Pelosi calls George Lucas "Another Mozart!"

Agence France Presse picked up this PR fluff from a World Affairs Council meeting in San Francisco where "Star Wars" George Lucas received a "Global Vision Award," and promptly started bashing the US as a "provinical culture." Of course, the French are admired for accusing the US of "cultural imperialism."

Yes, there were round-ups in French neighborhoods forcing Les Citoyens to watch American films. Actually, when I lived in France, I was forced to attend film festivals CELEBRATING American films like "Rebel Without a Cause" and "On the Waterfront!"

But George Lucas drones on witlessly:

Some people in other countries are troubled by what they see as US culture "squashing" local art and cinema, Lucas said.

Those "some people" [a phrase GWB was recently chastised for using by an AP pundit!] might just be elitist cultural dirigistes or Communist dictators leading nations of serfs [Cuba, N. Korea].

"I hate to say it, but television is one of the most popular exports," Lucas said. People see shows such as "Dallas," about a wealthy Texas oil family, and decide they want the grand lifestyles portrayed, according to Lucas. "They say that is what I want to be," Lucas said. "That destabilizes a lot of the world."

Yes, you very plump triple-chinned imposter. The poor people want to become wealthier and the wealthy classes feel the heat. This blubberboy is a moron.
The blatherthon continues:

Lucas endorsed US students studying abroad to help imbue them with more global perspectives. "Study abroad is extremely important; just for kids to get outside this country and experience the fact there is a big world out there," Lucas said. "We are a provincial country. Our president has barely been out of the country."

I for one have lived overseas in five countries {Vietnam, UK, France, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia} and speak and read four languages. My brother speaks and reads [important in Chinese] Mandarin and Bahasa Malay. I wonder if gravity-challenged Lucas even knows what populous nation speaks Bahasa Malay? I'll bet the tubby Lucas hasn't gotten far away from the Georges Cinq and the Hotel Anglais in his cultural tour of France, for instance. Read the whole article, including Pelosi's airhead gushing, to realize why Lucas is correct about the shallowness of one part of American culture, the Hollywood and California mores he and Pelosi represent.

My brother and I agree on one thing: American popular culture with its undertones of equality, democracy, and cooperative skills is superior to other cultures, and a deep immersion into other cultures that the study and knowledge of foreign languages confers on a seasoned traveller [I have lived eight years overseas, my brother thirty] often makes this person appreciate the finest points of his own culture.