Jessica Kingdon's Ascension and Labor ( Marisol Vasquez Non-Core Post 8 / 10 )

In “Data Feminism,” my favorite part about reading the chapter were the data visualization images, with some articulating the relationship between visible and invisible labor, such as the “Diverse Economies Iceberg” (190). I often think a lot about the distribution of the visible and invisible in terms of labor, and one film that does so is Jessica Kingdon’s Ascension (2022). An observational documentary, Kingdon moves from the low-waged and underpaid workers seeking employment for factory work, such as Foxconn, with the film clambering upwards towards higher echelons of class positions and valuable labor. Teenage gamers, silicon sex doll factory workers, aspiring social media influencers, banquet hall servers, or a massive waterpark constitute some of the class positions and labor and leisure practices. As the film’s title suggests, Ascension involves escalating upwards and mirrors not only China’s economic desires but also that of the nation-state’s post-socialist citizens, and the labor practices invoke both factory production and the digital economy. Ascension traverses within and throughout this distribution of the visible and invisible reflecting China’s economic transformations that have encouraged citizens to become both producers and consumers.