*Speaking to an international business conference in Singapore, filmmaker Spike Lee said America's pop culture has made the United States the most powerful country in the world, and not nuclear weapons as some folks insist.
"The reason why America has been the most dominant country in the world is not because America has more nuclear arms than anybody else," Lee told the Global Brand Forum, according to AFP. "Has anyone seen exactly where a nuclear arm influenced how other people dress, the way they talk, the way they think?
"America is dominating the world because of culture - movies, television, Levi's, Coca-Cola, Disney, rock and roll, hip-hop. That's power - when you influence how people think, how they dress, how they talk ... not because we could blow the sh*t up."
Lee also said Hollywood is influential in pushing villain stereotypes. Early Hollywood films portrayed African-Americans and Native Americans as the villains. After World War II, the Nazis emerged as the "bad guys," followed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
After the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, "terrorists" and "people from Islamic or Arabic states" became the villains in Hollywood movies.
Asked what will happen if Hollywood runs out of villains, Lee replied: "They will find somebody; they always do."