In a business etiquette workshop designed to prepare prospective executives for potential encounters with their western counterparts, an instructor with a polished Stepford veneer briefs her class on hugging protocol and the correct number of teeth to show in a smile (the answer is eight). In a workshop in Zhongshan, a team of women lovingly craft bespoke silicone sex dolls. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in a food processing plant, workers in fat-splattered aprons sift through piles of entrails and duck carcass off-cuts. Trainee butlers, destined to work for Chinas new ultra-wealthy, are briefed on cutlery use and the importance of remaining impassive in the face of unreasonable behaviour. And in a deserted mall in a ghost city, built by developers but subsequently abandoned, stands the worlds saddest ostrich, alone in a bleak petting zoo, an attraction for the shoppers who never came.<\/p>\n
Jessica Kingdons fascinating observational documentary, which looks at aspiration, manufacture, consumption and waste in China, is full of such intriguing snapshots. Accompanied by a lithe, organic score by Dan Deacon, which weaves the rhythms of industry and technology into the music, the film is a mosaic portrait of the realities and repercussions of the Chinese dream. <\/p>\n
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Ascension review surreally fascinating snapshots of the Chinese dream - The Guardian<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a business etiquette workshop designed to prepare prospective executives for potential encounters with their western counterparts, an instructor with a polished Stepford veneer briefs her class on hugging protocol and the correct number of teeth to show in a smile (the answer is eight). In a workshop in Zhongshan, a team of women lovingly craft bespoke silicone sex dolls. Meanwhile, in a food processing plant, workers in fat-splattered aprons sift through piles of entrails and duck carcass off-cuts. Continue reading