The Chinese have long paid close attention to the narratives being conveyed by popular culture. It’s about time we did the same.
America & the World
Before Beijing tried to dominate our wireless networks, it succeeded in dominating our film industry. That’s a saga in urgent need of telling.
The nation’s capital and its dream factory have long worked together to maximize the export of American films to the rest of the world, on the theory that doing so is both good business and good diplomacy. Is this still the case?
A new book on the changing face of Hollywood is smarter on commerce than on culture. A review of Ben Fritz's The Big Picture (2018).
How to resolve America’s monument wars? The experiences of Macedonia and Russia suggest some unlikely lessons.
There is nothing wrong about our current conception of human rights that cannot be cured by the best elements of our own tradition.
U.S. media is often clueless about foreign-language journalism funded by its own government. That is a topic worth shining some light on.
Putin continues to play the Third Rome card that has brought him this far. Published in "The Use and Abuse of History," Vol. 24, No. 2.
Every society in history has limited speech in some way, yet some have remained freer than others. Published in "America on the Brink," Vol. 22 No. 3.
American cultural diplomacy has sought to balance artistic cultivation with democratic and inclusive values. Published in "Europe in Search of Europeans," Vol. 16 no. 1.
James Cameron's new Avatar meets Xi Jinping's new China. Part of the Shadow Play article series.
Borgen, the celebrated Danish TV series about power, politics, and media, puts Hollywood in the shade. Part of the Shadow Play article series.
Are America's cultural exports worse than junk food? Part of the Shadow Play article series.
Ken Burn's The Vietnam War does not take sides. Part of the Shadow Play article series.
Hollywood's romance with China may be breaking up. Part of the Shadow Play article series.
The Cold War novelist on the big and small screen. Part of the Shadow Play article series.
Two television shows' very different outlooks on war and prisoners of war. Part of the Shadow Play article series.
House of Cards is a hit in China, too. Part of the Shadow Play article series.
China plans to blow up Hollywood's monopoly. Part of the Shadow Play article series.
What soap operas at home and abroad teach us. Part of the Shadow Play article series.