BALANCE of CULTURE

BoC Dérive: 24 February 2012

2012-02-24T08:06:41-08:00

Thailand is the sunset capital of the world, in my opinion. This photo is from our most recent trip to Phuket and the surrounding southern region.

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INTERVENTION: "Friends of Syria" met in Tunis to put pressure on Pres. Bashar al-Assad's forces to stop the ongoing crackdown, which has continued for nearly a year.

HEAVYWEIGHT: UN Sec-Gen Ban Ki-moon will ask his predecessor Kofi Annan to serve as UN envoy to Syria.

NEGOTIATIONS: North Korea and the US have finally resumed official nuclear talks since Kim Jong-un came to power.

DANBI: How South Korea's peacekeeping mission in Haiti signals a new era of global soft power leadership for Korean society.

AL-SHABAB: World leaders pledge help to Somalia's piracy and terrorism.

PRODUCTIVITY: Guess which country is the new "Asian Tiger."

STARSTRUCK: How Hollywood continues to dominate over the film cultures and industries of its global neighbors.

INFILTRATE: How Western companies are "becoming Korean" in order to enter -- and remain -- in the South Korean market.

1 BY 1: The Maryland Senate has passed a measure that would legalize same-sex unions, joining DC and seven other US states.

Nagoya Mayor Denies Nanjing Massacre From His Bubble

2012-02-23T08:08:47-08:00

In a statement reminiscent of classic genocidal revisionism (a nice word for "denial"), the mayor of Nagoya, Japan, Takashi Kawamura, has sparked rage with both Chinese and non-Chinese citizens alike by stating that he believes the Nanjing Massacre "probably never happened."

Outside the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall

This week in Nagoya Kawamura even told visiting Nanjing Communist Party member Liu Zhiwei that Iris Chang's international bestseller The Rape of Nanking is a work of fiction. Not a smart move, considering several high-ranking Japanese officials have repeatedly angered China by this sort of dismissal despite plenty of evidence (just Google "Nanjing Massacre").

I don't think that the majority of the Japanese public actually believes this sort of extremist rhetoric, although I do believe that plenty of people purposely remain ignorant to the historical facts. This is why it's so important that people continue to keep this tragedy in our social discourse as time goes by, as not to have fools like Kawamura direct which way historical documentation takes us. Books like Chang's 1997 (and very non-fiction) The Rape of Nanking and films like The Flowers of War from 2011 are projects that sustain facts above false political or racial agendas.

Sadly, these kinds of denials will only hurt Japan in the short as well as long run. It's too bad that one unenlightened senior is taking the initiative to heighten tensions with Japan's now very formidable neighbor. He must truly live inside a bubble of ignorance to think that his statements were reasonable and safe for him to publicly say.

The Nanjing Massacre was a six-week genocide in the former Chinese capital by Japanese troops, which stormed the city on December 13, 1937 and murdered and raped at least 300,000 men, women and children, though most historians believe the actual number to be much higher.

Imbecility Maintenance

2012-02-22T14:36:04-08:00

If you enjoy laughing (or like being shocked by pure and simple stupidity), check out this quick clip on Iran from Fox News. The dialogue is beyond funny -- starts off with, "Aren't WE the only country allowed to make preemptive strikes? Who the hell does Iran think it is?"

Wow!!!...Excuse me while I wipe away my tears. Since I never watch Fox News, I honestly did not know that the station gets this bad! I mean, I understand they need to keep their viewers hysterical and uneducated for their own purposes, but still!

The Dictator on the Red Carpet

2012-02-22T08:22:29-08:00

[Update: He's been banned!…or perhaps not!]

With all the dramatic developments of the Arab Spring that has occurred in over a year, it's not a surprise that Hollywood is coming out with a movie that uses some of the subject as inspiration. Whether categorized as insensitive material or mere entertainment, Paramount has big hopes for Sacha Baron Cohen's latest comedy titled The Dictator.

