New Urban World Journal
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Transcript of New Urban World Journal
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 6
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 8
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F e a t u r e J a y a k u m a r C h r i s t i a n 9
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 10
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F e a t u r e J a y a k u m a r C h r i s t i a n 11
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 12
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F e a t u r e J a y a k u m a r C h r i s t i a n 13
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 16
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 18
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F e a t u r e V i v G r i g g 19
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 20
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F e a t u r e V i v G r i g g 21
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 22
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F e a t u r e V i v G r i g g 23
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 24
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F e a t u r e V i v G r i g g 25
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 26
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 28
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 30
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F e a t u r e K e n d i H o w e l l s D o u g l a s 31
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 32
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F e a t u r e K e n d i H o w e l l s D o u g l a s 33
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 34
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F e a t u r e K e n d i H o w e l l s D o u g l a s 35
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 36
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F e a t u r e K e n d i H o w e l l s D o u g l a s 37
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 38
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F e a t u r e K e n d i H o w e l l s D o u g l a s 39
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 40
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F e a t u r e K e n d i H o w e l l s D o u g l a s 41
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 44
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 46
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F e a t u r e S c o t t B e s s e n e c k e r 47
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 48
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F e a t u r e S c o t t B e s s e n e c k e r 49
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 50
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F e a t u r e S c o t t B e s s e n e c k e r 51
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 52
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F e a t u r e S c o t t B e s s e n e c k e r 53
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 54
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F e a t u r e S c o t t B e s s e n e c k e r 55
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 56
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 58
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 60
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C o l u m n J o h n S h o r a c k 61
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C o l u m n To n y C a m p o l o 63
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 64
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 66
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 68
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C o l u m n C . R o s a l e e Ve l l o s o E w e l l 69
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C o l u m n B e r t H i c k m a n 71
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 72
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 74
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C o l u m n S i u F u n g Wu 75
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C o l u m n C l a u d i o O l i v e r & S a m E w e l l 77
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 78
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 88
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R e v i e w A n d r e w M e n z i e s 89
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R e v i e w D o u g P r i e s t 91
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R e v i e w S h a n e A n d e r s o n 93
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R e v i e w S t e p h e n B u r r i s 95
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R e v i e w C r a i g B r o w n 97
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This BBC series treads familiar ground, almost mimicking reality TV in its approach:
take a mix of young Brits, some obnoxious, some caring, all of them with a superficial
understanding of the issues before them, and throw them in to the deep end of
Southeast Asia. They bitch, moan and complainone leavesand, after a few weeks,
including one in which they live as Thai rice workers, take on pseudo expert status
based on what they have experienced.
Despite examples of genuinebut limitedtransformation, the question around
this show is do we learn anything new? The focus is primarily on the journey of the
Brits rather than the issues of material poverty and the poverty of choice. The flaw in
Blood, Sweat and Takeaways is the limited engagement with the key issues of poverty
since we are seeing them through the lenses of raw personalities whose transformation
could be described as progressing from ignorant to basic. By series end, we have
hope for the participants, but cant be so optimistic for the poor they visited.
The stories that grip you are, for example, of Jiab. a young mum working in a
chicken factory on the outskirts of Bangkok, who has left behind her son in order
to support him. At series end, Stacey accompanies and pays for Jiab to return home
for a reunion with her son. Its heartbreaking to watch the reluctant son embrace his
mother, then heartbreaking all over again to watch him gently kiss her, only to know
that this brief interlude will soon end and the cycle of separation and regret will start
afresh. I hope one day to be able to live with my son, she laments. Her wish is so
simple, but her situation so complex.
Then theres the story of the (nameless) sex worker the Brits meet as they celebrate
the end of living like the food workers of Southeast Asia (with added benefits
BLOOD, SWEAT AND TAKEAWAYS
by Craig Brown
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R e v i e w C r a i g B r o w n 99
such as optional hotels and private medical care). On average, the sex worker earns
significantly more than a factory or rice worker, but she is visibly upset as she tells
the Brits about her two children, and her reluctance to be in the sex industry. They
patronize her, telling her that that she must be making great sacrifices in doing what
she is doing. They can see how factory work dehumanizes someone, but fail to see
that what is happening to this woman is also dehumanizing. I want one man, she
says imploringly, but what can I do? Again, the poverty of choice stares us starkly in
the face.
Still more disturbing is the argument that then breaks out with a male tourist who
claims that sex workers are empowered, which stands in stark contrast to the tears
and despair on the face of the sex worker. She is again marginalized, as we see the Brit
women reduced to tears of frustration in the ensuing screaming match. Againthey
are our eyes and ears. Yet it is the workers in these situations who touch our hearts.
The audience of Blood, Sweat and Takeaways needs to be satisfied with the minor
transformation of Westerners to find this series transformative. On a positive note, it
does touch on deep issues of being separated from family and our imagined best self
in order to survive, the links between Western consumption and developing world
poverty, and tourism and the sex industry. The hope in this series is that Westerners
can learnbut the basic learning we see here is still a large step away from alleviating
and empowering those living in poverty in Southeast Asia.
Series Directed by James Christie-Miller and Ed LevanAired by BBC 3 (4 episodes)
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101
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N E W U R B A N W O R L D 102