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08 Aug 08
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Mr. Zhang will preside over the opening ceremonies.
Nearly two years in the making, his spectacle is intended to present China’s new face to the world with stagecraft and pyrotechnics that organizers boast have no equal in the history of the Games.
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Today, directors, writers and painters who seek to expose the darker side of authoritarian rule not only enrage the censors, but also often find themselves shut out of the lucrative market for Chinese art, books and film. Many of those who find less political outlets for their talent, on the other hand, can get rich.
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Some Chinese critics panned “Hero” as an implicit homage to authoritarian rule. While it did not win an Oscar, it became one of the highest grossing foreign films in the American market.
Its success gave rise to the rapid commercialization — and depoliticization — of Chinese art. China’s cultural landscape is now filled with big-budget historical dramas, multimillion dollar art auctions, government-backed opera and dance extravaganzas, and bold new state-financed entertainment venues that suggest a melding of art, culture, power and national pride.
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To help create China’s cultural moment, Mr. Zhang initially tapped Steven Spielberg to work as artistic adviser on the opening ceremonies.
But under pressure to sever ties because of China’s role in Sudan, Mr. Spielberg resigned in February, saying that his conscience troubled him and that China should do more to stop genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.
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Critics said he had sold out to Hollywood. Mr. Zhang defended his new taste as international and modern. In an interview late last year, he said, “China has stepped into a new era, an era of consumption and entertainment,” adding, “You can condemn it if you like, but it is a trend of globalization.”
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