Cohen is already known for pushing the envelope with daring characters that border on the racially- and culturally-risqué, such as Borat. This time, the high profile actor-comedian is rumored to be planning on attending this year's Academy Awards red carpet dressed up as The Dictator's title character, to the dismay of the Oscars' organization.

A spokesperson for the Oscars even went so far as to say, "We would hope that every studio knows that this is a bad idea. The Red Carpet is not about stunting." I am not sure how this person can claim with a straight face that there is a lack of "stunting" on any red carpet, let alone the Academy Awards, but this is the stance that most "purists" are taking in their chagrin towards a costumed Cohen.

Seems to me they're being not only rather uptight about the industry they work in but also pretty hypocritical. If this costume offends people in any way, they should probably recall the concept of storytelling as well as reevaluate some Hollywood issues that actually deserve some ethical critique -- Woody Allen and Roman Polanski come to mind right away. If Hollywood can stomach looking the other way from the decisions of those two glorified filmmakers, who seriously cares about a silly costume on the red carpet? If anything it might keep things interesting!

The trailer is pretty awesome though, especially with the Panjabi MC tunes in the background:

Burning Korans in Afghanistan

2012-02-21T08:20:54-08:00

[Update 2/22: The violence continues to escalate.]

As American celebrated a long three-day weekend for Presidents' Day, the US developed quite a messy PR problem in Afghanistan: 2,000 angry local Afghani demonstrators have gathered en masse at the American base, hurling stones and chanting anti-foreigner phrases. And this is all happening because of an extremely shortsighted and utterly stupid mistake made by some of our American troops.

Apparently some US soldiers improperly disposed copies of the Koran (or "Quran") by burning them and then tossing them in the trash. Why they did this is still vague. The local workers who regularly take care of the garbage discovered the remains and reported the findings to outside contacts.

Why would American soldiers screw themselves like this?!

Burning the Koran is an unmistakeable crime in not only Afghanistan but around the Muslim world. This concept isn't so hard to understand. What is difficult to grasp here is why these soldiers would even think this would be a safe thing to do regardless of the reasons behind doing so. Burning an American flag is not something these soldiers would probably like, so why would they choose to burn a holy book while stationed in a nation based upon that text? And how does this reflect upon the entire American presence in the Middle East? Not very positively, that is for sure.

Understandably, General John Allen, head of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has quickly apologized: "When we learned of these actions, we immediately intervened and stopped them. The materials recovered will be properly handled by appropriate religious authorities. This was NOT intentional in any way."

Too bad the apology has done little to appease the local anger, which is shared among laborers to local Afghan Taliban to NATO's top general in Afghanistan. Surely our soldiers get some kind of cultural/educational training (advice at least?) before being stationed abroad, though whatever they do receive obviously isn't enough (and I've recently seen some footage of interactions between soldiers and local Afghans that would very clearly demonstrate this lacking). They can be against the Koran all they want, but burning a country's holy text within its borders is a weak and senseless act that only downgrades our already contentious and precarious occupation in the Middle East overall.

Photo: REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail

Not Even ONE Woman?

2012-02-17T08:25:27-08:00

Take a look at the row of witnesses that testified on the birth control benefit yesterday on Capitol Hill. How naive and exclusionary does this situation look to you?

Again, this is in Washington, not somewhere in the Middle East or South Asia.

BoC Dérive: 17 February 2012

2012-02-17T08:19:33-08:00

If you're into reading multiple books simultaneously, these two are wonderful complements on the subjects of globalization, poverty, and economics.

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DOUBLE STANDARDS: China blames foreign journalists for its negative image abroad.

HIPSTER: Indie music and bikinis take over the style of this year's SI Swimsuit issue.

CELEBRATION: How Libyans are commemorating the anniversary of Gaddafi's overthrow.

SCRAMBLE: Foreign law firms are rushing into South Korea in order to take advantage of recent FTAs.

