In The News

The Asia Factor in Global Hollywood

Christina Klein March 25, 2003
Often criticized for overwhelming global audiences with 'American culture', evidence from the past twenty years shows that Hollywood is expanding its embrace to include actors from Hong Kong, scripts from South Korea, and production facilities in New Zealand and China. With 50% of its revenue now coming from abroad - and that's expected to increase - the American film industry...

Transatlantic Relationship Can Still Be Rescued

Judy Dempsey March 23, 2003
The Cold War created a strong alliance between the United States and Western European nations – the former provided the funds to rebuild the latter after the devastation of World War II, and thereby created a ‘buffer’ of democratic states between the USSR and the Atlantic. Now, that buffer is no longer needed, and European nations such as France are daring to oppose American policies,...

Via Ireland, a Chapter in the Story of Black America

S. Lee Jamison March 17, 2003
Recent studies of African American names reveal interesting interactions between African Americans and Irish immigrants in the 1800s in America. According to the author of "Black Genealogy", hair and skin color of both Blacks and Irish made them subject to discrimination from mainstream Protestant society in the North before the Civil War. Although such shared discrimination created...

A Harmonious Protest

Gihan Shahine March 10, 2003
Normally tense relations between the Egyptian government and opposition parties were quiet during a recent protest against the possible war in Iraq spearheaded by the U.S. The government did not engage in the customary pre-protest security checks and allowed all participants to freely express their views. A statement prepared by the organizers claimed that "any Arab country that facilitates...

Ultraman Copyright: Big Plans after Japan Court Win

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn March 5, 2003
After a seven-year Tokyo court battle, Sompote Saengduenchai, a Thai businessman, won rights to Ultraman in all international markets except Japan. Ultraman has long been considered one of Japan's quintessential superheroes, like America's Superman, but Sompote was involved in designing the character while a student in Japan in the early 1960s. Sompote is now planning Ultraman films,...

McDonald’s Strives to Regain Ground

Sherri Day March 3, 2003
McDonald’s is often considered the ultimate American business success, and, with restaurants in over 50 countries, a symbol of American cultural dominance. Changing tastes in America and many failed menu items have contributed to a long, slow decline for McDonald’s in the US, however, and the chain plans to stop operating in three countries. Owning a McDonald’s franchise is not the instant...

The Galling Rise of English

February 27, 2003
English is spoken by hundreds of millions of people around the world, but until recently the European Union was a place where French sometimes dominated. The EU is headquartered in Brussels, and an elite group of French-speaking bureaucrats has influenced the organization for years. New EU member states have been increasingly English-oriented, however, and as more European students learn...