{"id":25355,"date":"2025-06-26T13:36:28","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T13:36:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/?p=25355"},"modified":"2026-03-03T14:24:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T14:24:52","slug":"you-cant-control-resistance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/?p=25355","title":{"rendered":"Handbook: advice for filmmakers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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FEATURED EXAMPLES<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Blood, sweat & takeaways
Girl model
UDITA
Mangetout<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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INGREDIENTS<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

INTENTIONS<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Pop the bubble
Cross cultures
Show capitalist evils
Tell the truth
Teach economic geography
Show what’s possible<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TACTICS<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Have a theory of change
Choose an audience
Make it familiar
Bring managers into view
Involve consumers
Fund the unions
Humanise workers
Workers take the mic!
Lie to tell the truth
Silence your critics<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RESPONSES<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

This is so sad
Capitalism is sh*t
I won’t buy it
Liar! Fraud!
It’s so badly mad
Who to believe?
I’m humming that music
These people are inspiring<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IMPACTS<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Now I know
Now we’re talking
I shop differently now
Corporations change
Governments intervene
Debts are paid off
Can’t tell<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“You can’t Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V resistance<\/strong>“ <\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
By Lucian Harford<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

IN BRIEF<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Student Lucian Harford has taken the ‘Geographies of material culture’ module at the University of Exeter. He’s been watching trade justice documentaries, analysing the comments on their followthethings.com pages, and making sense of them using a draft copy of ‘The followthethings.com handbook for trade justice activism’. He knows a thing or two about how trade justice documentaries work and what they can do. He’s’s been asked to imagine meeting a filmmaker who’s planning a new trade justice documentary. What advice could he give? Well, it turns into a bit of a rant. He’s been riled up by these films and the ways that they’ve been discussed on their followthethings.com pages. He ends up giving some stark, unexpected advice. We can’t give you the spoiler here though. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More about this page.<\/summary>\n

We are slowly piecing together a followthethings.com handbook for trade justice activism<\/em> and are publishing draft pages here as we write them. This is an ‘advice’ page. The main text is an example of student work from the ‘Geographies of material culture’ module which followthethings.com CEO Ian ran at the University of Exeter in the 2024-25 academic year. Students watched 8 films, and read their pages on followthethings.com (with the expeption of an unfinished film called The ginger trail<\/em>). They were asked to pair the comments brought together on each of the films’ followthethings.com pages with the appropriate ingredients phrases (naming their intentions, tactics, responses and impacts – show in bold below) being drafted for the Handbook<\/em>. Using these phrases as a pattern language (see FAQs), students were tasked to work out how specific intentions (e.g. improve workers’ pay & conditions<\/strong>) needed specific tactics (e.g. flip the script<\/strong>) to generate different kinds of responses (e.g. this is disgusting<\/strong>), which could generate different kinds of impacts (e.g. audiences are empowered<\/strong>). [NB pages about each of these ingredients are coming soon] At the end of the module, students were asked to imagine that they had met someone who was about to make their first trade justice documentary. Drawing on what they had learned in the module, what advice could they give them on how to make it effective?<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

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When it escapes the cinema room and ambushes you in Aisle 3, Sainsbury\u2019s, Exeter, EX1 3PF. Let me contextualise. December 2024. Deep in my nectar price era \ud83e\udd11, zigzagging Pinhoe Sainsbury\u2019s. I\u2019m on a mission. Marx would\u2019ve hated me. Classic case of commodity fetishism (Cook et al., 2002).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sainsbury’s Exeter store.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

