----------------------------Original message---------------------------- > Ulf Dalquist wrote: > Look, I really don't want to get into PC hair-splitting when it comes to what > words you can use, but I oppose the term 'foreign' film.If even CNN has > rejected the use of 'foreign' news for 'international' ditto, I think the people > on SCREEN-L could do likewise. Declaring everything not american 'foreign' IS a > bit chauvinistic,or at least it sounds that way. I couldn't agree more with Ulf. The manner in which "foreign" (or *even* "international") is used on Screen-L seems to indicate that most American subscribers consider that the cinematic world is divided into American films and "foreign" films -- that binary opposition again. However, to subscribers in New Zealand or Senegal or the Phillipines, for example, all American films would be considered "foreign." Screen-L, although moderated in the U.S., is a GLOBAL list, and we Americans should keep that in mind. Terms like "foreign" and "international" may be convenient, but they are arbitrary and totally dependant on perspective. I think referencing a film by its country of origin might be a more accurate (and less confusing) method. In anticipation of someone bringing up the fact that the Academy (which is an *American* institution anyway!) has a category for Best Foreign Language Film, I submit that we on Screen-L should make every attempt to set our standards a bit higher than those of the Academy. :-) Christopher White