Your job is to first watch the film Dirty Pretty Things (Links to an external site.)(Links to an external site.). Students must then post a minimum of THREE paragraphs up to a maximum of FOUR in response to one or two of the discussion questions posted below. NOTE WELL: Three paragraphs is the minimum to pass. You will not be able to make an A if you do not post FOUR paragraphs. (remember, 1 paragraph contains 3-5 sentences on average.) Respond to at least one comment from a previous post, providing thoughtful questions, reflections or similar. (for example a response such as ?great job!? will not suffice.) Responses must be a minimum of three sentences, reflecting on some aspect of the poster’s response.

I recommend reviewing your question options first and then watch the movie while taking notes with that specific question(s) in mind. (hint: DEFINITELY USE QUOTES AND EXAMPLES FROM THE MOVIE IN YOUR ANSWERS.)

NOTE WELL: This movie has more curse words and deals with sexual assault in a more visceral way than the previous three movies we have watched. There is no nudity involved but coerced sex acts involving a main character are depicted at several points in the movie. Please take note of the timestamps I’ve posted below to avoid these scenes as needed. This film is also rated R, so I have posted either graphic scenes, scenes with violence or sexual assault next to their timestamps below the questions.

Choose 1 (max 2) of the following discussion question options:

Imagined Communities: London – In lecture 6 for this course we discussed the keyword globalization and the idea that globalization isn’t experienced evenly by everyone or everywhere. In many ways this film is an ode to geographies of globalization, as we are seeing London from the eyes of its most precarious immigrants. Provide an analysis of the ways the film captures London that is different from how the city is usually imagined. Different perhaps than it likes to imagine itself and certainly different from how it promotes itself to be (for example this is not the London as portrayed during the 2012 Olympic Games or in the James Bond franchise.) Be sure to use examples from the film in your answers. Some elements you may focus on are the social groups that make up the world of the film (for example how many born Britons are in the movie?), these social groups position in London society, why some of them might be motivated to sell their organs illegally, how they interact with the British state, British society/assumptions made about them by the British state/British society, etc. You may focus on other aspects of globalization you identify, and/or the other differences between imagined London and London as portrayed in this movie.

Globalized commodities: In lecture 6 we also talked about how globalization changes commodities by coming into contact with local cultures and contexts. How has the UK’s immigration policy influenced the global organ trade? Use examples from the film in your answer. (You might also be interested in this map of the actually existing illegal kidney economy (Links to an external site.). Scroll down for map and key to legend.)

Geographies of development: In lecture 6 we also discussed the key concept of development, which is the idea that the wealthiest western nations have fully developed economically and other countries in the global south need to adopt policies that allow them to “catch up” developmentally to these wealthier nations, like the UK and US. How does the film portray the relationship between the London’s economy and undocumented workers? Does it appear that London needs or relies on this sort of undocumented labor? Use examples from the film to discuss your answer. Reflect on what this implies about how migration policy and economic policy work together or not.

Geographies of Personhood: Do migrants have personhood in London? Use several examples of different people’s experiences to explain why or why not.

Dirty Pretty Things: What are some examples of Dirty Pretty Things as conveyed by the film? discuss.

Other: Analyze aspects of the film using any other key concept or combination of key concepts from this course.

**Time-stamps**

8:10-8:53 – Blood coming up from toilet, shows a realistic human heart

32:08-32:40 – Sex worker / shows a paid for and consensual sex act (no nudity)

37:00-37:15 – Shows major surgical injury

47:53 ? 48:50 ? threats of sexual violence leading to sexual assault (no nudity)

58:27- attempted sexual assault (ends in retaliation)

1:11:30-1:12:25 ? extortionary request for sex; shows coerced copulation (no nudity)

1:23:50 -1:24:35 ? shows live kidney surgery