The Lives of Others remind me of two distinct articles about China in Time magazine. One is on Nov 5, 2007, about China's Me generation (rich, yound middle class) who care more about iPods than the subsequent suppression after the Cultural Revolution. The other one is on Oct 1, 2007, about China's tightening control on media and the imprisonment of journalists and writers.
It seems that Chinese people are learning two features of American culture--the mindless consumption and the devotion to human rights. Right now, the former one has much more influence on the Me generation than the latter one.
Most of these rich, young Chinese believe that their contribution to economy can help China and the protests of human rights violations are bad for society. An account executive with advertising heavyweight Ogilvy & Mother in Beijing said, "There's nothing we can do about politics, so there's no point in talking about it or getting involved." However, if he has seen The Lives of Others, he will realize that there is no way to separate ourselves from the politics.
If he can't deride the silliness of what he sees, if he can't express his own observation of the society, or worse, if he can't make his work reflect the lives of others, how can he talk about creativity--the most vital element in advertising? As Hu Shi, one of the greatest intellectuals in China, said, " A free nation can't be build by a bunch of flunkies." Without the aspiration of improving human rights, there is no use in talking about building a great nation.
For now, I think the power of the Me generation is only depending on the credit limit of their credit cards.
