Counterpunch Weekend Edition May 2-4, 2014
New York Indian Film Festival 2014
East Supplants West (On Film, At Least)
In 1998 Andre Gunder Frank’s highly controversial “ReOrient” appeared. It argued that “the East” (mainly China and India) would eventually supplant “the West” as hegemonic powers, thus reestablishing the relationships that existed before 1492 when all of Columbus’s fleet could be put on the deck of the flagship of Zheng He’s fleet that made multiple voyages to the east coast of Africa in the early 15th century.
I have my doubts about Frank’s overall thesis but on one level it is surely borne out by Indian cinema that now makes most American films look crude and amateurish by comparison. To see Indian cinema at its best, I urge New Yorkers to make it to the New York Indian Film Festival that runs from May 5th to the 10th. It can only be described as an embarrassment of riches.
Trailers for films being reviewed:
Louis Proyect: The Unrepentant Marxist 
India is just about the poorest non-African country in the world by per capita GDP. Multiplication does not make for power.
China is a different story entirely. It probably has the largest internal market in the world now.
Comment by jeff — May 2, 2014 @ 9:53 pm