|
|
Film exposes problems in coffee industry
Coffee is deeply integrated into world economics, and not only in the U.S. and Western Europe - today, coffee is second only to oil on the world market. Companies such as Starbucks are continually accused of "taking over the world" by college students, coffee houses and movies like "Austin Powers" and "Shrek," all of whom routinely portray this attitude as economic reality. And while countless documentaries have been made about the monopolization of oil and its effects on politics and world trade, there has been little focus on coffee.
"Black Gold" - its title alone a corrective to the state of affairs - is devoted to raising awareness of coffee farmers' exploitation, examining the industry from the ground up. Ethiopia's economy depends heavily upon the coffee market, and while the commodity has become increasingly competitive, Ethiopian farmers are given less and less, only worsening the country's famine (Ethiopia is the only country whose economy has decreased 20 percent in the last 20 years).
In an effort to counteract the increasingly lowered prices of the coffee markets, farmers have been forming co-operatives to obtain fair-trade for farmers. Politically, Ethiopian representatives have tried to get legislation passed to increase their investment in the world market, only to be undermined by trade rules from the monopolies of Western civilization. The film notes that "a 1 percent increase in the African continent's share of world trade would in itself generate $70 billion per year - five times what the continent receives in aid."
The film examines every possible perspective. Directors (and brothers) Nick and Marc Francis talk to famine-stricken Ethiopian farmers forced to sell narcotics such as qat as an alternative to the virtually untapped coffee harvest. The film centers around Tadesse Meskela, a man in charge of finding markets for his co-operative of 74,000 coffee bean farmers, and an informed intermediary between the Ethiopian people and the commercial marketplace. Tadesse travels to Italy, New York, Seattle and London to find fair markets for his farmers and contracting buyers for their product, and his travels allow for the input of coffee buyers and coffee companies such as Illy and Starbucks. The Francis brothers also explore the perspective from the New York Stock Exchange and various representatives at the World Trade Organization talks in Mexico.
Although the pacing lags sporadically, "Black Gold" serves as well-rounded social commentary on a topic that has inexplicably evaded media attention in a world of otherwise diligent muckraking Michael Moores. "Black Gold" makes Africa's plight more relevant to society by recasting coffee, society's daily drug of choice, as a symbol of exploitation. "Black Gold" is the coffee trade's version of Eric Schlosser's "Fast Food Nation" - it brings a very relevant economic discussion to the stage of world politics and adds an imperative piece to the puzzle of Africa's poverty.
|
|
