Chain of Love

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Chain of Love

A Film by Marije Meerman

film still The demand for domestic help is increasing in the West, because in many families both parents must work for economic survival. One consequence is migration: escalating numbers of women in the Third World are leaving their own children to take care of kids in the West.

Women from the Philippines are well regarded by prospective employers in the United States and Europe. They speak English, are Catholic, and according to many, are caring, intelligent, and compliant. Or, as Rhacel Parrenas (author of the study Global Servants) remarks, "The Filipino nanny is the Mercedes Benz amongst the international [caregivers]."

The money the expatriates earn in the West is sent home to the Philippines, where local help can then be hired to look after their children. This money is the Philippines' largest source of income in foreign currency.

CHAIN OF LOVE is a film about the Philippines' second largest export product - maternal love - and how this export affects the women involved, their families in the Philippines, and families in the West.

"An excellent documentary for anyone trying to understand the current processes of globalization. One of the strengths of the film is that it included many perspectives. ...does an outstanding job of exploring key issues... Overall, this is an excellent and timely documentary that focuses on important gender aspects of work in the global economy." - Gale Summerfield, Director of the Women and Gender in Global Perspectives Program of Human and Community Development at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, for the Asian Educational Media Service's 'News and Reviews'

"A much-needed reminder on the egregious conditions demanded of women within the Third World and the easy exploitation of foreign labor within the industrial world." - Film Threat

"Packed with information from different points view... provides the facts but leaves viewers use their own judgement." - Generation Rice

"Recommended! An important and timely topic in an age of increasing economic globalization. This film is recommended for a general audience, and would be most useful in an academic library supporting a sociology or cultural studies course examining Southeast Asia and women's labor issues." - Educational Media Reviews Online

** 2003 Award of Excellence, Society for Visual Anthropology
** 2003 American Anthropological Association Conference Film Festival
** 2003 National Women's Studies Association Conference Film Festival
** 2003 Association for Asian Studies Conference Film Festival

50 minutes / color / 2001
Sale/video-dvd: $390
Rental/video: $75

Subject areas: Adolescence, Asia, Economic Sociology, Economics, Family Relations, Globalization, Labor Studies, Multi-Cultural Studies, Sociology, Western Europe, Women's Studies

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Last updated 09/01/2006