Unnatural Causes (Parts 3, 5 & 7) (USA: 2008, 58 mins.)
Is Inequality Making Us Sick?
Thursday September 17, 2009, 7:00pm
U.C. Theater

Last week we showed In Sickness and in Wealth, the first part of Unnatural Causes, as part of our Panel Discussion on Health Care Reform. This week we show the three more parts of this fascinating and timely miniseries:

Part 3. Becoming American (29 mins)

Recent Mexican immigrants, although poorer, tend to be healthier than the average American. They have lower rates of death, heart disease, cancer, and other illnesses, despite being less educated, earning less and having the stress of adapting to a new country and a new language. In research circles, this is the Latino paradox

Part 5. Place Matters (29 mins)

Why is your street address such a good predictor of your health? Latino and Southeast Asian immigrants like Gwai Boonkeut have been moving into long-neglected urban neighborhoods such as those in Richmond, California, a predominantly Black city in the San Francisco Bay Area. Segregation and lack of access to jobs, nutritious foods, and safe, affordable housing have been harmful to the health of long-time African American residents, and now the newcomers’ health is suffering too.

Part 7. Not Just a Paycheck (29 mins)

In the winter of 2006, the Electrolux Corporation closed the largest refrigerator factory in the U.S. and moved it to Juarez, Mexico, for cheaper labor. The move turned the lives of nearly 3,000 workers in Greenville, Michigan, upside down. In the year after the plant closure, the local hospital’s caseload tripled because of depression, alcoholism and domestic abuse. Experts say that heart disease and mortality are also predicted to rise – totaling 134 “excess” deaths in this area alone over the next 10 years. And the lay-offs not only affect workers but their families and the entire community as well.

Discussions to Follow. Please join us.

Producer's Web Site: www.UnnaturalCauses.org

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