January 21, 2006

Movies Explain the World

Somewhere on my to-read list is the book How Soccer Explains the World : An Unlikely Theory of Globalization. The concept is just too intriguing to pass up. We all want to understand the world, but who has the time? So we look for shortcuts. Sports in general, and soccer in particular seems like a pretty good way.

If I were to write such a book, it would be something like Movies Explain the World. I could tie the whole world to movies. The Internet and Netflixs. Global Hollywood and American Power and so on.

So here's a chapter on globalization and Movies. A horror/fantasy movie made in Russia called Nightwatch is tearing up the box office. The movie and it's sequel, Daywatch are breaking all kinds of records and beating the Hollywood imports that ususally fill Russia theaters. Yahoo has a trailer up. The flick looks visually dazzling and it shows a modern-day Moscow that you've never seen before. The global lesson: all movies and moviemakers become Hollywood movies and movie makers. Nightwatch is coming to the States in Febuary and director is coming to America:

Bekmambetov is due to shoot an English-language concluding film to the "Watch" trilogy in collaboration with Fox and Russian producers. Before that, he's due to shoot his next film, "Wanted," for Universal.

Globalism good = we would never have had chance to even hear about a dazzling new Russian movie a few years back, much less put it in our Netflix Queue. Globalism bad = Does eveybody have to go Hollywood? If Jerry Bruckheimer gets his hands on this guy and ruins him, I will be seriously peeved.

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