The World

Jia Zhangke’s 2004 film The World takes place around the World Park in the Fengtai District of Beijing. The theme park covers a mere fraction of Disney World’s acreage, yet it features over one hundred scale replicas of famous attractions from more than a dozen countries. Why leave China to see the Great Sphinx in Egypt, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, or the Big Ben Clock Tower in London when they’re all right in Beijing? The World Park even has miniature versions of the Venus de Milo, Michelangelo’s David, and other canonized artworks. Its slogans—“Give us a day, we’ll show you the world” and “See the world without ever leaving Beijing”—suggest a welcoming attitude toward the global community and other cultures. After all, the average Chinese citizen cannot afford to travel across the globe to see the real versions of these sights. The park claims to be a cosmopolitan site of openness to national diversity through an international village. But it also ensnares its visitors and employees, allowing China to control the narrative less by celebrating other cultures than neutralizing wanderlust. However, Jia’s subject is less specific to China than a microcosmic portrait of the world’s inescapable dependence on global market economies.

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