Factory worker inspecting the head of a sex doll during assembly in Zhonghan City, Guangdong Province, China, as seen in *Ascension,* directed by Jessica Kingdon. Image courtesy of MTV Documentary Films.

Awarded “Best Documentary” and “Best New Documentary Filmmaker” at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival. This immersion into the lives of everyday workers in China reminded me immediately of Geoffrey Reggio’s 1982 masterpiece “Koyaanisqatsi”which also had no script, no story line, and no talking heads.

It is composed of a barrage of clips of workers, looking for work and in the workplace. Also there are long wide angle shots, often using drones, of the output from this massive work force, the environmental impact on the landfill; and when the camera goes further way, we are treated to landscapes of tragic degradation caused by the manufacturing techniques of the finished products. While there is occasional conversation among the workers’ clips, the only other sound is an ambient abstract soundtrack which enhances the images and the speed with which they appear on the screen.

A user livestreaming to sell her product on the Chinese shopping website Taobao.com, as seen in *Ascension,* directed by Jessica Kingdon. Image courtesy of MTV Documentary Films.

The tracks available for these workers hoping to achieve the “Chinese Dream” is highlighted by some of the training programs. One of them appears like boot camp for military service, as all of the inductees are wearing fatigues and doing calisthenics. There is another which looks like a religious ceremony with the new employees pledging their abiding loyalty to the company. There are classes in western style “butlering” which look like Downton Abbey prep. My favorite is the modelling school lessons in smiling ((only 8 teeth must show), hugging, etc. They are very amusing.

There are forays into the marketing techniques and the emphasis on “fandom”, social media platforms, and the mantras like “Influence or be influenced” or “Knowledge must be monetized”. There is an unforgettably lengthy clip of the female workers on the factory floor where the sex dolls are being manufactured. In this final stage, the individual characteristics are being applied to the specifics of the client. The specificity of the art direction of these life size mannequins will amaze and amuse. Curiously most of the products which we could see being made looked to be specifically for Western users (Ralph Lauren, Maga Hats)

Shot with beautiful, fluid cinematography, it engages both the eye and the brain and it does make you think about the unbridled consumerism which we are all guilty of and what is the real cost of all that wretched excess?