Shanghai Press

The Shanghai Press, like other news outlets in the world, is comprised of people who are generally unqualified to do anything else but teach. Many are reluctant to do any fact checking that might run counter to their thesis. Granted, no one likes to think they are wrong; however, when someone is paying you to write an article that some poor sap might rely on, you'd think you could manage some basic research.

From That's Shanghai in July, one Thomas Podvin reviews a Chen Shi-Zheng film which examines "how young Chinese immigrants struggle to make their mark in a culture that is at once seductive and impenetrable. And how in the process, they often downscale their American dreams to fit American realities." The film's lead, Podvin explains, is the alter ego of its director, Chen. It is a story about a Chinese man who immigrates to the US to study and pursue his dream and ultimately goes on a shooting spree when the pressure mounts and his dreams are not met.

The beauty of this story is how his interviewee, Director Chen, disagrees with every assumption Podvin makes. This of course doesn't stop Podvin from continuing to make assumptions or from printing those assumptions.

He sets the stage with: "Granted, the US has long been plagued by expressions of violence, in part because of its notoriously liberal gun laws." Tom, some quick statistics: based on individual murders, the US appears to be around #24 (the study I found conveniently leaves out portions of Israel where the Palestinians are fighting, Iraqi violence, the ethnic cleansing that regularly happens in Africa and general Middle Easterners killed by their leaders - all of which would probably change the statistics a bit). I would guess that it also requires self reporting by each country, and the US is notoriously forthcoming with negative information in a way that maybe.... Sudan is not.

But, I don't need to venture that far. Director Chen bluntly rebuts Podvin with: "It is absolutely incorrect to characterize the US as a violent country. Violence happens there, yes, but violence happens everywhere, and there are certainly countries that are far more violent - even in Asia."

As to the suggestion that the lead character is the alter ego of Director Chen, Chen replies: "It is not autobiographical." When Podvin asks whether the film is a warning to Chinese seeking to pursue their dreams in the US, Chen responds that it is not intended as a guidebook or a warning but as an examination of how individuals respond to pressure and the need to be cognisant of others around you.

The whole article is an effort by Podvin to whack the US for being the US and a series of responses by Chen disclaiming Podvin's views and trying to explain his own.

It is pathetic; it is narcissistic; it is inaccurate; and it is intended to cause citizens of another culture to have a negative opinion of the US simply because the author does. I think I see a career at Harvard for this gentleman.