Transcript:

Hi, my name is Breanna and this is my visual essay pitch for BCM222

Foxconn Technology Group is a multinational electronics contract manufacturer who has produced some of the world’s most widely consumed electronic devices on behalf of major international companies such as Google, Intel, Nintendo, Amazon and, most prominently, Apple.

Despite having such a world-renowned customer base, Foxconn is shrouded by controversy regarding the working conditions placed upon their staff. The most harrowing aspect of this scrutiny are these highly recognised corporations allowing Foxconn to get away with underpaying, overworking and, worst of all, sacrificing the lives of their staff for the sake of profit.

For my visual essay, I will be delving deeper into the controversies of Foxconn and their working conditions as well as the role their long-term partner Apple plays in masking such vile workplace misconduct.

Although Apple’s last quarter was their most profitable yet, with sales reaching a ridiculous $111.4 billion dollars within the last three months of 2020, they continue to use Foxconn as their manufacturer despite the abysmal environment their workers find themselves trapped by;

with little to no safety precautions, 14 hour shifts per day with expected, undocumented overtime and an extensive list of suicides directly linked to such exploitation with many left unreported.

I am choosing this topic for my visual essay as I myself play a part in the lifecycle of electronic goods, working to sell these devices on a consumer level. I find that it is important to now expose the journey of the globes most favoured gadgets prior to reaching the shelves.

It is hard to imagine that such pristine, innovative products laced with minimalist, white packaging can harbour so many secrets deep within its electronic components, yet the public has been fooled.

Why isn’t there more public uproar against the world’s largest technology company for funding this lethal mistreatment? Why would a company such as Apple with so much to lose proceed to defend the practices of Foxconn rather than finding a solution? I will be finding the answers to these questions and more within my visual essay.

Thank you for watching and stay tuned.

Research Resources:

Chen, J 2020, ‘Foxconn’s rise and labor’s fall in global China’, American Affairs, vol. IV, no. 4, viewed 2^nd May 2021, https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2020/11/foxconns-rise-and-labors-fall-in-global-china/

Duhigg, C & Barboza, D 2012, ‘In China, human costs are built into an iPad’, The New York Times, weblog post, 25^th January, viewed 2^nd May 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/business/ieconomy-apples-ipad-and-the-human-costs-for-workers-in-china.html