Concrete


I didn't like the book Dogs and Demons: Tales from the Dark Side of Modern Japan (discussed here and here) so I'm not quite sure what to think about a new video called The Concrete Revolution, a documentary about the tremendous changes in Beijing as bulldozers demolish entire neigh- bourhoods and destroy much more than just buildings:

Chinese filmmaker Xiaolu Guo has paid particular attention to those bulldozers. More importantly, she has meditated upon what the tremendous upswing in construction -- and inevitable destruction -- has wrought, and what it may mean for the future of Beijing, and China itself, especially in the run-up to the 2008 Olympics.

She interviews the construction workers who mainly "parrot the party line, speaking positively (and briefly) about the beneficial effects of the construction projects, as managers in red helmets circle warily nearby. One construction worker finally speaks his mind, breaking down in tears as he thinks of his wife and family, left behind but not benefiting from his sacrifices because he has not been paid yet."

Dogs and Demons is being published by China Critic Press (中信出版社) and Hong Kong's Shuyi Press (書藝出版社) in 2006. The title is 犬与鬼 in Chinese.

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