The popularity of kung fu

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Hello Helen
I was just wondering how well subscribed your kung fu class is at Lake
Tahoe? Has attendance been bolstered by recent movies like say 'Kill
Bill' or the tv show 'Black Sash'?
Where I live the biggest martial arts tend to the brasher systems
such as kickboxing, karate and of course the aerobic-martial arts
hybrids like TaeBo. Most people don't seem to understand what
traditional kung fu is, and few have the patience to unlock its
mysteries.
Have you found a way to overcome this, to make kung fu more
accessible or do you prefer smaller, more intensive classes of
dedicated people?
Of course in the past when it was extremely hard to just a kwoon, the
sifu would vet prospective students via a lengthy system of probation
to weed out anyone unsuitable. I don't know if this still goes on,
possibly it does in China. Today most kwoon are commercial so the
probationary period has largely been discarded. I'm in two-minds as to
whether this is a good thing. Yes it can put off the dillitante, but it
can also disuade the enthusiast.
Today there are so many distractions, lots of other things to do,
easier passtimes that do not require the rigours of traditional
training. Once kung fu was exclusive by design, now it seems to be
exclusive for other reasons. A curious paradox do you not think?