29th of March 2025. Day after my last Geographies of Material Culture<\/em> seminar. I\u2019m back in Sainsbury\u2019s. Innocent enough, right? Wrong. Aisle 3. Midway between the mangetout and the courgettes. Boom – my brain betrays me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It whispers: \u201cTesco\u2019s our dear friend.\u201d \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I froze. Kenyan broccoli gave me side-eyes. Ghanaian pineapples look like they\u2019re organising a strike. Jamaican bananas are silently mourning my moral compass. \ud83d\udc80 It was no longer a food shop but a postcolonial reckoning under migraine-inducing strip lighting\u2026\u2026..cheers (Cook and Harrison, 2003). Thanks, material culture<\/em> films. You broke me. But like\u2026 in a good way? I guess consumption with a conscience is better than nothing (Wenzel, 2011). Now I\u2019m spiralling. If a film can do that to me (burrow into my nectar choices and trolley). Is that\u2026 \u2728effective\u2728? \ud83e\udd14 Do you even know what \u2728effective\u2728 means? Here\u2019s a clue. Have a theory of change.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshot from the Handbook.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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No, it\u2019s not just some academic buzzword. It\u2019s your ‘how’. HOW does ‘X’ lead to ‘Y’ (Duncombe, 2023). Think about it like a chain. Your activism\u2019s intentions<\/em> need the right tactics<\/em>, as they likely to lead to specific responses<\/em> and impacts<\/em>. Example: If you want your film\u2019s response – IDK – to be ‘capitalism is sh*t<\/strong>‘ and its impact to be ‘I shop differently now<\/strong>‘ \ud83d\udc81 (or go bigger: corporations change!)<\/strong>, then it needs the correct intentions and tactics to hopefully lead to this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshots from the Handbook.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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That\u2019s a theory of change<\/strong> 101! Easy, right\u2026\u2026.?? NOPE. Thats what REALLY pisses me off. \ud83d\ude24 \u26a0\ufe0f Disclaimer: This might turn into a crazy rant \u26a0\ufe0f<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Right. Say you want to make a film to take down capitalism (slay). If that\u2019s where you\u2019re starting, go back and watch Mark Phillips’ Mangetout<\/em> (1997). It dropped right before the 1999 Battle of Seattle, a pivotal moment when people really started calling out the global trade injustice screwing over the Global South (Bannister and Bergan, 2023).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mangetout popped the bubble<\/strong> as it was the \u2018first time British viewers were confronted with their most popular supermarket, Tesco\u2019 (Millar in Cook et al., 2025, np). And it crossed cultures<\/strong> of the \ud83e\udedbpea. From farm \ud83c\uddff\ud83c\uddfc to shelf \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshots from the Handbook<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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It introduced Grannie Chabvundira, \u2018a 25-year-old mangetout caterpillar inspector\u2019 (Philips in ibid), who drops the line: \u201clife is too hard\u201d (Mangetout, 2005 time 41.12), becuase of F***ing Tesco\u2019s!!! \ud83d\ude33<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshot of Grannie talking in Mangetout.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Unlike Grannie, Tesco manager Mark Dady was brought into view<\/strong>. On the farm, Mark and his team \u2018were treated like Gods\u2019 (O\u2019Mally in Cook et al., 2025, np). \u2018It was sickening\u2019 (ibid). \ud83e\udd22<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshots from the Handbook<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Screenshot of Mark Dady’s arrival at the farm where Grannie worked in Mangetout.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Afterwards, \u2018Tesco became evil [or sh*t<\/strong>] <\/strong>for me\u2019 (Chapman in ibid). <\/strong>I too questioned my damn shopping habits and thought ‘I won\u2019t buy it<\/strong>!’ \u26d4 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshots from the Handbook<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Seems a good impact? You might think, ‘to be \u2728effective\u2728, I gotta do what Mangetout<\/em> did’. Not so fast, young activist, it\u2019s not that simple. \ud83d\ude1d Introducing Blessing. \u2018Chief mange-tout picker at Chiparawe<\/em>\u2019 (Hall in ibid). He has never been to Tesco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshot + quotation from Mangetout<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, the penny has dropped for you as it did for me. Blessing\u2019s life isn\u2019t anyone\u2019s to interpret. There\u2019s no blueprint for \u2728effective\u2728 activism, no one path to impact. People, contexts, and strategies vary, too (Duncombe, 2024).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s like me saying Mangetout<\/em> existed to make JUST ME and YOU \ud83e\udef5 feel something. #Embarrassed #Selfish \ud83d\ude16 So. You should choose an audience<\/strong>. Nisbet and Aufderheide (2009) say mobilisation begins with specificity. Your film doesn\u2019t need everyone. Just the right people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshots from the Handbook<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Take Nick Broomfield\u2019s 2006 film Ghosts<\/em>, it knew who to talk to. Its ‘X’ was to show capitalist evils <\/strong>and blow the lid off the Morecambe Bay disaster to \u2018establish our complicity as consumers in the workers\u2019 fate\u2019 (McCahill in Allen et al., 2025 np). \ud83e\udee5<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Take this scene. Read the subtitles! Ai Quin & her co-worker are in a Tesco store. Before they harvested cockles in Morecambe Bay, they’d picked spring onions Tesco. Ghosts<\/em> ripped the packaging open and said: ‘They\u2019re not just onions. They\u2019re testimonies of struggle’ (Cook & Woodyer, 2012).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ghosts<\/em> \u2018showed the dark side of globalisation\u2019 (Bradshaw in Allen et al., 2025, np). It didn\u2019t just say the politics of consumption are broken. It \u2018made for an uncomfortable viewing\u2019 (Tinniswood in ibid), making Tinniswood feel globalisation’s fracture lines (Hartwick, 2000). \ud83e\udd15 Great! Now I know<\/strong> about \u2018the appalling circumstances\u2019 (Tang in Allen et al., 2025, np) of the Morecambe Bay disaster, and that Ghosts<\/em> encouraged audience to donate momey to pay off the debts <\/strong>of the drowned workers’ famililes in China. A couple of ‘Ys’ for this film. \ud83d\ude4c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshots from the Handbook.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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That’s good impact, but\u2026\u2026 in my opinion … MORECAMBE BAY SHOULDN’T HAVE HAPPENED IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!! \ud83e\udd2c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m getting riled up. Let\u2019s talk irony and absurdity. Ilha das Flores<\/em>, is a 1989 pseudo-doc that teaches economic geography<\/strong> as \u2018deep as a punch in the stomach\u2019 (@nacaotutumbaie3559 in Pavalow, 2025 np). It\u2019s about ‘capitalism, told through the story of a tomato\u2019 (Delaney, in ibid).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshot from the Handbook<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The film, particularly this scene at the end (read subtitles \ud83d\udc47), made me feel like \u2018an alien watching a documentary about inequality on Earth\u2019 \ud83d\udc7d (@Canalinfantilreinabowwfriends in ibid).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshots from Ilha das Flores.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