SPORTS: Guess where Saudi Arabia's women athletes are not allowed to compete?

UNREST: The Maldives' tourism industry is set to lose +$100 million due to new travel cancellations thanks to the political unrest (though prices have yet to drop at all).

BREAKAWAY: PM David Cameron does not want Scotland to become independent outside of the UK.

RIP: Foreign correspondent Anthony Shadid has died in Syria of an asthma attack.

Playboy's Social Capital Beatdown

2012-02-16T08:22:26-08:00

Perhaps it's a little early to pass judgement on what really happened here, but the news of 21-year old Marston Hefner (son of Playboy's Hugh Hefner) allegedly kicking and punching now-former girlfriend/former Playmate of the Year 2011 Claire Sinclair is pretty outrageous.

After a conspicuous initial silence from Hugh Hefner and Playboy Enterprises, Sinclair has stated that she will not press charges as long as Marston Hefner publicly apologizes and receives psychiatric help for his anger and violence issues.

But Hugh Hefner's statement on the situation leaves so much to be desired: "If they care about each other, they'll patch it up."

Seriously? After all of Hugh's claims the past decades of how Playboy actually liberates and empowers women -- as opposed to exploiting or objectifying them -- this is a severely inadequate response to allegations of his own son beating down on a glorified Playmate. "No one's empathetic or concerned," Sinclair states. "It's more like cover it up and protect an image."

As a "liberated" woman myself, I've never been opposed to the concept or image of Playboy, and since I live in Los Angeles, I know lots of "bunnies" and Playmates. But regardless of one's stance on the company, it's obvious that the iconic but struggling American publication has been given tons of slack in recent years despite their sometimes disappointing and outdated approach to publishing, online content, art direction and overall style and sensibility.

But these issues are the problems of most publications that are on the front lines of the internet battle. What is especially uninspiring here is not only the highly disturbing allegations of domestic violence linked so closely to the Playboy empire, but the seemingly sketchy and hypocritical manner in which this situation is being handled by the company that proclaims to put women on a pedestal.

Like I stated earlier, it is still early to tell what will transpire. But so far this is an awful look for Playboy that will only further harm the brand the longer they fail to take a very strong and disciplinary position with Marston Hefner's alleged actions.

A few weeks ago, Darren Rovell tweeted his opinions on how the quality of Playboy Playmates has gone down in recent years, spurning stinging responses from some of the girls. Let's hope those same women step up and support their own in this strange case of domestic violence!

Whether or not Sinclair's allegations of abuse are correct, Playboy and Hugh Hefner need to gather their courage and back up their past statements on women's empowerment by addressing this messy issue as soon as possible. They're no longer in the safety of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, or even 1990s anymore -- and now with the internet, the ivory tower of publication can't hide a company's fumbling and archaic handling of issues it has once proudly claimed for its own social capital.

China's Next President to Ink Hollywood Joint Venture

2012-02-15T08:28:27-08:00

This week much of US political news has been focused on Xi Jinping's official state visit from China. Xi is China's current vice president and heir-apparent.

Xi met with President Obama in the Oval Office, where Xi was approached with a candid welcoming discussion on subjects like a balanced trade flow between the US and China as well as America's commitment to recognizing critical human rights issues.

But Xi isn't leaving for home after DC: he is schedule to visit Los Angeles on Friday to ink a new joint venture between two Chinese media groups and DreamWorks Animation (DWA).

This will be a huge deal for both sides: production studios will be built in Shanghai for China's cinema market, which is the fastest growing in the world: with a growth rate of three screens a day, China is set to be the world's largest cinema market within 10 years.

Hollywood media will be able to infiltrate the spendy and increasingly relevant Chinese film market with less restrictions, a sort of victory in its challenging adaptation to the dwindling global movie market in recent years. Meanwhile, China's role in international film culture will finally expand beyond its state-owned sensibility (though to what extent is still difficult to measure). At any rate, the soft power angles here are undeniable, and both Hollywood and China could use a little sprucing up in terms of global taste anyway.

