During the 80′s, the North Koreans used to air newsreels of the South Korean police beating up demonstrators in Seoul. They stopped doing it because the audience was looking beyond the demonstration to note the cars and new buildings and well clothed, well fed demonstrators. Things in South Korea were visibly not as bad as their leaders said. I think Hollywood is reliably unsympathetic in its depiction of the CIA, the military, and large corporations. I am not sure, however, if that is what sticks in the mind of the audience. The heroes of these movies come from pleasant, nurturing communities and this background gives them the self-confidence to take on the most powerful and sacred institutions of their society. I am sure that there are many overseas who draw a lesson from these movies that neither Hollywood nor the leaders of their country would expect.
