Jia Zhangke looks at what's really there, rather than what he wants to see. That's something more people should do. On the one hand, he doesn't flatter global capitalism, but he's not blind to the essential progress that China has made either.

China's underground auteur may well be a better anthropologist than entertainer. Although his movies sometimes dwell on the mundane to the point of being unwatchable, they are invaluable documents on the true nature of China's modernization.

So few people understand what the "New China" is, but it's all here for anyone who bothers to look. He is the definitive realist of his generation, and a strikingly insightful observer of the human condition.

His quotes throughout the article are all gems, but too numerous to clip.

As an example of the access to technology that he's talking about, poor people in China, like the ones in his films, actually have the chance to watch his films - by buying pirated DVDs for 5 RMB or by downloading them online at an internet cafe, where internet access costs 1-2 RMB per hour...

Although he shows us that the world ISN'T flat, and probably never will be, Jia Zhangke also shows us the changing dynamic in societies all around the world, as the poor working class becomes our equals in the world of digital information and communications.