NPR Listeners Meta-Enable Avatar, Reveal Own Dumbness in Process
Here is a Wisconsin Public Radio “Here on Earth” show program about Avatar being pulled from Chinese theaters in favor of the Chinese film Confucius. It is elucidating in terms of just how much even smart people misunderstand China. Some of the callers’ assumptions are built on painfully cartoonish perceptions of China. And these are public radio listeners! The best one is the woman caller near the end who is all geared up about the environment; she lumps China and Japan together as citizens with similar lives and concerns. Priceless. And then there is the guest at the end who, after an hour of meta-enabling Avatar’s socio-political meaning to China, says “Or maybe it’s popular because it’s just a wild 3D movies.” Really?