Ready, Set, Bag! (Doc 2008)
Director: Alex D. Da Silva, Justine Jacob
The bagger, we are told in this film, is the last opportunity for a super market to make a good impression on a customer. And, everybody shops.
I’m just happy if the eggs make it home intact. But, it turns out that there are real standards for how to pack groceries, whether in paper or plastic. So, naturally, there is a competition sponsored by a grocer’s association. This film introduces us to eight contestants, all of whom have to win their state level first. They are from Utah, California, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Minnesota, I forget where else.
There are regional differences and styles, but the ideas are the same: heavy stuff on the bottom, “walls” of cereal boxes and the like, glass jars in the center, “crushables” on top and each bag must weigh about the same.
Now, a jaded urban sophisticate like myself views this movie as anthropology, a visit to an exotic tribe whose customs seem odd to us. And, as a former student of anthropology, I learned not to make value judgments about other cultures. I was amazed and delighted by the various personalities, from a 17-year-old odd boy to a 50-year-old manager out to recapture old glories, and a bagger with a female employee cheering section who call themselves “the harem.” Hmm.
All of this is so outside my area of experience, or interest, that I found it intriguing. If a film opens up a world I didn’t know existed, and practically right under my nose, I have to give it some props. The style is standard doc, but the people and the activities carry the day.
B