Call+Response

by tony kriz

I was recently invited to a pre-release screening of the film Call and Response. This film is scheduled for theatrical release in October.  Jared and I will be working this Fall to increase public awareness of this film and the often ignored global epidemic of Human Trafficking. From the website: CALL+RESPONSE is a first of its kind feature documentary film that reveals the world’s 27 million dirtiest secrets: there are more slaves today than ever before in human history. CALL+RESPONSE goes deep undercover where slavery is thriving from the child brothels of Cambodia to the slave brick kilns of rural India to reveal that in 2007, Slave Traders made more money than Google, Nike and Starbucks combined. Luminaries on the issue such as Cornel West, Madeleine Albright, Daryl Hannah, Julia Ormond, Ashley Judd, Nicholas Kristof, and many other prominent political and cultural figures offer first hand account of this 21st century trade. Performances from Grammy-winning and critically acclaimed artists including Moby, Natasha Bedingfield, Cold War Kids, Matisyahu, Imogen Heap, Talib Kweli, Five For Fighting, Switchfoot, members of Nickel Creek and Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers, Rocco Deluca move this chilling information into inspiration for stopping it. Music is part of the movement against human slavery. Dr. Cornel West connects the music of the American slave fields to the popular music we listen to today, and offers this connection as a rallying cry for the modern abolitionist movement currently brewing. One of the big surprises for me, in attending the film was this:   The film is built around the theme of music (being produced and directed by musicians as well as multiple Grammy level musical performances).  My expectation was that this reality would somehow trivialize the stark and barbaric nature of the film’s topic.  My experience though was exactly the opposite.  Yes, the film shows grizzly images of human trafficking around the world.  Yes, if offers investigative research and interviews into the facts behind the oft-ignored issue.  But also, the musicians who “journey with you” as you watch the film enhance the film’s affect, by helping drill the emotional well even deeper into the observer’s soul;  no one more so than Matisyahu’s transcendent rendition of Marley’s song, Redemption.

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You’re currently reading “Call+Response,” an entry on Equity Design.

Author:
tony kriz
Published:
1pm on 08/08/08
Category:
Community Wealth, Economic Justice, Media, Reviews

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