“Sleep Dealer” and the Border Politics of Tech
Alex Rivera
Notes
Paris Marx is joined by Alex Rivera to discuss his 2008 film Sleep Dealer and how it imagined exploitative technologies being implemented in a future Mexico of hardened borders and limited migration.
Guest
Alex Rivera is a filmmaker and digital media artist whose work explores themes of globalization, migration, and technology. His feature films include Sleep Dealer and The Infiltrators. Follow Alex on Twitter as @Alex_Rivera.
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Links
- You can rent or buy Sleep Dealer from the official website.
- Paris wrote about Sleep Dealer and what it illustrates about technology for Jacobin.
- Border walls are still going up around the world.
- Smart tech is often designed to hide the human labor that makes it work.
- Kiwibot delivery robots are driven by Colombian workers making $2/hour.