Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower (in limited release but already on Netflix) is a compelling documentary, suspenseful even though the ending is obvious. Joshua is a skinny teenager who somehow manages to in-spire a mass revolt against the Chinese government. The Umbrella Revolution grew out of China's increasing violations of Hong Kong's promised self-rule, such as imposing 'National Education' (i.e., communist orthodoxy) on students and selecting the candidates for elections. This was no quickie protest; it lasted months, but if you remember Tiananmen Square, it was clearly doomed. (If you don't remember, China responded to the 1989 Tiananmen protests with tanks, murdering 2600 protesters with automatic weapons. Mere mention of the event is illegal in China, which set up a surveillance camera to keep one victim's mother from visiting his grave.) Hong Kong's repression never came to that, but the relentless beatings and tear-gassings won in the end. A salutary homework assignment: the Umbrella protesters take risks and have principles while American leftists are coddled by college administrators for denying free speech to any who disagree with them. Discuss.
Review of Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower
