Migration 09 Final Take Home Part II

Group Blog Post: Migration, Alladeen Website

The Alladeen website helps to teach its users about the actual conditions of India call centers and their workers. It's hands on interactive approach relates very much similar to that of a call center. It requires its users to click through telephone type buttons to reach a destination that is unknown. They will be confronted with a one on one intimate address from an actual call worker. This approach helps to inform the users of the website and typically helps then clear their prior notions of call centers and outsourced labor. (the Alladeen website is all flash so it would not allow me to put pictures or videos up from it)



Above is a cartoon I pulled from week.com a news website that often displays satirical and political cartoons. It is obvious that the misunderstanding of call centers and outsourced labor influenced this cartoon. On the floor it shows a newspaper that headlines "Outsourced Technical Support Rampant". This leads viewers of this cartoon to think poorly of call center workers and of their skill set. It also doesn't glorify the outsourcing of labor. Although it might eliminate one job in America, it is making a great opportunity for a worker in India.

Not all examples of call centers are misconstrued. In Danny Boyle's 2008 academy award winning Slumdog Millionaire it follows the story of Jamal Malik. Jamal happens to eventually work at a call center which is represented pretty well. Though Receiving a harsh review from Robert Koehler for doing so saying it was very stereotypical. It may be stereotypical but it is a very important part of the workforce in India, and with the way outsourcing is going from the United States it will not slow down.

If media keeps changing its views in a positive direction in the outsourcing of labor and the benefits of global connection and cultural hybridity it will help inform and the world about the truth of outsourcing. The Alladeen website helped change my opinion and I am sure it will continue to influence others.

Works Cited

Alladeen Website. http://www.alladeen.com/fullscreen.html

The Week Website with political cartoons. http://www.theweek.com/cartoons/index/98350/Americans_spend_hours_speaking_with_Indian_call_centers

Robert, Koehler. "Slumdog Millionaire (review)." Cineaste. 34.2 (2009): 75-77.

Slumdog Millionaire. Dir. Danny Boyle, Perf. Dev Patel, Freida Pinto. 2008. DVD. 20th Century Fox., 2009.

Midterm Guinness Book of World Records

Above is a picture displayed on many of the pages including the U.S. and French page of the worlds largest dog treat. This has a very universal appeal and helps show that world records span across many counties.


Above is one of the pictures of the Dallas Cowboys Stadium that appears on the U.S. Homepage of the Guinness Book of World Records.