People raved! \u2018What an incredible documentary\u2019 (@rosangelafigueiredo6082 in ibid), and it was crowned \u2018the best Brazilian short film ever made\u2019 (Anon in ibid)! \ud83d\udc51 It\u2019s haunting, clever, and people \u2018remember it very well\u2019 (@AndersonPedron in ibid). Its impact? I can\u2019t tell<\/strong>\u2026\ud83e\udd37<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshot from the Handbook<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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What now? Let’s try another example. Your intention could be to pop the bubble<\/strong> – <\/strong>because \u2018when it comes to food, we are spoilt for choice, but would we feel the same if we knew the human cost?\u2019 (Anon in Clarke et al., 2025 np) – and your tactics could be to make it familiar<\/strong> and involve some consumers<\/strong>. ‘X’ clearly leads to ‘Y’?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshots from the Handbook<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Screenshots from the Handbook.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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This is what BBC 3\u2019s Blood Sweat and Takeaways<\/em> series did. It followed \u2018six typical young British food consumers\u2019 (Cuthbertson in ibid) who were dumped into the sweat and steam of Southeast Asia\u2019s food production lines. One, \u2018[Manos] was annoying from the first 5 mins\u2019 (HairHolic in ibid) after kindly being hosted at a supply chain worker\u2019s home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshot from Blood, sweat & takeaways.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n


