Luxury and the spread of technology have enabled others to tell their stories and produce their legends on the silver screen. The digital distribution revolution helped democratize the flow of information globally and diversified platforms to include not only television and computers, but also mobile phone screens. Gradually, the cultural flow turns into a two-way street. America's need to compete for loyalty becomes clear, especially after the Iraq, Guantánamo, Abu Ghraib, and Katrina wars.
The American preaching to China to respect human rights and grant self-determination to the Tibetan people rings hollow in vast areas of world public opinion after Abu Ghraib and the invasion and preventive occupation of Iraq. America, like others, must compete in this space of power to win hearts and minds, and it can no longer assume that much of the world is willing to buy into its rhetoric.