Sideswipe: June 24: Minions a metaphor?

Capitalism at work.

Can we understand the entire history of the capitalist labour market through the kid's movie Despicable Me? Polish academic Justyna Szklarczyk says yes. She says the Minions embody the ideal workforce and are exploited by it. "They are standardised, highly interchangeable, and desperate for any job they can find," she writes. "They neither bleed nor break, they do not require healthcare, they are tireless, unaffected by growth or ageing, they remain unchanging and always ready to work." Their exploitation comes at the hands, she argues, not only of their master Gru but also of Universal Pictures. By being portrayed as the unruly lower class, the film casts Minions as foolish and infantile creatures who are only able to actualise themselves under capitalism: Serving a master who belongs to the "transnational jet-set" of billionaire-coded villains who own private jets and live in palaces is the only way they seem to achieve happiness. The also film suggests that the Minions' freedom from Gru is because they are a little dim, suggesting that of the working classes. Thus, the toil of the nascent subject is ultimately ridiculed."

Did you know ...

Traffic jam: The average traffic speed in modern-day Central London is about the same speed as it was when the streets were filled with horse-drawn carriages.

Too cute: According to a 2017 study, most young children think having a birthday party is what causes you to become a year older.

Pride: In gay slang, a "friend of Dorothy" is a gay man. During the 1980s, the US military conducted a massive investigation to find out who Dorothy was.

Hellscape slide

Pregnant people needed for research

AUT's Sport & Recreation School urgently need more pregnant people on the North Shore to take part in some research looking at how pregnancy changes the body, and how much exercise is safe to do during pregnancy. The ultimate aim is to help make pregnancy safer for mother and baby. The women can be at any stage of their pregnancy, have any level of fitness, and ideally be aged between around 18 to 40 (though they'll accept people outside that range). They undergo monthly health checks, and each trimester their changing body mass is captured in a 3D whole-body imager, while motion capture technology is used to assess walking and balance. Sign up at www.sprinz.ac.nz.