A clear and easy-to-navigate survey of films dealing with different aspects of globalization.... Strongly geared to educators, programmers and other concerned citizens, the main value of The Cinema of Globalization is simply in alerting the reader to the wealth of material that is out there awaiting discovery. The individual entries are generally informative on the content of films and the key issues covered.... It is a wonderful resource for dipping into and finding what you didn't know you were looking for.- Catherine Lupton (Vertigo) It was bound to happen. A societal trend gathers enough steam to warrant not just one movie or a handful of films, but an entire genre. Just so you think the genre didn't begin and end with Dirty Pretty Things, Tom Zaniello, has assembled an eminently workable guide to more than 200 films where globalization and the mobile market for human capital registers in the plot. Zaniello doesn't offer his own thumbs-up or thumbs-down. Rather, he gives a rather dispassionate plot summary and includes at least one article on the film-often, a published critical review-that prospective viewers can read for further context and insight. Zaniello points to additional literature on the broad subject areas of the filmmakers, as well as a topical index at book's end. Not surprisingly, Wal-Mart merits its own citation, one of the largest in the index. This could be an indispensable reference work for an eyes-open labor studies program. A credit course would be feasible, either on globalization films, or on labor films, based on Zaniello's earlier work. Or these could be extra-credit options. This would also serve as a terrific resource if students wanted to start a film discussion group, since distribution details for virtually every film listed are included.(Labor Studies Journal)