Xi is expected to become China's president in 2013.

V-Day 2012

2012-02-14T08:21:55-08:00

The concept of appreciating love is huge around the world today, but I've never been one to really view Valentine's Day as anything much more than a day where many people (mainly guys) stress out with intricate planning while corporate America makes tons of money.

I have family members who are a part of the moneymaking machine of these kinds of holidays so perhaps that's where my unaffectedness for Valentine's Day originates. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy hearing everything about what people do on this day, but I refuse to go to fancy restaurants or partake in elaborate plans around the city along with every other couple in town (just feels a bit corny to me, I can't help it!). Luckily, I'm not ever coerced into doing those things on this day…our Labradoodle and Yorkie, however, will definitely receive some extra goodies today!

The American way of recognizing your loved one(s) on February 14 isn't the only template, though -- check out this map on how and when Valentine's Day is celebrated in other countries around the globe, from Wales to South Korea.

Perfect Storm in Paradise

2012-02-13T08:42:42-08:00

The political turmoil in Male, the capital of the Maldives, continues to escalate as Islamic extremists have enforced their "Taliban-style intolerance" not only on the streets of the city but also towards the various ancient 12th century Buddhist artifacts housed in the Maldives National Museum.

A senior museum representative stated that the history of the Maldives' Buddhist past has effectively been "erased," as the delicate coral and limestone objects have zero chance of being restored due to their brittle and age. Five men have since been arrested for this.

An interesting fact here: the Maldives National Museum was built and financed by the Chinese government and presented to the Maldives on July 10, 2010. Considering that this Indian Ocean paradise is now a premium destination choice for many newly-wealthy Chinese travelers -- and conveniently located just south of India, China's regional geopolitical sparring partner -- we can probably expect to see much more Chinese influence in Maldivian society in the the next decade.

Off the beaten path: A small hospital we visited on a residential island in the Maldives, 2007.

Most travelers to the Maldives won't see much more than the usual perfect clear turquoise waters and sugary white sands of their island resort. Vacation plans rarely include a visit to see typical everyday life on a residential island (though we were lucky to get a glimpse of this on our first visit several years ago), which is vastly different from the polished experiences offered by their tourism industry.

The Maldives is clearly in a challenging phase of its current political and social existence. The recent coup of President Nasheed, the society's religious "soul searching" (to put it nicely), its frontline position in the battle of climate change, and its internationally-powerful tourism industry is a perfect storm of dynamic factors that will define the country's bumpy road ahead.

I just hope that its pre-Islamic past is not further deleted from history's documentation by modern day "radicals." So tragic.

BoC Dérive: 10 February 2012

2012-02-10T09:26:59-08:00

Some throwback pics from Zanzibar, Tanzania, & Kenya 2011...Like my friend born in Dar es Salaam says, "Everyone goes to West Africa or South Africa, but East Africa is where it's at!" More here and here.

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VELVET GLOVE: How China's hard power should be translated into soft power for the international community.

MORE MALDIVES: Democratically elected former President Mohamed Nasheed's op-ed after getting ousted from office.

VALUE: A French Sarkozy ally stirs the pot this week by stating that some civilizations are worth more than others.

FILM DIP: The U.S. State Department and University of Southern California has selected 29 films for their international cultural outreach, "American Film Showcase."

JACKPOT: Korean-American artist Dave Choe has been the buzz all week for the stock he received from Facebook years ago; here's his Howard Stern appearance.

MALDIVES: As protests continue in the Muslim island nation, Britain's Foreign Office assures that vacationers remain "unaffected."

CUTE & SMART: BBC's series on the world's smartest animals, who do it all from skateboarding to math equations.

ALLY: Russia wants to halt the Arab Spring.

FRESH: Why Chinese NBA baller Jeremy Lin is a relief to some Asian American men.