Terri Gross, on NPR’s “Fresh Air” added her name today (probably not for the first time) to the long list of pundits wondering why people around the world seem to hate what America does while simultaneously enjoying Amreican movies, American music, and American popular culture in general. One of the group of young Moroccan terrorists chronicled by her interviewee apparently wore his hair in the style of John Travolta’s character from Saturday Night Fever.
Is it really that hard to figure out? That there’s a dichotomy between enjoying the things America produces and stands for, and the foreign policy decisions made by the country’s leaders? It would seem that unless you approved of American foreign policy, it shouldn’t be to much of a stretch to believe that you could disapprove of it and still like movies and music. What you do about your dislike is more of an equation based on your hope that things will improve.
And Tony Manero wasn’t exactly the most socially-adjusted movie role model.