Another, Olu, then body slams Manos into a glass wall in a tuna factory. \ud83e\udee0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshot from Blood, sweat & takeaways.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It was like watching Love Island sweatshop edition! These consumers were insane! <\/strong>Honestly, it was \u2018so excruciating that you\u2019re tempted to\u2019 (Ferguson in ibid) turn off this badly made<\/strong> \u2018scripted drama bs\u2019 (keikurooka5105 in ibid) \ud83e\udd2c.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

N\u00e5ls (2018) was right. By involving<\/strong> the wrong consumers<\/strong>\/characters<\/strong>, you risk your audience sitting back partially detaching, watching suffering like it\u2019s another episode\u2026..or worse fully detaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tactic screenshots from the Handbook<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Response screenshots from the Handbook<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Need proof? Read below \ud83d\ude2c \ud83d\udc47\ud83d\ude02<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I know its a little off topic but does anyone know what song it is at 36.14, I really like it (Source: hyperventil8 2012 np link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The song is called \u2018We Walk\u2019 by The Ting Tings (Source: TopshelferDude 2012 np link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Does anyone know the song @ 53:50 i want to know please reply D: (Source: theMarcus4131 2012 np link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Song is \u2018Kids\u2019 by MGMT (Source: TopshelferDude 2012 np link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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F**k you for putting Chemical Brothers and Justice on such a sh*tty documentary (Source: anevershiftingsun 2012 np link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Discussion of Blood, sweat & takeaways<\/em> in Clarke et al<\/em> (2025, np).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Okay, I need to breathe. You need to breathe. This rant is not over. \u2620 Let\u2019s talk about another example. And lies. Yes – LIES. Your doc could lie to tell the truth<\/strong>. Sorry, not sorry. \ud83d\ude08<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshot from the Handbook.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Stam (2016) said it. Documentaries are not \u2018pure\u2019, never were. Never will be. \ud83e\udee2 Take Primark: On the Rack<\/em>. The 2008 documentary followed a thing (a sequin top) by using \u2018hidden cameras\u2019 (McDougall in Adley et al., 2025 np) to uncover \u2018the use of child labour in the finishing of cheap clothes\u2019 (ibid). Stam would love this \ud83e\udd23<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshots from Primark – on the rack.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This was connective aesthetics – grabbing your senses, stirring emotions, making you realise that every time you throw on a \u00a33 Primark tee (Cook et al., 2000). But you\u2019re also watching \u2018three boys in a Bangalore workshop testing stitching\u2019 (Anon in Adley et al., 2025 np). So this crashed headfirst into the very myth it challenged. \ud83d\ude44 And Primark tried to silence its critics<\/strong>. They cried LIAR, FRAUD!!!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshots from the Handbook.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The \u2018footage could not be genuine\u2019 (Primark in ibid). Primark even set up a website: \u2018www.primarkresponse.com\u2019, showing \u2018what Primark had to do to expose this false claim and clear our name\u2019 (ibid). What a MESS! Now. Over to one commenter, Siddy_06 \ud83e\udd72 : ‘What are we meant to dooo?! I wish someone would tell me, If I get what I would buy from another shop, who can guarantee they are not doing the same thing?’ (in ibid). YES, SIDDY_06. SCREAM IT. LOUDER. FOR. THE. PEOPLE. IN. THE. BACK. Who to believe<\/strong>!!!!!???? \ud83d\ude2d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshot from the Handbook.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Levine (2007) would probably argue that SIDDY_06\u2019s scepticism wasn\u2019t just ignorance or rejection – it was a complex, socially driven response to fear, stigma, and mistrust of authority in the trade justice movement. Just when you\u2019ve understood that. Now, enter Wallace Heim (2003) who says the power of a documentary lies in sowing seeds for future rethinking – quiet mindset changes that bloom into something bigger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks for the mind f*ck Wall-Ace. But WTF is one meant to do! Scatter \u2728effective\u2728 seeds into the wind and hope something grows (see Duncombe 2024)!? Actually\u2026.. maybe Wall-Ace has a point. \ud83d\ude11 If your film just tells the truth and holds it up to the light, maybe beautiful \u2728effectiveness\u2728 will bloom. Honesty is the best policy, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TBF, the film Udita<\/em> shows what\u2019s possible<\/strong> by telling the truth<\/strong>. Screw the official story \ud83e\udd71. The real truth lies in those who live and tell their stories<\/strong> (Zeng, 2017). