Ah, the wonders of the East! The household goddesses that gaze down from every other wall and stall in Chiang Mai and Mandalay are the very picture of mysterious beauty. Their girlish tresses are dark and lustrous, their complexions delicately olive, their looks a spicy blend of innocence and experience. And the names of these exotic sirens are . . . Phoebe Cates and Jennifer Beals. From the go-slow huts of socialist Burma to the go-go bars of socializing Bangkok, the hands-down pinups of Southeast Asia are the Yale flashdancer with exactly two movies to her credit and the pouting young starlet from Private School. Farrah, Christie, even local actresses hardly get a look-in. Unlike many American fan letters, reports Cates, "the ones from Thailand are all so sweet and complimentary." Ah, the blunders of the West!
In South Africa, blacks are not allowed to own property, choose where they live or vote in national elections. They are, however, allowed to appear as entertainers. Right now, the American king of TV for the country's mostly white audience is Bill Cosby. Favorite consumer items include Mr. T dolls and Eddie Murphy posters. And the Western songsters of choice are Lionel Richie and Stevie Wonder. The government-supported national radio station tried to ban Wonder, but gave up after his fans began tuning in to his songs on foreign stations. Still, it is not so keen on the final entry on Stevie's current album. Delivered in both English and the South African tribal tongue of Xhosa, the song is called It's Wrong (Apartheid).
Last month an elegant music store on Omotesando, Tokyo's Fifth Avenue, devoted most of its window space to a formal wedding tableau of Minnie and Mickey Mouse. Wise move. After all, Emperor Hirohito has been spotted in a Mickey Mouse wristwatch, and for 21 years the Mitsubishi Bank has treated new customers to Mickey towels, tissue paper and toothpaste, even Mickey piggy banks. Lately, the round-eared rodent has been challenged across the globe by snappy, snippy Snoopy and indolent, insolent Garfield. But the animated 58- year-old is still reigning over cats and dogs.
Though not exactly Marx, Madonna has sparked a global revolution. From Moscow to Peking, the Material Girl has put a new spin on dialectical materialism. Nothing, however, can compare with her reception in Panama, where people have gone mad over La Donna. For almost two years, 23-year-old Wanna Be's have been curling their hair and donning lace. Both a soft-drink company and a chewing-gum firm have produced ads copying her from-bed-to- verse videos. "Even Michael Jackson did not produce such a frenzy," marvels Jim Truch Gomez, manager of the country's top pop station. When word gets out that the Mistress has a new look, expect another revolution.