VOA常速英语2007-Hollywood Copes with Cross-Cultural Tensions in

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
12 October 2007

Concerns over the safety of two Afghan child actors have delayed release of the upcoming film The Kite Runner, a story set in a turbulent Afghanistan from the 1970s to 2001. Mike O'Sullivan reports on the controversy¹, and on the challenges studios face as Hollywood films become more international.

Two children with no acting² experience were among the local Afghans to appear in the film, based on a best-selling 2003 novel by Khaled Hosseini. The story concerns an Afghan-American who returns to Afghanistan under fundamentalist Taleban rule. 

The story takes its name from traditional kite-flying tournaments that the Afghan-American enjoyed as a boy, which were later banned by the Taleban.

The real-life drama centers on Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada and Zekeria Ebrahimi, two 12-year-old boys recruited to star in the film.  Ahmad plays a youngster from the Hazara group who is raped³ by a thug from the dominant⁴ Pashtun tribe while the other boy looks on. 

Filmmakers simulated the attack, but the boys and their families have told the media such attacks are considered shameful⁵ and they are in danger because of it.

There is also a dispute between the families and the studio over how much the actors were told about the story line.  Paramount⁶ Vantage, the film's distributor, says it is delaying the release by six weeks to relocate the boys during the film's opening.

Political scientist Seth Jones is an analyst⁷ for the Rand Corporation, a private policy institute and teaches at Georgetown University in Washington D.C.  Jones says radical⁸ Islamic groups have extended their reach to Afghanistan and other areas, and the studio is wise to be careful.

He says people in urban areas are enjoying a flourishing of the arts, but that rural people are conservative, especially in the south and east of the country, and many support strict Islamic law, or Sharia.

"And so you do see this tension in the country between a freedom of expression and art, paintings, poetry, as well as this sort of really conservative radical interpretation⁹ of Islam and the establishment of Sharia [Islamic law] that you get with the Taleban and other groups," he said.

Movie producer Jonathan Taplin has worked on films including Mean Streets and The Last Waltz with director Martin Scorsese, and the comedy-thriller To Die For with Gus Van Sant.  Taplin now teaches at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California.

He says films today are international, shot on locations around the world with actors from many countries, and studios are becoming alert to religious and cultural differences.

"Today, with 60 percent of their revenues coming from outside of the United States, they have to be much more sensitive to this," he explained.

He says Paramount was right to take precautions on behalf of the young actors.  He says the case was unusual, involving the welfare of children, but he says conflicts are inevitable¹⁰ as filmmakers push the boundaries of geography and culture.

"Because filmmakers and artists are citizens of the world today - they're not just sitting in their little garret in New York or Los Angeles - they are traveling," he added.  "They are out there.  They are experiencing this.  And so in that sense, it's a good thing."

Political scientist Seth Jones says the interplay of cultures also creates tensions.  He points to the recent kidnapping of foreigners in Afghanistan, and says anti-Western attitudes are strong in parts of the country.

"We've had the kidnapping of Westerners and support for the kidnapping of Westerners, because of a very serious perception among the local population of what you might call a clash of civilizations," he noted¹¹.

Jones does not want to see films censored¹², but says filmmakers could cooperate with local religious and political leaders.

"[The can] work on what what's often called information operations, generally working a sort of media public relations strategy to, limit negative reactions," he explained.  "But it's a very difficult line, because there are a lot of gray areas. And you can't legislate¹³ this."

The studio says it is working with consultants¹⁴ to ensure the safety of the two boys, and of a third boy who also appeared in the film.

The Kite Runner is now scheduled for release December 14.

1 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

2 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

3 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

4 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

5 shameful   

adj.可耻的，不道德的

参考例句：

• It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。
• We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

6 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。

7 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

8 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

9 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

10 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 censored   

受审查的，被删剪的

参考例句：

• The news reports had been heavily censored . 这些新闻报道已被大幅删剪。
• The military-backed government has heavily censored the news. 有军方撑腰的政府对新闻进行了严格审查。

13 legislate   

vt.制定法律；n.法规，律例；立法

参考例句：

• Therefore,it is very urgent to legislate for the right of privacy.因此，为隐私权立法刻不容缓。
• It's impossible to legislate for every contingency.为每一偶发事件都立法是不可能的。

14 consultants   

顾问( consultant的名词复数 )； 高级顾问医生，会诊医生

参考例句：

• a firm of management consultants 管理咨询公司
• There're many consultants in hospital. 医院里有很多会诊医生。