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshotted intentions from the Handbook.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Udita<\/em> plunges you into the chaos before, during, and after the Rana Plaza disaster to reveal \u2018an extraordinary and raw insight into the lives of the female factory workers in Bangladesh\u2019 (Posh in Barker et al., 2025 np). It humanises garment workers <\/strong>\ud83d\ude4b\ud83c\udffd by finding their unions<\/strong> \u270a\ud83c\udffd and letting them take the mic<\/strong> \ud83c\udfa4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshotted tactics from the Handbook.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Screenshots from UDITA.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It was \u2018heart breaking\u2019 (McCulloch in ibid) to watch; I know how they feel. This is so sad<\/strong>. \u2018My heart goes out to the aged grandmother who lost her two daughters at Rana Plaza\u2019 (Schon-Meier in ibid). \ud83d\ude22 But wait – pause the sadness for a second. \u2018A lot of films and articles portray garment workers as victims\u2019 (Minney in Ibid), but in Udita<\/em>, these people are \u2018inspiring<\/strong> on a global level\u2019 (Hoskins in ibid)!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshotted responses from the Handbook.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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OMG \u2013 THEN – \u2018Trade unionists, workers\u2019 rights activists, and local community groups will gather\u2019 (Salmon in ibid). NOW WE\u2019RE TALKING<\/strong>. BOOM! \ud83d\udca5 ! Governments started intervening<\/strong>! There was an \u2018acceleration in legislative change in France\u2019 (Evans in ibid) because \u2018Rana Plaza was covered by newspapers, petitions of NGOS, film, and documentaries\u2019 (ibid). Like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshotted impacts from the Handbook.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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There’s a well evidenced ‘X’ to ‘Y’ sequence here. You intend to show what’s possible <\/em><\/strong>with trade justice activism and to <\/em>tell the truth<\/strong> about workers’ involvement in it. You use tactics that can humanise them, <\/strong>by finding their unions<\/strong> and letting them take the mic<\/strong>. This could lead to audiences responding with sadness<\/strong> about their struggles and\/or inspiration<\/strong> about their achievements. And your film’s impacts could simply be the talk<\/strong> that it sparks about these tradwe justice struggles and the chance that – added to other activists’ work on this topic – this could help encourage governments to intervene. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But WAIT! \u270b Don\u2019t grab your camera just yet. Time to pop your bubble<\/strong> again (for the last time). Just cus it worked in Bangladesh doesn\u2019t mean you can Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V resistance (Demos, 2010). Grassroots power matters, but remember Morecambe\u2026..? Rana Plaza…? They should have never F***ing happened in the first place!!<\/span> \ud83e\udd2c. NGL, when the whole global economy runs on exploitation, chasing \u2728documentary effectiveness\u2728 just looks like damage control (Harvey, 2010).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RIGHT, I\u2019ve humoured this long enough!! Here\u2019s the truth! I CAN\u2019T TELL YOU HOW TO MAKE AN \u2728EFFECTIVE\u2728 TRADE JUSTICE DOCUMENTARY! \ud83d\ude2d Cus if you\u2019ve learnt anything on this commodities-lit, capitalist-infused, GEO3123 rant. It\u2019s this! THERE IS NO SINGULAR CORRECT WAY! \ud83d\ude29 IT ALL ADDS UP! Real change is messy! It\u2019s chaos! Contradiction and unexpected moments are what really move the trade justice movement along (Connor and Phelan, 2013). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshotted tactic from the Handbook.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Now this is … awkward. After all this ranting, yes technically all the films I told you about were effective … just in their own ways. #AWKWARD \ud83e\udd2b\ud83e\udee3 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

