How media shapes your thought?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122127000539031163.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

I found this article interesting and want to share with you. Personally, if I were the captor, I would rather say I would kill him instead of beating.

Bollywood: It's all true

This article touches on the strange intersection of mob culture and the crazy world of bollywood film production.

Facebook Revolution

The following article details the use of Facebook as a means to criticize (and bring down) the Egyptian government.

Back to the Future: Problems with Russian News Media

Paul Goble has a sobering take on the state of Russian journalism these days. Shades of Soviet era censorship.

Oh Hollywood

We've spent a fair amount of time reading and talking about cultural imperialism and the dominance of American media abroad, specifically the dominance of Hollywood. I was on Movietickets.com today and I noticed they had a list of the top grossing movies of the weekend.

1. Max Payne
   $17,639,849
2. Beverly Hills Chihuahua
   $11,422,425
3. The Secret Life of Bees
   $10,527,799
4. W.
   $10,505,668
5. Eagle Eye
   $7,029,718
6. Body of Lies
   $6,824,259
7. Quarantine
   $6,084,580
8. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
   $3,693,384
9. Sex Drive
   $3,607,164
10. Nights in Rodanthe
    $2,657,440

My first thought was, I can't believe Beverly Hills Chihuahua is doing so well. My second thought was how diverse these movies are. From the action movie Max Payne, Oliver Stone's political commentary "W", the CIA thriller "Body of Lies," the tween-tastic "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" and the comedy "Sex Drive" all in one category. Obviously different films are made for different audiences but what do you think this variety says about American society? How do you think that these 10 movies contribute to a positive image or foster a negative image of America?

Hollywood movies make a significant amount of profits from the foreign box office. Hollywood films are successful in foreign markets partly because the distribution system of Hollywood is so well developed, partly because the production techniques are so advanced and partly because the themes of some movies cross over to other cultures easily. This is not always the case, however. Movies such as "Forrest Gump" did not succeed outside of the American context. Do you think movies such as "W" taken out of the America would be popular abroad or do you think on a whole people would not be able to understand it?

Talking about problems with the media...

We only talked about him a few moments ago, and what do you know, the AP Press has an article about "Joe the Plumber", who isn't happy that they mentioned him so many times in the debate rather than talk about actual issues. Choice quote: "I'm kind of like Britney Spears having a headache. Everybody wants to know about it." Check it out here.

Interesting tidbit

From www.kommersant.com:

Russians Not Following U.S. Elections
Almost two-thirds of Russians are not following the presidential election campaigning in the United States, Interfax reports, citing a national survey conducted by the Levada Center. Only 6 percent of Russians are following the elections closely.
Of the Russians who have taken an interest in the elections, 35 percent want to see Barack Obama win. Fourteen percent support John McCain, and an equal number cannot decide. Thirty-seven percent say they have no preference.

The survey was conducted October 10-14. The U.S. presidential elections take place November 4.