Synopsis
A new form of observational documentary that borders on science-fiction, John & Jane follows the stories of six Call Agents that answer American 1-800 numbers at a Mumbai call center.
2005 Directed by Ashim Ahluwalia
A new form of observational documentary that borders on science-fiction, John & Jane follows the stories of six Call Agents that answer American 1-800 numbers at a Mumbai call center.
John and Jane, John & Jane Toll-Free
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With John and Jane we get to dive nosefirst into the world of the dreamy profession that Call Centres, I for one who has worked in call centres felt so relatable to each and every word coming out of the mouth of the 6 young people that Ashim Ahluwalia bases his story on and I felt like I have worked with these people somewhere down the line that I think nobody except people who have worked in Call Centres would feel as Ashim Ahluwalia intentionally makes us feel alienated, he intentionally makes us feel like we are nowhere near India, so much so that we feel awkward even at the glimpse of India in the film, it comes at our…
if jem cohen specialized in a series of short portraits on a globalized ~society~ and pushed for his thesis more than he observed his characters. still relevant. i worked in the bpo industry, where call centers are derived from, under an american client at the bottom of the food chain for a year. the bullshit regulations we had to comply with were insane. with that in mind, i respect the film's crew for shooting as extensively as they did within the company: clear recordings of the workers' calls; hours of sitting their language and murican propaganda classes; and the freedom to move around the stalls and frame their shots. perhaps companies weren't as paranoid about corporate espionage and labor/union issues…
This film scared me. Makes you think about the people in it. It's like a part of me died watching these good people lose their humanity and almost turned in to half-robots with dreams. They are being brainwashed in to the American dream whereas their lives won't change for any good in an underpaid and underappreciated work environment that they are in. It's sad and scary how corporates abuse the vulnerable.
it’s really hard to make a documentary that is so good it feels like fiction but they did it! and it’s devastating
Actually amazing. If you have worked in call centers in any capacity this will destroy you. I work adjacently to call centers - and it's always as harrowing as this film wants to make it out to be.
There's some music placements here that are subconsciously trying to make you associate call centers with hell. It's not a hard comparison to make, but it's uncalled for in large swaths of where this director wanted to throw them in there.
There's a section that has one call rep brag about how one of her pals in the same living situation as her will talk to her about work and understand s the same struggles that she deals with. This takes place while some anxiety inducing music starts up. It's uncomfortable to try to label human interaction like that as "cringe"! Let them be human!
A bleak picture of call center life and global capitalism. Uncomfortable to watch. But that’s not why I’m giving it a middling rating. I’m giving it a middling rating because it’s too slow paced and there’s not really any overarching narrative, so it comes off as muddled and incoherent.