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Anti-globalization deafening sounds: on Naomi KleinsThe Take and the voices from the South

Jorge, the protagonist of the Argentine filmBar El Chino( aniel !ura", Argentina, #$$%&,

re'ects the offer to live abroad on the grounds that to live )ithout an economic crisis must bever* boring + !ut even Jorge did not en'o* )hat happened in Argentina in ecember #$$ +

After a decade of economic reforms and several *ears on the brin" of disaster, the stra) that

bro"e the camel s bac" )as the ./0 s suspension of its loans to Argentina+ 1anic ensued:

there )ere runs on ban"s )ith depositors tr*ing to get their mone* out of the countr* and to

convert pesos into dollars: as a conse2uence, the government )as forced to impose severe

restrictions on the amount of mone* ordinar* citizens could )ithdra)#

3 )ith 4 1 andmanufacturing output falling at an alarming rate and unemplo*ment running at #%5, and )ith

6%5 of the population belo) the official povert* line%, ordinar* Argentines had enough: protests

erupted on the streets7+

8here are generall* t)o e9planations of )hat happened in Argentina+ 8he first, e9emplified b*

obert /ussa puts the blame on Argentina and the incapacit* of its government to cut public

e9penditure )hile the ./0 is to a large e9tent e9culpated of all blame6

+ !ut then, /ussahappens to )or" for the ./0+ 8he second e9planation puts the blame on the .nternational

/onetar* 0und and the policies it dictated for Argentina during the nineties and that 1resident

/enem, )ho does not escape criticism, )as all to happ* to adopt+ After such a spectacular

failure of the neo-liberal pro'ect, it )as onl* natural for the Argentine crisis to attract the

attention of those fighting neo-liberalism and globalization+

8he )ell "no)n 'ournalist and anti-globalization activist Naomi Klein )as one of them+ 0or her, )hat happened in Argentina )as the result of the application of neo-liberal economic policies

and economic globalization+ At the same time, she sees the Argentinean social response to

the crisis as an anti-globalization protest in line )ith the protests that too" place in Seattle or

South Africa and as proof of people s resistance to neo-liberalism all over the globe+

0or a detailed e9planation of the causes of the crisis see ;arranza (#$$6&, ;arrera (#$$

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8he documentar* filmThe Take (Avi =e)is ? Naomi Klein, ;anada, #$$%& co-directed )ith her

husband Avi =e)is and financed b* the ;anadian 1ublic !roadcasting ;ompan* and the

;anadian 0ilm !oard, is part of Klein s )or" on Argentina+ 8o the best of m* "no)ledge, the

film has never being released commerciall* although it is possible to bu* the @ in shops+

=e)is and Klein too" the first complete cop* of the film bac" to Argentina and screenedThe

Take for the first time at a public gathering )ith the protagonists of the film+The Take follo)s

the attempts of a group of )or"ers to recuperate their closed factor* )hile, at the same time,

trac"ing some of the struggles in t)o of the most famous cases of factor* occupation in

Argentina+ 8he occupation of failing or closed companies b* their )or"ers is one of the most

interesting forms of social protest in Argentina+ 8he phenomenon has its roots in the earl*

eighties but reached its pea" after the #$$ crisis+

hat follo)s is not an attempt to criticize the ideas Klein puts for)ard in the film B . do adhere

to a great deal of )hat she sa*s+ .nstead, . )ant to problematize some of the strategies Klein

uses in her activism and that are clearl* present inThe Take+ .n particular, . )ill argue that Avi

=e)is and Naomi Klein s documentar* give ver* little importance to the voice of the Argentine

)or"er+ 8he voiceover narration b* the t)o directors carries an anti-globalization message

)hich is never present in the voice of its theoretical protagonists+ !* imposing the concept of

anti-globalization to a local situation, the message in the film becomes easil* acceptable )ithin

certain groups in the estern )orld but in so doing, the film, at best, silences the voices from

the South and at )orst, negates, misrepresents and misunderstands the voice of the

Argentinean )or"ers in the film+ . )ill then briefl* compareThe Take )ith an e9ample from one

of the numerous documentaries made in Argentina b* Argentineans on the theme of )or"ers

occupation of companies,FASINPAT , (The Bossless Factory, aniele .ncalcaterra, Argentina,

#$$6&+

=et s start b* sho)ing *ou a short e9tract from the film+ .t is from the beginning ofThe Take.

After a historical introduction )e get to the protest of #$$ + .t encapsulates most of the issues .

)ant to tal" about+

8here are a fe) important criticisms that can be made: 0irst, )hile it is true that Argentina )ent

through five presidents in ten da*s, all )ere elected follo)ing the mechanisms established in

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the constitution )ith the militar* no)here in sight B a first in recent Argentine histor*, but the

protesters )ere no close, as Klein declares, but far a)a* from getting their )ish since the five

presidents, including the one )ho managed to stic" to it, )ere and still are part of the same

political class protesters )anted to thro) out+ Second, the countr* did not refuse to pa* its

debt3 it declared ban"ruptc* )hich is not the same+ !an"ruptc* is 'ust another tool for

capitalists, not the brea"ing do)n of the s*stem, and ban"s onl* loc"ed the middle and

)or"ing classes out of their mone*, not the rich )ho managed to get the mone* out of the

countr* B as Klein mentions 'ust before m* clip started+ So the s*stem as the* call it, )or"ed

