The renowned American film director Oliver Stone spoke at the Renmin University of China on the afternoon of April 22. Mr. Stone’s lecture, “From Art of War to Wall Street,” formed part of the Huang Da-Mundell Lecture Series. Zhao Xijun, Associate Dean of School of Finance, chaired the event. RUC Vice-President Yang Huilin was also in attendance. Mr. Stone reflected on two major conflicts in American history, the Cold War from 1945 to 1991, and Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979. Mr. Stone also mentioned China Rising, American support for the Ukrainian Revolution, and unrest raised by reactionaries in Venezuela. He expressed his opinion that US has long been trying to maintain itself as hegemonic power in the world.

Mr. Stone went on to criticize history education in America which focuses on American exceptionalism. He expressed his dissatisfaction with history lessons that gloss over the casualties of wars instigated by America. Mr. Stone then compared present-day Wall Street to wars in American history. He said that capital in Wall Street extracts the surplus value with the speed of an invasion. The greed of those people was endless, he said. Mr. Stone taught a lesson with his critical thinking and humorous manner, which impressed everyone. In the Q&A afterwards, Mr. Stone answered the questions about how to maintain neutrality and justice when filming documentaries, and how social networking has influenced the process of democracy, and similar topics. Oliver Stone was born in New York City on September 15, 1946. He was admitted into Yale University, but left after a year to teach high school students at the Free Pacific Institute in South Vietnam. In April 1967, Stone enlisted in the United States Army, requesting combat duty in Vietnam. Upon returning to the US, he got a Bachelor Degree in Fine Arts in New York University. A three-time Oscar winner, Mr. Stone has long been known for casting a critical eye on American culture and government. He is famous for speaking his mind, and demonstrated his introspective consciousness in the 2008 film W which describes the “fallacies” of the administration of former President George W. Bush. His documentary Oliver Stone’s Untold History of the United States has recently been released along with a book version in Chinese. Before the lecture, President Chen Yulu met with the delegation led by Mr. Stone.