HOWEVER! Here\u2019s my theory of change<\/strong> for you. To be effective in the trade justice movement DON’T make a documentary<\/strong>. \ud83d\ude45 Mic \u2013 Drop \ud83c\udfa4 Put the camera down. Take your budget, kit, and big activist dreams. Give them to the unions, co-ops, and grassroots groups already knee-deep in it. Do it for Grannie & Blessing in Mangetout<\/em>. For Ai Qin & coworkers in Ghosts<\/em>. For the boys in Primark: On the Rack<\/em>. For the women in Udita<\/em>. Supply chain workers don\u2019t need retakes to show struggle. They live it! \ud83d\udc94 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rant Over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshot from Mangetout.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Screenshot from the Handbook<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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SOURCES<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Patricia Aguiar, Jorge Vala, Isabel Correia & Cicero Pereira (2008) Justice in our world & in that of others: belief in a just world & reactions to victims. Social Justice Research<\/em>, 21, 50-68.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theo Barker, Joe Collier, Annabel Baker, Lizzie Coppen & Henry Eve (2025) UDITA (ARISE).<\/em> (followthethings.com\/udita.shtml last accessed 2 May 2025)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clive Barnett & David Land (2007) Geographies of generosity: beyond the \u2018moral turn\u2019. Geoforum<\/em> 38(6), 1065-1075.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tim Bartley & Curtis Child (2014) Shaming the corporation: the social production of targets & the anti-sweatshop movement. American sociological review<\/em> 79(4) 653\u2013679<\/p>\n\n\n\n

