Two Weeks Notice, part 3
Mar. 13th, 2003 10:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jfbMSNBC has an article on the old non-conundrum that "anti-Americanism" goes hand in hand with admiration for American pop culture. (For a nuanced take on this, see Eric Alterman's excellent Nation article.)
The article prominently cites Two Weeks Notice as an example of the world's enduring love for American culture. (The movie opened well in Germany and Turkey.) What bugs me is that the article doesn't mention the film's political content. Yes, it's a formulaic (but enjoyable!) Hollywood (but filmed in New York) romantic comedy. But it's also a film in which the most sympathetic characters are (somewhat goofy) leftist protesters with (brief) critiques of American capitalism.
I'm not saying Two Weeks Notice is anti-American, nor that German audiences flock to it because Germans hate capitalism. But if you're going to write an article that falsely contrasts love of American culture with opposition to American policy, and your big example is a movie that is in love with New York but not with its ruling elite, well, that seems like something you could mention.
On another subject: "Up to nine cinemas were attacked - two of them for showing American movies, BBC said." If rioting mobs attack nine movie theaters, does it make sense to say that two of them were attacked for showing American movies? What were the other seven attacked for? Doesn't that reason also apply to the two that show American films?
The article prominently cites Two Weeks Notice as an example of the world's enduring love for American culture. (The movie opened well in Germany and Turkey.) What bugs me is that the article doesn't mention the film's political content. Yes, it's a formulaic (but enjoyable!) Hollywood (but filmed in New York) romantic comedy. But it's also a film in which the most sympathetic characters are (somewhat goofy) leftist protesters with (brief) critiques of American capitalism.
I'm not saying Two Weeks Notice is anti-American, nor that German audiences flock to it because Germans hate capitalism. But if you're going to write an article that falsely contrasts love of American culture with opposition to American policy, and your big example is a movie that is in love with New York but not with its ruling elite, well, that seems like something you could mention.
On another subject: "Up to nine cinemas were attacked - two of them for showing American movies, BBC said." If rioting mobs attack nine movie theaters, does it make sense to say that two of them were attacked for showing American movies? What were the other seven attacked for? Doesn't that reason also apply to the two that show American films?
