While at UCLA, I took a class in non-western theatre. Quite interesting. As some H/Ks may know, in Bali the same themes and characters are used over and over in their shadow puppet plays. They don't look for newness; they revel in old favorites. And there's one character, whose name I don't recall, who farts whenever he gets excited. The class really made me think about western forms of entertainment, particularly TV, and what western audiences seem to expect and value.
