VeteranLight
I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.
Rio Hayward
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Dana
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
tylerwoodrownichols
The exploitation of wage-slaves in developing countries as a key component of our current economic system is a very important topic, one that I'm deeply interested in, but this film doesn't do the subject matter any justice at all. The collapse of the factory in Bangladesh and the narrative about the mother who tried to unionise but was shut down by the owners, along with a brief but similar story in Cambodia are really the only parts of the film that had anything to do with the premise. The rest of the film is just a mess. The time wasted on following around a woman who works for a "fair trade" clothing company just comes across as a long-winded advertisement, and conveniently skirts the issue that this woman is still a capitalist who is profiting off the labor of people in other countries. She throws the phrase "fair trade" around a whole lot without ever actually defining what it means in respect to her company's business practices. I guess we're supposed to feel good that the poor people in Bangladesh are being slightly less exploited by her company.The non-sequitur in the middle of the film about GM crops and "organic" cotton is where I really started to lose respect for this film. The charlatan known as Vandana Shiva makes an appearance, spouting out her typical disinformation about the "evils" of GM technology. This woman is not by any means a scientist, and is not in any way an expert on biotechnology or agriculture. So many of her claims have been debunked a thousand times (namely the claim that GM crops have led to increased suicide rates in India) that it almost defies belief that people still listen to anything she says. All I can really say is look to actual scientific/public health organisations and they all agree that GM crops are perfectly safe. "Organic" food (and especially clothing, what a joke!) has no health benefits over conventional crops and is actually a hugely profitable capitalist enterprise in itself, despite the wholesomely smug, "we're the good guys" image that these companies use to market their overpriced crops to the worried well. Say what you want about Monsanto trying to monopolise on seeds (which isn't true by the way, there are other companies in the GM market), just realize that the patenting and marketing of seeds was around way before GM and exists in the "organic" world as well. This economic angle has nothing to do with the safety of the crops, their environmental impact, or the fact that we almost certainly will need GM crops to feed the world. The ability to design high-yielding crops to adapt to the catastrophic climate change that's on the horizon, or to remedy nutrient deficiencies in the developing world (just read about how Shiva worked tirelessly to sway public opinion against Golden Rice) makes this technology invaluable to the future of our species.
emilywes56
True Cost is a honest, interesting and meaningful documentary about industry of clothing today and how simple everyday acts of greed and consumption can have devastating results in the lives of millions around the globe. Although it is not so much provoking, it is filmed by a certain distance but it makes direct comments for all the above subjects. In this film everything seems to be connected, from the fashion icons and clothing industry to the GMO cotton seeds made by one of the biggest profitable companies today and the terrible situations that labor workers face when they ask a raise of salary for their minimum and basic needs. The end credits was a clever ad which let us watch the director himself shooting with his camera in some of the places he visited for filming this documentary. Also, when a certain song with title "I want it all" starts to play in the scene where we watch people running like maniacs to buy whatever they catch on a Black Friday Day in U.S.A, it is completely in tune with the scene and shocking, it hits us in our gut how can people be so blind and to seek happiness or social success in materialism and consumption of things. Truth to be told, in the century we live in, we are accustomed to be accepted from the society for our looks or our social and economical level. There is a reference in Martin Luther King J. in the film, saying that "What America needs is a revolution of values". But this is more than America, it is global, and documentary has a hopeful message at the end, proposing that this situation might change in some years maybe and people start to think of other people and not of profits and money. As much as I doubt this assumption, it is of high importance that more films being made like this one, from respectable people that care enough to spread the truth all over the world, for people to see and realize what is the true imperative of humanity and human nature.
anonymouse-27283
Nice expose of the global fashion industry, from a clearly biased and non-objective source. The whole movie is permeated with anti-capitalist rhetoric and indictments of the profit motive, materialism, and American companies. At 1:15 when the "economist" comes on, I knew we were in for a snow-job of epic proportions. He talks down to the audience like he's teaching the theory of socialism to kindergarteners for the first time. The film, ironically also focuses on how the local Indo-Chinese factory unions keep getting crushed. Instead of campaigning for stronger unions and police protection of the union reps, they film backs the message that the solution is to try and guarantee a "living wage" to factory workers. Yeah, that's what the whole union protest was about, a hallmark of capitalism that is being crushed by the local governments.Thanks, Karl Marx, I just wanted to see a movie about the fashion industry, not a 90 minute propaganda film telling me how evil I am for buying a t-shirt. The authors are using the suffering of those innocent people to advance their distorted perspective, they are no better than the factory owners.
Jack Ackerman
"The True Cost" is a professionally-done documentary by Andrew Morgan which covers many of the multiple problems caused by America's current clothing gluttony. Going to thirteen separate countries, the viewers visually get a small taste of some of the devastation caused by "Fast Fashion", whether it is drenching of farmlands with pesticides and the resultant birth defects in India to the following of a Bangladesh single mother and garment worker who knew people in the Rana Plaza building collapse which claimed more than 1100 people. Although the topics are,at times, heavy and thought provoking, the overall tone of the documentary is neither gloomy nor preachy. "The True Cost" is an ambitious project that opens your eyes to many of the ills caused by our current economic policies and our addiction to spending. It is a great springboard for further discussions and movie projects. -Jack A
