Intercultural Look at 'The Matrix'

  Visiting Chinese scholar Liang Hong presented a paper Dec. 3 on "Media Images and Intercultural Understanding," with a heavy emphasis on comparing the Hollywood blockbuster film "The Matrix" with a classic Chinese movie "Journey to the West" (known to American audiences as "The Monkey King").
   Dr. Liang is hosted by the Communication Department through next February. In her presentation, she traced several parallels between the two films, including similarities between Neo and the Monkey King, between the Architect and the Buddha, and between the Oracle and the Boddhisattva Guanyin.
   The audience included Communication faculty, the intercultural communication class taught by Professor Faizan Haq, other students and faculty at Buffalo State, and other visiting Chinese scholars. Dr Liang's visit is sponsored by the SUNY Research Foundation and the college's International and Exchange Program. See Dr. Liang's presentation notes.