[[moku]]
[ some things cost more than you realise ]
for context, watch the following video:
"Muse - MK Ultra (MTV Exit: Some Things Cost More Than You Realise)"
warning: it's quite sad though not as graphic as it could be.
perhaps it's because of my experiences with the subject matter and the place in question (hong kong), but there is not much that i questioned about the video, i.e. i did not have much to criticise: it was well-done, well thought-out, and realistic. if anything it was a little bit sugar-coated. i thought it was great that such a well-loved song by a band with such a huge following was used as background music for this video; if nothing else people searching muse will stumble upon the video, watch it, and learn something hopefully.
i should know better than to read the comments, but for the most part, the comments were good. people spoke of trying to end human trafficking, trying to be more aware, learning something, etc. good stuff!
racist comments were of course ignored.
but the comments that annoyed me were from "hong kongers"... who bristled at the fact that their city was being portrayed as having sexual and domestic slavery, and participating in the free market that uses child labour to produce cheap jeans. they cried foul and claimed that "the west" was always trying to pin the blame on others, saying that everyone else is worse than them. one person said that hong kong was a great ("country" - sic) and that these problems were nowhere near as pronounced as shown in the video.
my response to them is... get over yourselves. hong kong is not some awesome amazing paradise. it's not that hong kong is being highlighted as a super offender where human exploitation is concerned, it's just that all three of these is BLATANTLY OBVIOUS in hong kong society. cheaply made, inexpensive goods? check. sex trade? check. live-in domestic labour? check. think about it, hong kong: your whole society and culture is based on the rich having filipina (+ thais and indonesians now) nannies to do all your housework and look after your kids. and you treat them like dirt.
also, there is nothing "pronounced" about anything in the video.. it's pretty tame and it shows that all this happens far away or behind closed doors. and that's the problem - it could be (and probably is) quite rampant, but in the "underground". you are in denial.
instead of being offended that your city is being shown, why don't you acknowledge that these problems exist, without getting huffy, and work towards eliminating the problem? that way, subsequent videos would likely not be filmed in hk.
there are uncomfortable truths in every society. getting angry when yours have been displayed, and exclaiming that other people have them too or are even worse, is pretty much denying that these truths exist in your society.
do something about it or at least stop blaming others*. and btw, open your eyes.
*note: arguably this rampant capitalistic demand can be "blamed" on the west.. but at some point you have to take ownership for your actions.
for context, watch the following video:
"Muse - MK Ultra (MTV Exit: Some Things Cost More Than You Realise)"
warning: it's quite sad though not as graphic as it could be.
perhaps it's because of my experiences with the subject matter and the place in question (hong kong), but there is not much that i questioned about the video, i.e. i did not have much to criticise: it was well-done, well thought-out, and realistic. if anything it was a little bit sugar-coated. i thought it was great that such a well-loved song by a band with such a huge following was used as background music for this video; if nothing else people searching muse will stumble upon the video, watch it, and learn something hopefully.
i should know better than to read the comments, but for the most part, the comments were good. people spoke of trying to end human trafficking, trying to be more aware, learning something, etc. good stuff!
racist comments were of course ignored.
but the comments that annoyed me were from "hong kongers"... who bristled at the fact that their city was being portrayed as having sexual and domestic slavery, and participating in the free market that uses child labour to produce cheap jeans. they cried foul and claimed that "the west" was always trying to pin the blame on others, saying that everyone else is worse than them. one person said that hong kong was a great ("country" - sic) and that these problems were nowhere near as pronounced as shown in the video.
my response to them is... get over yourselves. hong kong is not some awesome amazing paradise. it's not that hong kong is being highlighted as a super offender where human exploitation is concerned, it's just that all three of these is BLATANTLY OBVIOUS in hong kong society. cheaply made, inexpensive goods? check. sex trade? check. live-in domestic labour? check. think about it, hong kong: your whole society and culture is based on the rich having filipina (+ thais and indonesians now) nannies to do all your housework and look after your kids. and you treat them like dirt.
also, there is nothing "pronounced" about anything in the video.. it's pretty tame and it shows that all this happens far away or behind closed doors. and that's the problem - it could be (and probably is) quite rampant, but in the "underground". you are in denial.
instead of being offended that your city is being shown, why don't you acknowledge that these problems exist, without getting huffy, and work towards eliminating the problem? that way, subsequent videos would likely not be filmed in hk.
there are uncomfortable truths in every society. getting angry when yours have been displayed, and exclaiming that other people have them too or are even worse, is pretty much denying that these truths exist in your society.
do something about it or at least stop blaming others*. and btw, open your eyes.
*note: arguably this rampant capitalistic demand can be "blamed" on the west.. but at some point you have to take ownership for your actions.