Comment: The economics of movie-making now encourage mindless entertainment which does not depend on shared cultural references. 

There is more money to be made with movies that sell globally, i.e. the lowest common denominator, than with complex, introspective, chatty movies that depend on people "getting"  the cultural subtleties.

I am all for people watching excellent movies from a variety of cultures, but it isn't any more likely for most people here than in India or China or elsewhere. Most people will watch movies they "get", not ones that are incomprehensible to them. That is why a shared culture is the sine qua none for a thriving quality cinema, literature, etc.