Friday, December 2, 2011

Movie:  “Schmatta:  Rags to Riches to Rags”

“Schmatta:  Rags to Riches to Rags” is the featured movie.  Directed by Marc Levin, it was first aired on HBO in 2009.   The production is a loving and sobering look at the demise of New York’s garment industry, where the loss of manufacturing jobs to nations with cheaper labor represents “a microcosm of everything that’s going on in this country.”  It zeroes in on the fashion industry’s pursuit of lower costs and a glimpse of a disappearing way of life that speaks to the larger issue of where an entire stratum of U.S. blue collar jobs has gone.

The movie weaves stories of the bustling Manhattan streets with the 1911Triangle Factory fire where 146 women locked in and working on the eighth through tenth floors died when the building erupted in flames to a similar tragedy in Bangladesh decades later, as well as the controversy over Kathie Lee Gifford allowing her clothing line to be produced in overseas sweatshops.

A discussion after the movie will be facilitated by urban planners Jay Crossley and Zakcq Lockrem and Planners’ Revolution staff.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The movie begins at 7:00 p.m. with live music following at 8 p.m. Cost is $5 person, which includes free cocktails.  $15 gets you admission, cocktails, popcorn, a meal and wine. The Vegan Comfort café will be open from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Bike parking is available on Holman, and free auto parking is located behind the Midtown Arts Center.