What a week it has been! Full of meetings, running here and there. Some of you have asked how my Czech is progressing. Well, I hate to say this, but it's been on hold ever since work got busier and I had my first visitor, Jordana (my roomie from Arlington). But, I try to practice here and there, and I still have my hand in German. Um, I'll refrain from telling you what programs I have watched on SAT TV in German (of course, it's all in the name of learning and bettering my command of the language!), but I'll admit, some nights I turn on the TV and just want some mindless entertainment. There is certainly plenty of that!
Actually, dwelling a bit further on TV, I happened to surf through the channels on Monday after I returned from attending a solemn but hopeful "Missa Ecumenica" a musical and audio-visual commemoration of September 11 and victims of terrorism at the famous Municipal House's Smetana Concert Hall... What I found on the national Czech 2 station rather disturbed me. They were broadcasting Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. The timing of the film on national Czech television was totally out of place in my opinion. I don't consider myself a fanatical person; I'm willing to listen to an argument and consider it for what it's worth, but I found running this movie with its very clear agenda distasteful and wrong on the fifth anniversary of this tragic event. Show the movie some other week, but not on September 11th!
A few weeks ago I also happened to turn the TV on while doing the dishes and came upon a HORRIBLE American movie, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, or something of the like. The movie was shown in the original language, which was mostly curse words. I bring this up because I'm very concerned about America's image abroad, and I have to tell you this type of American cultural export definitely doesn't help. Since I've been here I've had numerous inquiries about different films and HBO series, whether or not life in the United States is like it is portrayed on TV or the screen. I'm so glad I have the opportunity to allow people to get to know an American that does not hale from the zipcode 90210. These simple interactions go to show me the great value and need for cultural exchange programs and an engaging public diplomacy.
If you are interested in the topic of U.S. public diplomacy, I urge you to take a look at a very thought provoking piece, "Now Showing the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Americans: Exporting the Wrong Picture" by Martha Bayles in the August 28, 2005 The Washington Post. Ms. Bayles is currently writing a book on U.S. public diplomacy. In her Post piece, Ms. Bayles definitely raises many concerning points:
"American popular culture is no longer a beacon of freedom to huddled masses in closed societies. Instead, it's a glut on the market and, absent any countervailing cultural diplomacy, our de facto ambassador to the world. The solution to this problem is far from clear. Censorship is not the answer, because even if it were technologically possible to censor our cultural exports, it would not be politic. The United States must affirm the crucial importance of free speech in a world that has serious doubts about it, and the best way to do this is to show that freedom is self-correcting -- that Americans have not only liberty but also a civilization worthy of liberty." (Bayles, Sunday, August 28, 2005; Page B01, The Washington Post)
To see the entire article, go to: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/27/AR2005082700034.html
Just some food for thought! And, yes, my effort to make you all informed citizens!
Well, I'm off to Kyiv on Sunday afternoon for short business trip. I look forward to updating you my trip further east!
Best, Christine
1 comment:
Maybe we need a sitcom based on a circle of witty, churchgoing, globetrotting Americans who blunder from problem to problem yet somehow manage to survive and thrive. I think we should call it "Calvert" and...wait a minute...
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