Using their own forbidden history as a case study, the Indonesian filmmakers trace the development of contemporary globalization from its roots in colonialism to the present. Through chilling first-hand accounts, hilarious improvised interventions, collective debate and archival collage, The Globalization Tapes exposes the devastating role of militarism and repression in building the 'global economy', and explores the relationships between trade, third-world debt, and international institutions like the IMF and the World Trade Organization. A collaboration between the Independent Plantation Workers' Union of Sumatra (Indonesia), the International Union of Food and Agricultural Workers (IUF), and Vision Machine Film Project.