The True Cost: A Fashion Documentary

Coming from a third-world country, watching the documentary The True Cost is enlightening and traumatic. Imagine that. We all must have noticed that probably most of our clothes or much of what we use — everything — are imported from China or other developing country. We just don't pay attention to it.

The documentary The True Cost, directed by Andrew Morgan and co-produced by Livia Firth, is a look at the outcomes of fast fashion, the trend these days set by giant clothing companies. It is a documentary that is shocking at so many levels.


It tackles the effects of trends to the workers from poor countries, consumer mentality and the environment; and all of them aren't pretty. Like most documentaries where big issues are compacted for viewing purposes, The True Cost is still another simplified presentation of a big issue. The economics involved are complex and cannot be covered by even a two-hour video.

Ethical issues covered included harsh labor conditions, consumer behavior, farmer suicides and environmental hazards. It does not put the blame on a single entity or industry, but looked at the whole system, as it should be.

This made me feel guilty. It made me sad and angry. Toward the end, the video montage of American shoppers and video bloggers talking about their shopping haul, juxtaposed to victims of chromium poisoning in India, violent riots in Cambodia and suffering laborers in Bangladesh, makes an ending for this harrowing film climactic. It makes you feel bad for buying clothes.

*****

Now looking for sustainable clothes will be tough. Like the zippers, buttons and even the very thread used for most clothes comes from developing countries. Even if we try looking for good sources. It is difficult. I guess the only thing we can do is just wear clothes we like, and not treat them as disposables.

American Gods on TV

There has been talks on the Internet for quite some time, years, of an American Gods TV series based on the book of popular fantasy writer Neil Gaiman.

It's an amazing book I read seven years ago or so. I am a fan of Gaiman's writing, especially those  written before the year 2000. American Gods was the most recent story from him that I just loved. Now that it is to be made for television, it's scary that other people's interpretation of the book could wipe out the images created by your mind.

It will be co-produced by Gaiman himself, or so we are told, and produced by American network Starz (Spartacus), so we could expect some adult material, which we're not complaining about. Showrunners and writers would be Bryan Fuller (Heroes, Pushing Daisies) and Michael Green (Gotham).

There are a lot of stories in the book that I hope would be maintained and explored. The difficulty would be finding the right actors to play the part. We are talking about gods here, and screen presence is imperative. There's a lot of gods in here.

The main character, Shadow, is a hard find. Some fans suggested Jason Mamoa or Kit Harrington on comments and forums. Then the character of Shadow's wife Laura is a tough find. [SPOILER ALERT] I envisioned a charismatic actress who can pull off being a walking corpse.

So, I am torn. Am I excited or not?  Anxious, more like it. I just loved American Gods. But I would still watch out for the series. Hopefully, they don't stray too much from the source material. It's a good book about gods from all over the world stuck in the United States, written by a British writer.

One Month After

It has been quite some time since I made my last post, the last of which was about bitterness. Bitterness. I think I am in the process of healing now, and there is definitely progress.

From Pixabay