Director's Statement
"During the summer of 2005, I started seeing more and more books about the rise of China and what it meant for the US and the world at large. I did some initial research and noticed that there hadn't been a documentary on the subject, so I began by researching contemporary China, reading books and articles by people like Orville Schell, Jonathon Spence, Ross Terrill, Elizabeth Economy and, of course, Gordon Chang.

Everyone agreed that China's transformation was the greatest economic, social, and political metamorphosis of our time, but where this emerging superpower was headed was still in question. I found this fascinating and wanted to explore it with a film. Where was this hybrid-nation blending Leninist authoritarianism with a market economy and averaging over 9% growth over the last 20 years, going? Could it sustain this remarkable growth? Would its rise be peaceful? Could the Communist Party continue to quell growing social unrest in the countryside? Could it secure the needed resources to continue its breakneck race towards modernization? There's this epic tale unfolding yet this enigmatic land of contradictions, where capitalism was taking root in an authoritarian country, was escaping the notice of most Westerners. I wanted to change that.

Once I knew I was going to explore China's metamorphosis, I knew I needed to find individuals whose lives had been transformed by this great social stirring. One of many visual artists exploring the paradoxical nature of China's rise is Beijing photographer Wang Qingsong. His photos, often humorous, are biting commentaries lampooning an ancient culture that is abandoning many of its traditions and adopting many of the less appealing elements of another culture, namely American that it has yet to fully understand. Qingsong was the very first artist I encountered in my search, and there were several others soon thereafter. I knew I had found the avenue through which I would investigate China's rise. On one level, I was looking for internationally recognized artists, those whose work was deemed important. Interviews with artists like Cao Fei, Yang Yong, and Xu Zhen had appeared in art journals, and I was able to contact all three via the Internet. On another level, I wanted artists whose work contained powerful messages with the ring of truth. I was looking for art that communicated the confusion of a society in rapid transition or work which commented on the materialism pervading Chinese society. I still wanted beauty and originality but not at the price of content. The art was going to be used in the film to advance my arguments, so I needed pictures and images that matter. Many of the artists said that the dominant consumer culture had altered people's mentalities, and that their work was an attempt to deal with the dynamic and tectonic forces transforming China as it emerges as a global power."

~ Robert Adanto