Commentary: Why America is losing appeal

People participate in a pro-Palestinian demonstration at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., the United States, April 26, 2024. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

In the sci-fi movies, Captain America and his fellow Avengers were saving the world from one crisis after another. But in the real world, the United States is doing quite the opposite.

BEIJING, May 31 (Xinhua) -- America's Hollywood blockbusters, like the Marvel superhero franchises, used to be quite popular among Chinese moviegoers. Yet in recent years, their popularity has been fading away while indigenous films are gaining momentum at the box office.

In 2023, no U.S. films were among China's top ten highest-grossing, a dramatic contrast from prior years. Also, the Marvel fatigue has been felt worldwide. The decline in U.S. movies' cinematic performance offers a glimpse into a broader picture of the waning appeal of American culture and values.

"There was a time not so long ago in China when anything American was automatically seen as better ... Today, no one says the moon is any different when seen from the United States," Lily Kuo, The Washington Post's China bureau chief, wrote in her latest column.

But why is that?

Hollywood films, rock and roll, as well as Coca-Cola sodas and McDonald's hamburgers have long been viewed as symbolic elements in typical American culture. Those trademarks are important vehicles that carry America's so-called "universal values" like liberty and democracy to almost all parts of the globe.

But in recent years, Hollywood movies are being churned out like products on assembly lines. The old magic of story-telling seems to have gone. Also, the Chinese people have begun to prefer local brands in food, fashion and electronics amid what is called the "Guochao" trend, or "China-chic."

Behind this phenomenon is the fact that Chinese consumers, notably the 28 million Generation Z population in the country, are seeking to celebrate Chinese cultural identity and demonstrate a homegrown pride in their own country.

In their eyes, the United States, which is struggling with rising political polarization, repeated financial meltdowns, as well as other chronic social problems, can no longer achieve what Washington politicians always claim that the United States should do: setting an example for the world.

Being the largest economy in the world, the United States is also the most economically polarized among Western countries. And in the post-COVID era where inflation is stubbornly high, America seems to be powerless in the face of the fact that the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer.

Homeless people are seen on the sidewalk in downtown Los Angeles, California, the United States, Dec. 14, 2022. (Xinhua)

Meanwhile, homelessness, infant mortality and drug abuse are escalating to alarming levels. Nevertheless, politicians in Washington have largely left those entrenched problems unfixed, and are actively shifting blames.

That has sparked a grave crisis of confidence in the U.S. political system, not only among its own citizens but also worldwide. A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center late last year found that Americans are losing confidence in America's political governance as the ratings of their federal, state and local governments all took a sharp downturn from a few years ago. Only 22 percent of U.S. adults hold a favorable view of the federal government, down 10 percentage points since 2022, according to the survey.

Wang Wen, a professor and executive dean of Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China, argued in an essay published in The New York Times back in 2022 that the Chinese no longer look up to America. "We once sought to learn from U.S. successes; now we study its mistakes so that we can avoid them," he wrote.

In the sci-fi movies, Captain America and his fellow Avengers were saving the world from one crisis after another. But in the real world, the United States is doing quite the opposite: making bloodshed, chaos and destruction in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, and many other parts of the globe.

And in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, the United States has once again let the world down by failing to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Instead of helping make peace, American politicians are busy pandering to the resourceful Jewish lobby groups, vetoing UN resolutions, and sending more killing weapons to the conflict zone. Washington's double standards have become glaringly apparent. Its indifference to international justice and the horrible loss of innocent lives further undermined the world's faith in the United States.

Of course, the United States is still leading in many fields such as cutting-edge AI technologies, medical science and bioengineering. But these advantages do not automatically translate into America's soft power. If the United States still wants to set an example for the world, perhaps it needs to fix its tarnished image first. That starts with doing the right thing at home and abroad.