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10 Things I Love About China
An acclaimed American TV animation producer and creator reflects on his positive experiences in the often-misunderstood country. By Josh Selig
I
create international kids’ TV shows for a living. I’ve made puppet shows in Palestine, buddy comedies in Canada and shows about singing potatoes in London. Over the years, I’ve added so many extra pages to my U.S. passport that it now looks like a Wendy’s double cheeseburger. I’m certainly no expert on China — and I fully agree with Pieter Bottelier from Johns Hopkins who said, “Anyone who speaks with great certainty about China needs to have their head examined” — but these days my preferred country for making co-productions of all kinds is, hands down, China. My work first brought me to China in the ‘90s when I worked on Zhima Jie, the Chinese co-production of Sesame Street. This project was a revelation for me as it was the first time that I truly understood that Western culture was simply one approach to life and art, and that Chinese culture offered a different and equally valid approach. On one of our “training trips” to Shanghai, it became clear that we American “experts” had far more to learn from our Chinese colleagues — among them one of China’s most revered poets — than our Chinese colleagues had to learn from us.
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Acclaimed sculptor Li Chen’s solo exhibit “Ordinary People.” (Photo by Josh Selig)
Eye-Opening Experiences More recently, while working for my own New York-based studio, Little Airplane Productions (a Studio 100 company), I’ve co-produced a few animated shows with talented Chinese partners. The first was Super Wings! with Alpha, which premiered on Sprout, and the second was P. King Duckling with UYoung, which premiered on Disney Junior in the U.S. and CCTV. These days, I travel to China a few times a year working with a variety of media, toy and theme park groups, and my interest in this complex country has only grown with time. Last week, after speaking with Josh Selig (right) with Studio 100 co-founder/ CEO Hans Bourlon and colleagues from a friend who doesn’t travel much Chimelong theme park company. (and who has heard mostly negative things about China), I decided to spend a few hours and write down for him five things that I love about China. Before I knew it, my list had become 10 things. Today I’d like to share this list with you, my colleagues in the animation industry and the animation fans who read this magazine. Many of you already work with China, and have a good sense of the country. For the rest, I imagine my list may surprise you. My hope is that it might inspire some of you to visit China, because seeing China for yourself is the only way to really get a clear perspective on this unique nation. And so, here are 10 things I love about China: november 20
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