Erich Schwartzel is a movie buff. He spent much of his boyhood in Latrobe, where he watched every movie, he could find. He was the youngster who constantly watched the Academy Awards and forced his family to hold Oscar parties every year.
Schwartzel, now 35 and a Wall Street Journal entertainment correspondent, hasn’t lost his enthusiasm for pop culture. Moving to Los Angeles and covering Hollywood’s business has caused him to “think of these movies as goods” that company’s package and sell to consumers. His bread and butter are reporting on Hollywood in a unique way.
The book examines how tensions between the Chinese and American entertainment ecosystems have arisen as a result of China’s quest for global cultural dominance and Hollywood’s desperate search for new markets. This tense connection has resulted in, among other things, Chinese influence infiltrating American films in a level that’s nearly hard to ignore once you’ve become aware of it.
Schwartzel travelled to China on many occasions for research for “Red Carpet,” including a journey to Nairobi, Kenya, to observe firsthand how China was spreading its culture across Africa right under America’s nose. Going to China shattered his preconceived beliefs about what it was like to live there, and he was taken aback by China’s impact in Kenya.
“In many respects, Chinese initiatives are replacing a lot of the cultural and political authority that we as Americans have taken for granted,” he added. “Talking to folks in Kenya and hearing them express that they don’t feel the need to go to America for amusement or aspiration was something else entirely.”
“Red Carpet” shows how movies can “present a specific picture of the world to millions of people,” according to Schwarzel, and his book implies that Americans should be on the lookout for China’s attempts to use entertainment to alter hearts and minds on a worldwide scale. He expresses regret if the book alters the way people view Hollywood blockbusters.
He remarked, “I think this book is going to destroy moviegoing for a lot of people.” “Once you realize the Chinese influence, it’s all over.”
