America is known for its consumerism. We invented the strip mall as well as online shopping. We’ve even created a term for shopping when we can’t afford to: credit card debt or if you prefer, window shopping. Notoriously, our savings rate was below zero or near it until the financial crash happened last fall. We’re also known for exporting our lifestyles abroad.
Isn’t that what happens when people across the world see our movies? They see a particular aspect of American society. So while “Avatar” could be interpreted as an allegory about the horrors of colonialism or ecological devastation, it also represents the most potent combination of technology and money in film. You’re bombarded with computer-generated jungles that make the real world pale in comparison. And when people across the world see “Avatar” they’re seeing what American culture is capable of.
In China, for example, there are only 10 IMAX theatres in the country; it so happens that one of them is in Kunming, where I am right now. To see the movie, you have to buy tickets two to three days ahead of time. Each ticket is hundreds of Renmingbi (the unit of currency here, literally translated as the people’s currency). People love it just like they love everything else about America except the whole human rights/democracy lecturing.
In fact, walking around parts of town, you get the distinct feeling that you’re walking in a giant city display: those 10 by 10 foot plastic models of how cities are designed to look that mayors, urban planners and architects use. Sometimes, you’ll see them in museums. In China, there are some areas that look like life-size versions. The streets are a little too clean. The buildings are a little too new. It’s as if everything’s just been built for you to wander through.
Yet, a lot of the new luxurious hotels, designer stores and restaurants are empty or close to it. Now, why is that? It costs a lot of money to build a seven-story shopping mall. It costs money to buy space in that shopping mall. It costs money to hire people to run your store. It costs money to build big billboards. And yet, not many people actually walk in and buy stuff compared to how much stuff there is.
What I think is going on is an effort at brand management. Companies know that China still, on the whole, is very poor. They also know that 30 years ago, it was a lot poorer. And they’re betting that in the next 30 years, it’s going to be a lot richer. So, what better way to lock up a future billion consumer market than by building now? Get your giant Adidas logo on the streets before Nike gets theirs.
What ends up happening is that western companies build stores here. People in China see the lifestyle they’re supposed to have: what we already have here in the United States. So, why not have it now?
Walking the streets, you see an enormous generational gap in terms of how people look and what they wear. People our age are like us. They are interested in the same movies, sports, hobbies, etc . . . Meanwhile, people who are over 50, who’ve been through the Cultural Revolution, are living a very different lifestyle.
It seems like China’s population is slowly being groomed to be the perfect consumers. Companies are flocking here to invest because of the highly educated work force. Low prices. No capital gains tax. And hundreds of millions of people ready to live their dreams: or rather, the American dream.
