Hollywood Values

A major Dreamworks film "expected to be one of the year’s biggest box office hits" will star three Afghan kids. Two were paid $17,500 and the third $13,700. Because the film will be shown in Afghanistan and has a rape scene it could cause great trouble for the kids:

"His careworn father, Ahmad Jan, fears his family will be shunned by fellow members of the Hazara population... 'People will come and arrest us and put us in jail. They will think we’ve made the Hazara look bad,' he said."

The kids, therefore, may well be made worse off because they participated in the movie. At least when poor kids in poor countries work in factories they usually come out ahead.