Work and alienation from the 19th century to nowaday- ed,civica, Dispense di Inglese

Scarica Work and alienation from the 19th century to nowaday- ed,civica e più Dispense in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! Inglese – Educazione civica Work and alienation from the 19th century to nowadays From Victorian compromise to Marx’s alienation and “"Sorry We Missed You” The estrangement of people from aspects of their human nature as a consequence of the division of labor and living in a society of stratified social classes is properly called “alienation”. The alienation from the self is a consequence of being a mechanistic part of a social class, the condition of which estranges a person from their humanity. Alienation always existed. The Victorian period in England’s history is a case study in stark contrasts: the beauty and richness of the aristocracy versus the poverty and depression of the poor working class. The middle class was essentially nonexistent, but the Industrial Revolution meant that the balance of power shifted from the aristocracy, whose position and wealth was based on land, to the newly rich business leaders. The new aristocracy became one of wealth, not land, and often bought themselves titles, which remained important in British society. Until the reign of Queen Victoria, England’s populace was primarily rural. The explosion of the Industrial Revolution accelerated the migration of the population from the country to the city. The result of this movement was the development of horrifying slums and cramped row housing in the overcrowded cities. By 1900, 80% of the population lived in cities. These cities were “organized” into geographical zones based on social class—the poor in the inner city, with the more fortunate living further away from the city core. In an age of burgeoning technology and industry, the common working man suffered what to the modern reader would seem brutal, degrading, and almost unimaginable conditions with a patient resignation and the sense that survival is its own end. Industrial workers labored from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, without health benefits, bonuses, or vacation. Adult factory workers were forced to leave their children with little to no supervision in drafty homes with inadequate septic systems, no running water, toilets, and little ventilation. Half of all children died before the age of five due to neglect and malnourishment. By 1839, nearly half of all funerals were for children under the age of ten. The overcrowded shanty homes were built within walking distance of the factories. The houses were “back to backs,” often sharing a wall without windows in the front of the homes, and no backyards. In London and other large towns, the waste from houses drained into the sewers that ran down the center of the street, tainting the air with the smell of human and animal waste. Due to these conditions and mountains of animal filth and feces that filled the London streets, disease ran rampant, quickly sweeping through neighborhoods and factories. More than 31,000 people died from an outbreak of cholera in 1832; typhus, smallpox, and dysentery were also common diseases. The Victorian Age was characterized by rapid change and developments in nearly every sphere – from advances in medical, scientific and technological knowledge to changes in population growth and location. Over time, this rapid transformation deeply affected the country’s mood: an age that began with a confidence and optimism eventually gave way to uncertainty and doubt and grievous conditions for the common man. Today, the concept of alienation has become part of ordinary language, much used in the media. We may be told, for example, that who groups are becoming alienated from society, or that young people are alienated from mainstream values. With such usage of the concept we get the impression of the feeling of separation of one group from society, but the concept has traditionally been used in sociology, mainly by Karl Marx, to express a much more profound sense of estrangement than most contemporary usage. Sociological usage of the term stems from Marx’s concept of alienation which he used to develop the effects of capitalism on the experience work in particular and society more generally. Marx developed his theory of alienation from Feuerbach’s philosophical critique of Christianity – Feuerbach argued that the concept of an all-powerful God as a spiritual being to whom people must submit in order to reach salvation was a human construction, the projection of human power relations onto spiritual being. Christianity effectively disguised the fact that it was really human power relations which kept the social order going, rather than some higher spiritual reality, thus alienating from the ‘truth’ of power was really maintained. Marx applied the concept of alienation to work in industrial capitalist societies, arguing that emancipation for workers lay in their wrestling control away from the small, dominating ruling class. Later, Marxist inspired industrial sociologists used the concept to explore working relations under particular management systems in factories. Marx’s historical materialist approach began with the way people organise their affairs together to produce goods and survive. For Marx, to be alienated make us feel their agonizing dilemmas more sharply. When Abby tells one of her clients that she and Rickey were about to buy a house before the financial meltdown caused the collapse of the deal before it went through, she has no rancor and no sense of being victimized. She accepts it as something that happened to everyone. She says her only rule for working with the clients is to treat them "like your Mum," and she is always kind, patient, and compassionate with them, even when it costs her time or money. She assures one of them that she gets back more than she gives. And when another asks to brush her hair, Abby's single tear lets us know how meaningful that small gesture of tenderness is, and how rare. Rickey, increasingly desperate as his teenage son Seb (Rhys Stone) becomes withdrawn and gets into trouble, pleads with him to "give yourself some options" and go to college. "I wanted better for you," Rickey says. But Seb does not see better chances ahead. His friend went to college and now has staggering student loan debt and a job in another gig economy opportunity—a call center. Rickey will endure any hardship to help his family. But if he cannot provide "better" for Seb, he has failed. "Sorry We Missed You" is as intimate and immersive as a documentary. Emphasizing their parallels, both begin the same way, in darkness, the main character being asked a prepared list of questions. Here it is a job interview, or at least that is what it seems at first. Rickey is telling someone about his work history. He's done a little of everything, he says, including construction and landscape work. "I've even dug graves. I've done it all... I'd rather work on my own and be my own boss." The man interviewing him is Mulaney (newcomer Ross Brewster, making his first film after a career as a policeman). He quickly picks up on Rickey's comment and tells him that if he comes to work at the delivery service, "You won't be working for us; you'll be working with us." He introduces Rickey to a new vocabulary. "No wages, but fees. No clocking in; you become available." Rickey will not be an employee; he'll be an owner-franchisee. He will be "master of your own destiny, not like the losers." "Your dad's going to start his own business," Rickey proudly tells his children, Liza (Katie Proctor) and Seb. If that means he has to buy a van, selling the family car so that Abby will have to take the bus to her home visits, well, it's an investment in their future, and he'll make the money back, right? And yes, it will mean more time away from each other and the children, but they'll understand that it's all for them, right? And if there is a crisis at home, the boss will let him take a day off, right? The trust that Rickey and Abby have is based on their own simple goodness. It is literally inconceivable to Rickey that the world could be so harsh. We get hints from Abby that she experienced harshness when she was growing up. What she cannot imagine is that the safe place she was so sure she could create with Rickey could be so precarious. The layered title "Sorry We Missed You" refers both to the false concern of the stickers left on homes when no one is there to receive the packages, and to those like the Turner family who are chillingly abandoned by the companies that pay them (it can scarcely be referred to as employment). Beautifully performed with searing honesty and naturalism by the entire cast, the one reassuring note is that sometimes someone like Loach is there to make sure that stories like these, people like these, are not missed, but seen. Loach and Laverty draw us into this couple's struggle to survive. Living on the financial brink disconnects them from each other and deprives them of the precious time they need to be nurturing parents to their two troubled children. Work sucks the living force and love out of Ricky and his loved ones, leaving them without much hope and desperate to return to what they once had and now have lost, even after they have done all the right things and played by all the right rules. At the end of this film, we found ourselves thinking about all the people we see every day — delivering packages, driving taxis and share ride cars, cleaning houses, paying house calls, and other such jobs. In a very real sense, they are on their own, with no real connection to other workers and management. This film exposes the vulnerability behind the appearance of a sound gig economy. And has us wondering what can be done to ensure workers' right and safety. Sonia Bellantone - 5^D