The other evening I was at the local shopping mall out here in suburban Shanghai and after buying some groceries I stopped to see what new titles a local DVD peddler had. He was flipping through his selection of English language movies and when I appeared puzzled when looking at one of them (the title wasn’t on the cover and I didn’t recognize any of the pictured stars) he helpfully pointed to the three screen movie theater just behind us–one of the anchors, ostensibly, of the brand new shopping mall. I looked up and saw on the billboard that“Pirates of the Caribbean,” starring johnny Depp, was one of the films now playing at the theater. The street peddler smiled and showed me again the DVD I hadn’t recognized. Same thing, he said–”Pirates of the Caribbean.” He wanted five rmb for his version. The price in the movie theater behind us? Twenty.
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