Soft side moves visitors
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| A movie of an urban fairy tale called The Garden is a highlight of a visit to the USA Pavilion. |
Those expecting a display of superpower machismo at Expo's USA pavilion will be disappointed. Instead, visitors to the pavilion of the world's largest economy will get images and ideas of a country determined to show its human side under the banner of "Better City, Better Life".
The United States, one of the last among the countries to confirm its attendance at the extravagant fair, invites guests on a journey to four distinct exhibitions, based on the theme of "Rising to the Challenge".
Barred by law from using public money to build its pavilion, the United States has, since 1991, relied on corporate funding and private donors to fund its Expo activities.
That has led to a lower presence at recent world's fairs. At the 2005 World Expo in Aichi, Japan, its costs were largely underwritten by carmaker Toyota.
For the Shanghai edition, a couple of former Warner Brothers executives - Nick Winslow and Ellen Eliasoph - were responsible for raising the $61 million needed for US participation.
Only in April, the country announced it had raised all the funds needed by signing a contract with banking giant Citigroup, which donated the final $5 million, ending the country's year-long campaign to solicit private companies hit by the global economic downturn.
Located opposite the Chinese Pavilion in the Expo's central promenade, the 5,600-sq-m pavilion opens the door to the US and is ready to wow the visitors.
The centerpiece of the exhibition is an immersive action movie called The Garden. In this moving urban fairy tale, a young girl, played by US child actress Rain Spencer, engages her community - a metaphor for the world's community of nations - in turning a derelict wasteland into a flourishing oasis.
The 10-year-old girl surprised visitors when she appeared in person during a visit to the Expo Garden in May.
The movie suggests that a little girl's attitude can change the view of others and the world, she said in an interview afterwards.
"If you believe in yourself and you trust yourself that you can do something that you want to, I think you can do it," she added.
The producer of the movie planned to use identical twins because of time limits on how long a child is allowed to be on a stage in front of a camera, but Rain's audition was so strong that it outweighed all other considerations though she is not a twin.
The story is projected on five odd-shaped "screen towers", each standing at 10 meters tall. By projecting different images and graphic patterns, they turn to buildings, windows, bus stops, traditional movie screens and many other objects.
At the same time, the use of music instead of dialogue ensures everyone can enjoy the spectacle at what surveys show to be the second most anticipated pavilion at the Expo after the Chinese Pavilion.
The experience was enhanced by incorporating 4D elements like wind, rain and lightning in its main 500-seat auditorium.
But prior to that experience, guests will first be treated to a video montage of classic Americana before US citizens and celebrities like Kobe Bryant and Chinese-American figure skater Michelle Kwan welcome them in mandarin Chinese.
It showcases the kind of gaffes, humor and humanity that give US television its strong appeal.
The presentation concludes with the country's commissioner general for the Expo, Jose H. Villarreal, thanking visitors for coming.
In other exhibitions, the spirit of the US is personified in the diverse faces and positive actions of its people, and in their infectious optimism that anything is possible if people set their minds to it.
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| Visitors try the healthymagination game at the USA Pavilion. |
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