Culture of Loss: An American Adman in China

After 23 years in the ad business, mostly working as a freelance producer, John Benet, the star of Sunshine, a short documentary by his friend, director Doug Nichol, doesn't have the sunniest disposition. In Shanghai to make commercials for McDonald's, Benet veers between snarky cynicism and melancholia, and his world-weary musings provide a poignant counterpoint to the depiction of China's young but rapidly growing commercial culture. "Sunshine" is also a Chinese ad-industry phrase that refers to the happy, attractive qualities of the folks sought to star in commercials (and which, we learn, can be viewed as an extension of propaganda terminology and imagery from the Mao days, with the chairman shining down like a "Red Sun" on his people, represented by sunflowers).