'ust fine+

8hird, it is true that people )ere re'ecting the )hole modelC but )hich modelD Are the*

suggesting the neo-liberal modelD A 2ualified *es+ ;apitalismD A clear no+ hat model )here

the* re'ectingD /arcela =>pez-=ev* anal*sing the social movements that appeared in

Argentina after #$$ notes 1eople have ta"en to the streets in a manner that reaches be*ond

protest3 the* have demanded a complete restructuring of the state and of social relations

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So )hen the narration in the film tell us that social protest in Argentina is e9actl* )hat has

been happening around the )orld from Seattle to South Africa it is onl* partiall* right+ 8rue,

most of the economic policies are roughl* similar but the conte9t is completel* different and

cannot and should not, in m* vie), be ignored+ ather than forcing Argentina to fit into the

straight 'ac"et of some )ell meaning theor* concocted in the estern )orld, it seems to me

that )e should tr* to )or" the other )a* round: tr*ing to understand different protests in their

o)n conte9t and from there highlight similarities, coincidences and dra) lessons that could be

of general application+ .n a commentar* on Klein s latest boo",The Shock Doctrine, that

appeared recentl* in the 'ournalRadical Philosophy, onald Suresh oberts accuses Klein of

Irientalism )hen discussing South African politics and suggests that she is guilt* of the same

imperialism she is tr*ing to resist+ . )ill agree )ith that+

A second set of problems that the clip demonstrates are not e9clusive to Klein and =e)is+The

Take is 'ust one of man* e9amples in television and the cinemas+ And since the nglish

director /ichael interbottom is currentl* shooting )ith Klein a documentar* on her latest

boo" . am prett* sure the* )ill be reproduced again+ Although, . )ill be ver* happ* if . )ere to

be proven )rong+

No) let me ta"e *ou into the )onderful )orld of film theor*, in particular documentar* film

theor*+ . )ant to e9plore the concept of the voice of the documentar* )hich e9plains ver* )ell

)h* Klein and =e)is narrate their o)n film and )h* do )e see them on screen+ 0ilm theorist

!ill Nichols defines the voice of the documentar* as the specific )a* in )hich an argument or

perspective is e9pressed #+ 8he voice of the documentar* refers not onl* to )hat point of vie)

the filmma"er )ants to conve* but also to ho) this point is manifested in the film%+ 8he voice

of a documentar* can be put across not onl* through spo"en )ords but b* all means available+

The Take is a documentar* in e9positor* form and Nichols e9plains that this form relies heavil*

on the spo"en )ord to inform about the logic of the film+ 8he commentar* in this t*pe of film is

of a higher form than the accompan*ing images7+ .n reference to The Take, Klein s script

delivered b* her and Avi =e)is carries the meaning of the film, not the images or the

oberts, #$$F# Nichols, #$$ , p+7%% .bid+ p+ 767 .bid+ $G

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comments of the )or"ers+ or"ers sa* ver* little inThe Take+ 8he* tal" but hardl* ever are

the* allo)ed to e9press a coherent argument about the occupation of the factor* or about their

future plans+ 8he* cr*, )orr*, laugh and get emotional but the rational e9planations are onl*

provided b* Klein and =e)is+ And )hen one of the )or"ers reveals his support for president

/enem it is the* rather than his co-)or"ers the ones )ho as" )h*+ or"ers are negated a

political voice+ Klein and =e)is provide it for us+ 8his is such a common )a* of presenting

things that even an e9perienced revie)er li"e 4u* est)ell falls for it and he praises the film

because in The Take (r&esistance is no) an e9ercise in humilit*, decenc* and hard )or"6 + If

course+ 4od protect us if apart from being humble, decent and hard )or"ing, Argentineans

should have a brain capable of e9pressing rational, logical thoughts+

8he commentar* in films li"eThe Take is delivered in a fairl* neutral tone+ !ut the impression

of truth provided b* the commentar* is helped b* the fact that both Klein and =e)is tell us that

the* have *ears of e9perience as activists and also because the* are there as if being there

)ill guarantee better "no)ledge or understanding+ Nichols e9plains that this is the structure of

the ne)s on television )ith an anchor person and a reporter+ 8he convention is that the anchor

tell us about something but lest *ou doubt, . )ill prove the truth of )hat . said b* inviting a

reporter to provide further detail from the ver* place )here the stor* is unfolding

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about neo-liberal economic policies and globalization+ !ut it should never obscure the main

issue of the film: the occupation of the factor*+

8o finish, . )ant to sho) *ou a ver* short e9tract from one of the man* documentaries made

b* Argentineans on factor* occupations+ ith their lac" of voiceover narration, )ithout theactive presence of the filmma"ers on camera, these Argentine documentaries provide a space

for the voice of the Argentinean )or"er, a voice that does not need to be reinterpreted for

audiences+ 8he* offer the necessar* space and time for the )or"ers to e9press their opinions+

.n most cases, the* refuse to sho) emotional moments B contrar* toThe Take B and )hen

sho)n the* are al)a*s lin"ed to the fight to "eep the occupied factor*+The Take follo)s the

formula . am spea"ing to *ou about them , these documentaries follo) the formula )e are

spea"ing to *ou about us and in most cases *ou mean Argentineans, not the estern )orld+

8hese Argentine films trust the )or"ers to spea" for themselves allo)ing them to e9press their

opinions and ideas in a local conte9t+ And in their localism, the* manage to spea" to the man*

around the )orld+

8he clip sho)s a representative of a recuperated factor* e9plaining their aims and ob'ectives

during a radio program run b* the factor* )or"ers in the local radio station+

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Bibliography:

!onnet, Alberto + (#$$

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