"See Through", by Jokelate

Tao recently posted about a relatively new blog called "China Hush", presented very well by a Chinese American, fluent in both languages and well versed in both cultures. Most of the posts on this blog are by guest authors or are taken from various "Chinese" sources and translated into English. Over this past week, i have been completely blown away by the content, both tortured and beautiful, terrifying and hopeful, thought-provoking and moving. And sometimes it's just plain funny. Best of all, it's not blocked in China (yet).

Here are a few stories that stood out for me...

• An essay about the conditions at a factory which employs almost exclusively 16-22 year old women. They are apparently well taken care of, if they can stay single. Since there are so many women in one place, the boys that show up can have their pick, but are generally up to no good.
• A migrant worker writes first hand about his experience. College educated and talented, he chose this profession and is happy with his life. His co-workers are treated well, fed, and given comfortable lodging. Although, he pointed out that if he worked for 5 years and spent no money, he'd be able to purchase one square meter in the building he's making.
• A 5 month old baby dies during the night shift at a hospital because the on-duty doctors would not take action, even when the parents begged. Later, when the parents attempted to seek legal action, they were beaten mercilessly by the hospital security guards.
• A nineteen year old street vendor becomes famous overnight throughout China, simply for being a beautiful girl and attracting the right people.

The site is incredible. I'm purposely not linking to all those other stories because i want you to see THIS ONE. It's a short, animated film entitled See Through, by a Chinese man who calls himself Jokelate. It's amazing. There are no words to understand and the visuals are stunning. At it's core, it is an anti-war film. There is animated violence, but i believe it's OK for most audiences. Enjoy, and check out the rest of China Hush. It's pretty incredible.

~Kev