Blood, Sweat & T-Shirts (TV Series 2008– ) ⭐ 8.3 | Documentary (original) (raw)
- TV Series
- 2008–
- 1h
Six Western, relatively spoiled English youths visits underdeveloped places overseas where some of the luxury goods or crucial components are produced they take for granted. They not only vi... Read allSix Western, relatively spoiled English youths visits underdeveloped places overseas where some of the luxury goods or crucial components are produced they take for granted. They not only visit, but experience the harsh life of Third World laborers often backbreaking, dangerous, ... Read allSix Western, relatively spoiled English youths visits underdeveloped places overseas where some of the luxury goods or crucial components are produced they take for granted. They not only visit, but experience the harsh life of Third World laborers often backbreaking, dangerous, poorly paid jobs.
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This superb 2008 BBC Three documentary series seems to have been forgotten and is now mainly known (if at all) for being the show that first introduced Stacey Dooley. Blood, Sweat & T-Shirts is fantastically researched and produced, very well-cast, and by turns intense, challenging, hilarious and moving. Its greatest strength is that it isn't rushed, with the 6 participants spending weeks working in different stages of the garment industry in some of the poorest areas of India, giving both them and the viewer a truly immersive experience. Working conditions get worse episode by episode - the four instalments are titled The Factory Floor, The Backstreet Workshop, The Cotton Mill and The Slum Factories - lending the series a descent-into-the-maelstrom vibe. In an alien environment, under high pressure and with disrupted sleep and poor food and sanitation, it's remarkable the young Brits cope as well as they do - their shock at the living and working conditions they encounter in India is understandable.
Of course some adapt better than others: Tara makes an excellent impression in the first two episodes and Stacey comes into her own in the final episode. Mark is laid-back and kind, while Georgina does perhaps the most growing-up of the bunch after her experience gives her a wake-up call. With the other two, it's harder to assess: Richard seems obnoxious at first, but his anger and incredulity at what he sees is understandable and stems from him being genuinely appalled at the conditions he witnesses - I like the fact he asked a lot of questions, though it often feels like he entered the show with a set of preconceptions that he's looking to confirm rather than overturn. He's absent for much of the final episode for unspecified reasons, but by the end, he's less materialistic and seems to have realised that it's not realistically possible for these hundreds of millions of people to escape poverty simply through their own individual initiative the way he did. Amrita is the most taciturn of the group, the most incurious at the start (saying she doesn't care if a small child made her clothes) and the one who most frequently throws the towel in whenever the group are given a sewing task - she seems mainly to want to distance herself from the other Indians, I felt as if class issues were often at play. Of the 6 participants she's perhaps the most accepting of the hierarchy and huge inequalities we see, as if there's an element of "there but for the grace of God go I" to her reaction - but at least we do ultimately see her trying to make a small difference by the end.
I genuinely think this series should be brought back for a new run with a fresh bunch of participants, as it's a fantastic format and more awareness still needs to be raised - it's not like conditions for garment workers have improved much since this was made, especially as fast fashion has continued to boom.
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- Dec 18, 2022
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