MEDIUM SHOT of the man and his wife at home. The woman is talking. She seems to be comforting her husband, stroking his hair.

CLOSE SHOT of the man who rests his head against her, as if he needed a shoulder to cry on.

Then, PAN SHOT TO THE RIGHT as two kids run into the drawing room to kiss and  hug their parents (SLOW MOTION).

LOW-ANGLE SHOT of the man who suddenly picks up a newspaper and sighs deeply.

He stands up and says 'OK'.

He then turns his back on his family and walks out of the room.

DISSOLVE TO BLACK & WHITE

MUSIC SOUNDTRACK

Verse 5

8..EXT. STREET -  EVENING

FULL SHOT of the man as he walks down the street, then strolls along a river.

CLOSE UP on the man's face, followed by ZOOM OUT to show the man now standing on a bridge, looking down at the river.  

P.O.V. SHOT: the man is staring intently at the black foam-flecked water below, as if he was about to jump and commit suicide.

HIGH-ANGLE SHOT + TRACKING IN of the man walking across the bridge  while the river keeps flowing.

CUT TO:

MUSIC SOUNDTRACK

Verse 6

9 .INT. SMALL TOWN - DAYS LATER

MEDIUM-CLOSE SHOT of the man standing at a counter, begging to be hired but the employer shakes his head.

PAN SHOT of the man as he walks out of the place.

CUT TO:

10. EXT. STREET - MOMENTS LATER

LONG SHOT of the man trying his luck in yet another job agency we see him walking into but he soon walks out, his head bent.

CUT TO COLOR

MUSIC SOUNDTRACK

Chorus

11. INT. APARTMENT - MORNING

FULL SHOT of a group of people, among whom the man's wife and kids.

They seem to be celebrating someone's birthday. The atmosphere is joyful and the man seems to be having fun.

EXTREME CLOSE UP on his eyes in which there is a glimmer of hope at last.

He now seems seem more cheerful than ever before and kisses his wife before hugging his two kids.

                                                                                                                                                                         

FADE OUT