Expo expose

I don't know how much coverage this year's Shanghai Expo got in the States (very little, I suspect), but here, it was all over the place, with another wave of big triumphant news stories in the Chinese media last week as the event shut down.

In that context, it was quite interesting to read this story, written by an American student who was a volunteer at the Expo's US pavilion this summer. For those of you (all of you?) who haven't been keeping up with the event, the US pavilion drew fire for being a bit of a let-down. I didn't see it myself, but it was seen as a fancy decorated shed, where the audience was invited to wait in line for an hour or two before watching three short movies.

The article paints an interesting picture of life behind the scenes at the event. A pavilion hijacked by corporate interests! Mistreatment of volunteers! Forced styrofoam catering! And, well, you'll have to read the rest yourself.

Is it just me, or is there a parable in the making here?