???

Special thanks to The Golden Rock for pointing this out on his blog. I know he didn't email me directly since he knows stuff like this makes my aneurysm act up.

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http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/content/view/6495/1/

Chinese artist suing over "Panda"       

Written by Clifford Coonan  

Friday, 18 July 2008

BEIJING -- Chinese performance artist Zhao Bandi, best known for using panda images in his art, including clothes designs for panda prostitutes and panda concubines, is suing DreamWorks in a Beijing court, demanding an apology from the Hollywood studio for "Kung Fu Panda's" depiction of China's national symbol.

  The amusing tale about an overweight panda-turned-noodle chef called Po who aspires to be a kung fu master has done boffo B.O. in China since it was first screened June 20. The Chinese are hugely proud of kung fu, and they also love their national symbol, the giant panda, and DreamWorks Animation has been widely praised for addressing these two big issues sensitively in "Kung Fu Panda."

  Zhao, who likes to carry a stuffed panda around with him and whose art is all based on pandas, says the fact that Po's father in the film is a duck is an insult to all Chinese and also the panda's eyes are green, which is an evil color.

  "Designing the panda with green eyes is a conspiracy. A panda with green eyes has the feeling of evil. I have studied oil painting, and we would never use green eyes to describe a kind-hearted figure. So I ask them to open their creative meeting records of this film and explain why the green eyes?

  "Next, why is the panda's father is a duck? Many foreigners think the giant panda is not just China's symbol, but also the Chinese people's symbol. Drawing the father of the giant panda as a duck is an insult to the Chinese people. In a few years time, I'm worried some young Chinese people will think their ancestor is Donald Duck," Zhao said.

  Zhao's earlier calls for a boycott of the film because it would upset victims of the Sichuan earthquake prompted the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the state body that tightly controls the entertainment business, to delay the film's release in the Sichuan earthquake zone, but there was an immediate response online calling for the film to be released.

  Zhao said he's not seeking any money; he just wants an apology from the filmmakers. He said Beijing Chaoyang District People's Court had formally accepted his lawsuit, and he wrote on his blog that the decision by the court to proceed with his case showed that he was about more than just mere publicity stunts.

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Americans are stupid. Westerners are too, but  since I'm American I'll keep it in-house.

We are too dumb to figure out the byzantine logic at work in 'outrages' like this (and the Sharon Stone thing). Whatever it is, when Americans read this stuff, they are amused at best and dismissive at worst.

The guy who makes panda-tutes and panda-bines has his shorts in a twist over an arcane detail that only reminds me of Big Trouble in Little China: "Chinese girls do not come with green eyes..."

I don't even do animation and I can infer that green eyes show up much better than brown.

I can also promise you that this is one of those subconscious Westernizings, not a 'conspiracy.' NO ONE in Hollywood that makes decisions has any clue about the 'evil of green.'

And good luck getting them to reveal ANYTHING.

Many foreigners think the giant panda is not just China's symbol, but also the Chinese people's symbol?

We do? Oh, I forgot, it's our conspiracy to degrade you. Thank you for telling me what I think since I didn't know. Let me know when you want that favor returned.

Portrayingthe father of the giant panda as a duck (i.e. gigolo) would be an insult to the Chinese people. Though probably no more than portraying pandas as chickens...

"In a few years time, I'm worried some young Chinese people will think their ancestor is Donald Duck"

I doubt it's true, and even if it were, is that really the movie's fault?

I promise on my mother's parole that Chinese kids will never think they came from ducks. Besides, just show them Mulanand they'll know their ancestors were human...

These kinds of reactions to films are understandable in some way. I was pleasantly surprised that I found the movie only minimally offensive. And I can see where Chinese people don't like being portrayed as animals (someone else got mad about the pigs).

But when stories like this get read in the West, people just laugh. Like the Sharon Stone thing.

I realize I sound like a(nother) snarky Westerner looking down my long gweilonose. Well, I am. I'd hazard a guess, as a Westerner, that I do know better what Westernersthink about China.

Because otherwise, if he knows us better, we know him better... You see where that goes.

The only thought about green by this movie's producers was about money.

The producers of the film wouldn't bother with a conspiracy to degrade China because apart from the money to be made there, they neither care about nor know anything about China. People in the American film industry still call Tsui Hark 'Mr. Hark.' They're a long way off from color symbolism.

Having been critical of someone who was defending China, I may very likely get called lots of names. Or taken to task for daring to deny someone their opinion.

I'm engaging in public debate. I'm expressing myself. I'm disagreeing with someone. I'm drawing attention to what I feel are the logical flaws in their argument. I am not denying him his opinion. He certainly has a right to it. He does not have a right to an uncontestedopinion.

No one does. Well, at least not in democracies or places with freedom of expression.

Go ahead, call me names; it's a free SAR, at least until 2046.