The horrifying documentary Invisible Hands reveals the extent to which child labor—specifically slave labor of kids as young as four years old—is rampant worldwide. Filmmaker Shraysi Tandon bravely confronts multiple situations on several continents where children are forced to work without breaks or sick days, from farm labor in the U.S. to cocoa plantations in Ghana; from underground cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (for our cell phones), to tobacco fields in Indonesia. Viewers will learn that few protections exist for these helpless young bodies from particularly toxic pesticides (Donald Trump reversed a ban imposed by the Obama administration on several such poisons), and that there are dangerous levels of nicotine in the blood of children who handle tobacco leaves all day. Tandon wants Americans to think long and hard as consumers about who’s out there paying a heavy price for our gadgets, candy, and cigarettes. The importance of that consideration multiplies as the film makes clear how corporations such as Nestlé and Unilever put distancing layers of supply chains between themselves and the international labor market, shielding their reputations from the punishing, exploitative child slavery their profits depend on. A powerful, deeply disturbing documentary, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)
Invisible Hands
(2018) 75 min. DVD: $24.95. First Run Features (avail. from most distributors). Volume 34, Issue 5
Invisible Hands
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