The Cinema of the Precariat

The Exploited, Underemployed, and Temp Workers of the World

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by Tom Zaniello

Type: Studies
Subject: Sociology
Keywords: social aspects
Publishing date: 2021
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
1st publishing: 2020
Language: English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Paperback • 204 pages
6 x 9 inches (15 x 23 cm)

ISBN

978-1-5013-8584-1

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Book Presentation:
The Cinema of the Precariat is the first book to lay out the incredible range of the precariat (the social class suffering from precarity) as well as a detailed report on the cinematic record of their work and lives.It discusses a thorough and definitive selection of more than 250 films and related visual media that take the measure of the precariat worldwide. For example, thousands of Haitians, including children, harvest sugar cane in the Dominican Republic (The Price of Sugar), while illegal Afghan refugees work in Iran (Delbaran). More familiar are the millions of Latino immigrants, legal or not, of all ages, that work in the United States (Food Chains).

Each chapter focuses on a sub-class of the precariat or a contested zone of labor or the evolving political manifestation of the struggles of the unorganized and the dispossessed. Among the hundreds of bewildering film choices available nowadays this book offers the reader reliable guidance to the films bringing to life the economic, political, and social dilemmas faced by millions of the world's global workforce and their families.

About the Author:
Tom Zaniello is Professor Emeritus, having taught film and cultural studies, and directed the Honors Program at Northern Kentucky University, USA. He has been active as a film programmer for the Hill Center in Washington DC and for the London and North West (Liverpool) Labour Film Festivals. He recently published California's Lamson Murder Mystery (2016), the story of the wrongful conviction of a Hollywood screenwriter for murder, along with Working Stiffs, Union Maids, Reds, and Riffraff: An Expanded Guide to Films about Labor, 2nd ed. (2003) and The Cinema of Globalization (2007).

Press Reviews:
"In his first two books, Tom Zaniello proved himself a reliable and thoughtful guide to films about labor and working-class people. With The Cinema of the Precariat, he turns his gaze to precarity, tracing the history of media narratives about how economic uncertainty affects workers and their families. He recommends and provides context for a variety of films – from different eras and countries -- that can help us understand why we should be concerned about the growth of the gig economy in the U.S. and around the world. Zaniello offers a catalogue for interested viewers and a thoughtful guide to help us think about how precarity works and how we look at it -- on screens large and small." ―Sherry Lee Linkon, Professor of English and American Studies, Georgetown University, USA

"As insecurity grows, so does the precariat. They are often ignored, taken for granted, and invisible. Tom Zaniello has set out to change that, encouraging us to turn to films for insight into how economic insecurity affects the lives of working-class people. Along with recommendations of what to watch, he offers thoughtful essays about how these films and a few video games capture the experience and politics of precarity." ―John Russo, Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and Working Poor, Georgetown University, USA

See the publisher website: Bloomsbury Academic

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