"We are ruined by Chinese cheap labor," Bret Harte wrote in the last century. Plenty of Americans grumble the same today as American markets are flooded by inexpensive Chinese goods. Aside from the presumptuous title of the video (we don't KNOW that Sino-American cultures will collide in the next century), this short tape is seriously undermined by allotting a huge portion of time to interviewing students from East High School in Madison, Wisconsin. Given the vastness of the topic and the cursory presentation of bare-bones facts in the narration, the question is why? The teens are certainly not foreign policy experts--in fact, many appear to be barely informed--and they all consistently use opinion phrases like "Well I think...." "Well I believe...." "I feel...." Some are so confoundingly illogical it's amazing the editor included them. One example: "I think it's important for the U.S. to be bringing the Dalai Lama back to power in Tibet. I don't like America's attitude of omnipotence in the world to decide what's right for every culture." Um, if we put the Dalai Lama back in power, isn't that deciding what's right for their culture? Given that the producer's stated goal is promoting critical thinking, the program certainly doesn't offer a surfeit of facts for viewers to build their own conclusions. The program includes a half-way decent teacher's guide and a small poster, but because of the hasty presentation of important matters, and drawn-out uncritical opinions, this title is not recommended. Aud: H. (R. Reagan)
When Cultures Collide: China and the U.S. in the 21st Century
(1998) 20 min. $59.95 (teacher's guide included) Knowledge Unlimited. PPR. Vol. 13, Issue 4
When Cultures Collide: China and the U.S. in the 21st Century
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As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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