+26 sources<\/summary>\n

H\u00e9l\u00e8ne Bohyn (2025) Omnibus Or Not, Due Diligence Is a Must: Policy Breakdown. Better Cotton<\/em>, 31 March (https:\/\/bettercotton.org\/omnibus-or-not-due-diligence-is-a-must-policy-breakdown\/ last accessed 22 April 2025)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gavin Brown & Jenny Pickerill (2009) Space for emotion in the spaces of activism. Emotion, Space<\/em> and Society<\/em> 2(1), 24-35<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stella Bruzzi (2018) From innocence to experience: the representation of children in four documentary films. Studies in documentary film<\/em> 12(3), 208\u2013224<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosemary Campbell-Stephens (2021) Educational leadership & the Global Majority: decolonising narratives.<\/em> Springer Nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doyle Canning & Patrick Reinsborough (2012) Lead with sympathetic characters.<\/em> (https:\/\/beautifultrouble.org\/toolbox\/tool\/lead-with-sympathetic-characters last accessed 2 May 2025)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lilie Chouliaraki (2010) Post-humanitarianism: humanitarian communication beyond a politics of pity. International Journal of Cultural Studies<\/em>, 3(2), 107\u2013126.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harriet Clarke, Ben Thomson, Victoria Bartley, Katie Ibbetson-Price, Emma Christie-Miller & Harry Schofield (2025) Blood, Sweat & Takeaways.<\/em> (followthethings.com\/blood-sweat-takeaways.shtml last accessed 2 May 2025)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ian Cook et al (2025) Mangetout.<\/em> (followthethings.com\/mange-tout.shtml last accessed 2 May 2025)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ian Cook & Tara Woodyer (2012) Lives of things. in Eric Sheppard, Trevor Barnes & Jamie Peck (eds) The Wiley Blackwell companion to economic geography<\/em>. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 226-241<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amy Coplan (2011) Understanding empathy: its features & effects. in Amy Complan & Peter Goldie (eds.) Empathy: philosophical & psychological perspectives.<\/em> Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2-18<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benjamin Cu\ufb00, Sarah Brown, Laura Taylor & Douglas Howat (2016) Empathy: a review of the concept. Emotion Review<\/em>, 8(2), 144-153.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stephen Duncombe (2023) A theory of change for artistic activism. The journal of aesthetics and art<\/em> criticism<\/em> 81(2), 260-268<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stephen Duncombe (2024) \u00c6ffect: the affect & effect of artistic activism.<\/em> New York: Fordham University Press<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alice Evans (2020) Overcoming the global despondency trap: strengthening corporate accountability in supply chains. Review of International Political Economy<\/em>, 27(3), 658-685<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adele Hambly, Elaine King, Andy Keogh, Camilla Renny-Smith, Ed Callow, Joe Thorogood & Vicky Alloy (2025) Girl Model: The Truth Behind The Glamour.<\/em> (followthethings.com\/girl-model.shtml last accessed 2 May 2025)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Irene Hadiprayitno and Sine Bagatur (2022) Trade Justice, Human Rights, and the Case of Palm Oil. in Elena V. Shabliy, Martha J. Crawford & Dmitry Kurochkin (eds) Energy Justice:<\/em> Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation. <\/em>Cham: Palgrave MacMillan, 157-172<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wallace Heim (2003) Slow activism: homelands, love & the lightbulb. Sociological review<\/em> 51(2), 183-202<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deena Kemp (2025) Comparing disgust and sadness: examining the interaction of emotion & information in charity appeals. Journal of Social Marketing<\/em> (online early).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roman Krznaric (2007) Empathy and the Art of Living. <\/em>Oxford: Blackbird Collective<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Genevieve LeBaron, Remi Edwards, Tom Hunt, Charline Semp\u00e9r\u00e9 & Penelope Kyritsis (2022) The ine\ufb00ectiveness of CSR: understanding garment company commitments to living wages in global supply chains. New Political Economy<\/em>, 27(1), 99-115.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Margaret A. McLaren (2019) Global gender justice: human rights & political responsibility. Critical horizons<\/em> 20(2), 127-144<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daniel Miller (2001) The poverty of morality. Journal of Consumer Culture<\/em>, 1(2), 225\u2013243.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jan N\u00e5ls (2018) The di\ufb03culty of eliciting empathy in documentary. In Catalin Brylla & Mette Kramer (eds) Cognitive Theory and Documentary.<\/em> Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 135-148.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kate Nash & John Corner (2016) Strategic impact documentary: contexts of production & social intervention. European journal of communication<\/em> 31(3), 227\u2013242<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tony Roberts & Chris Lunch (2015) Participatory video. In Robin Mansell and Peng Hwa Ang (eds) The International Encyclopedia of Digital Communication and Society.<\/em> London: Wiley, 1-6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tillman Wagner, Richard Lutz & Barton Weitz (2009) Corporate hypocrisy: Overcoming the threat of inconsistent corporate social responsibility perceptions. Journal of Marketing<\/em> 73(6), 77-91<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Erik Olin Wright (2015) How to be an anticapitalist today. Jacobin<\/em>, 12 February<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

Image credits<\/summary>\n

Icon: conversation (https:\/\/thenounproject.com\/icon\/conversation-6769395\/<\/a>) by kliwir art from Noun Project (CC BY 3.0)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sainsburys Exeter Store: Lucian Harford (used with permission).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Handbook<\/em> screengrabs: followthethings.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blood, sweat & takeaways<\/em> screenshots: credit BBC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Girl model<\/em> screenshots: credit Carnivalesque Films<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UDITA<\/em> – credit Rainbow Collective<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mangetout<\/em>: credit BBC<\/p>\n\n\n\n




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SECTION: <\/strong>advice <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Written by Lucian Harford, edited by Ian Cook (first published June 2025)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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FEATURED EXAMPLES Blood, sweat & takeawaysGirl modelUDITAMangetout INGREDIENTS INTENTIONS Pop the bubbleCross culturesShow capitalist evilsTell the truthTeach economic geographyShow what’s possible TACTICS Have a theory of changeChoose an audienceMake it familiarBring managers into viewInvolve consumersFund the unionsHumanise workersWorkers take the mic!Lie to tell the truthSilence your critics RESPONSES This is so sadCapitalism is sh*tI won’t […]<\/p>\n

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