Josh Hamilton Stars in Outsourced
John Jeffcoat Films Fresh Perspective on Globalization
Nov 6, 2007
Globalization in the Workplace
Customer call center manager, Todd Anderson (Josh Hamilton) walks into work one morning and discovers his job and his office have been outsourced to India. He is on the next flight to Mumbai to train his eager successor, Puro (Asif Basra). When he arrives, the immediate cross cultural clashes begin as he tries to explain Americans, their business practice, and lifestyle to the confused Indian employees. Throughout his stay, Anderson learns about Indian culture, globalization, and life, in general.
Challenges in India
For Anderson, India is complete chaos. Compared to the U.S., India seems unsafe, unclean, and disorganized: livestock roams rampant, including in the call center. Indian culture takes getting used to, but he continues to resist until he meets another American (Larry Pine) in a “McDonnell’s.” Desperate for a hamburger (where he discovers the closest is veggie burger), the American tells him that “[he] was resisting India. Once he gave in, [he] did much better.”
Anderson keeps trying to get the team down to a 6 minutes-per-call rating. Between accent training, language classes, and explaining American culture, he realizes that he must meet India halfway. Asha (Ayesha Dharker), the brightest and lovely call center employee, suggests that he may need to learn about India.
Individuals and Globalization
Director John Jeffcoat focuses on the individual transformation of Anderson. In Outsourced, the only thing holding Todd in India is his job-the need to get down to a six minute-per call rating. Then, he would be happily on his way back to Seattle. Somewhere in the middle, he experiences India.
He internalizes the sights and the sounds. A Holy Holiday falls on a day where he is strolling outside, and he is amazed by the colors. A picture of the Kali, the goddess of creation, preservation and destruction hangs on his bedroom wall. She teaches him that change is not always negative. His lessons in India begin to change his perceptions of the world.
The major theme of globalization runs through every scene in this film. Jeffcoat particularly chooses how each character will react to the obvious circumstance of outsourcing. In today’s world, the global economy is so huge that individuals are nearly powerless to change when faced with an outsourcing situation. Another underlying, but equally message is that globalization has made all individuals think like free agents, otherwise they cannot survive.
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