GLOBAL CRASHES, LOCAL LAUGHS
The Globalisation of Entertainment
Today
An introduction to cultural identity
The importance of entertainment media
The dominance of American popular culture
The rise of Chinese film
The Bollywood diaspora
Essay question: Using examples from a local (national/regional) context, critically evaluate the effect of global entertainment media on local cultural identities.
Our purpose
We have examined the construction of a global communications system
We have debated whether this leads to global cultural homogeneity, cultural transformation/ reinvention
Today we will use entertainment media, specifically cinema and television, to see how these debates work in practice
Cultural identities
An identity is an individual’s identification with something external to them, normally an abstract or imagined idea (I am this)
Culture: The ideas, practices, norms and social behaviour of a particular people
Cultural identities are always plural and constructed through the cultural resources available – a cultural identity is one’s identification within a set of cultural resources
On a personal level these cultural identities are not only abstract: we form emotional attachments to them
Cultural resources
Our ‘social identities’ tend to be formed during our period of ‘primary socialisation’, and remain relatively fixed
By contrast, the construction of cultural identities is extended through ‘norms’ and cultural practices available in society
Culture identities are thus propagated through their representation in the media
My cultural identifications New Zealander
Beach Culture
Informality
Rugby
Cricket
What elements make up your cultural identity?
Mediating global culture
In a pre-global world, cultural resources would primarily have been sourced from our local environments
The advent of a global media systems means that these referents are not necessarily local
Global media sources allow us to become ‘spectators of the world’, consuming cultures from our living rooms
The importance of entertainment
The explicit focus of entertainment media is not to produce cultural change, and yet because popular culture has such a large influence on our lives, it cannot help but influence us
The forms of entertainment and cultural representation that are popular within a society also allow insight into how it understands itself
On a global level, the affinity between cultures can be uncovered by the popularity of cross-cultural media
We can ask whether popular culture is particular to a set of cultural identities, or does it have a universal dimension?
How much ‘popular culture’ have you consumed this week?
The politics of entertainment
Theorists of the ‘Frankfurt School’ argued that the masses were no longer actively repressed, but were now controlled by the rise of ‘mass’ or popular culture
The Frankfurt School were ‘critical’ Marxist theorists who had fled Nazi Germany and argued that the influence of the passive consumption of mass culture in America had parallels with creation of homogenous and passive individuals in fascist Germany
Culture and entertainment were no longer a form of artistic expression for the highest classes of society, but are a matter of mass appeal
On a global scale, the spread of American popular culture is argued to be a form of ‘soft power’ that allows for the transmission of America political and economic values
The culture industry
In their book Dialectic of Enlightenment (1944), Max Horkheimer and Theodore Adorno argued that popular culture was like a factory reproducing culture goods that reduce a population to passivity
If we are able to get easy pleasure from mass media, our larger exploitation becomes less apparent
It is argued that a global cultural industry is emerging, one that is able to channel the alienation and anger of the global youth
This culture is propagated through the commercialisation of culture, both through the global spread of American produced culture and American modes of cultural production (The Export of Meaning: Cross-Cultural Readings of “Dallas”, Liebes and Katz, 1990)
Do you watch ‘pop culture’ to stop yourself from thinking?
America the great
The world is primarily exposed to American culture in two ways: through its foreign policy and through its media, which acts as a form of ‘soft power’ that allows for the glamorous and desirable portrayal of America
The United States of America is the largest producer of popular entertainment media in the world
This portrayal is multi-faceted and allows a wide range of access points, from romance to personal excess and expression, to oppositional modes such as hip-hip culture, which appeal to excluded youth around the world
Most of these American sub-cultures are underlined by appeals to youth, individual aspiration and expression, and consumerism
The case of MTV
Music is often the most easily transferable of cultural forms and was at the ‘vanguard’ of the spread of American culture
This dynamic was seen in the global success of ‘Music Television’, or MTV, which was created in 1981 and has spread to approximately 160 countries in 18 different languages
MTV sets up local operations that allow it to push America music but, most of all, to do what is profitable and play what is popular at a local level
Influencing local identities
This pushes the American format of popular culture, sexuality, violence and individual expression (and popular slang)
Through its local affiliates, MTV mass-promotes a cultural lifestyle whose local roots are in American, but inspires demand from local youth
The soft power of the likes of MTV or the e channel and reality TV allow for American values to become more acceptable and more understandable and consuming movies and television more desirable
The rise of the American local
MTV’s expansion matches that of America multi-nationals, moving into new markets and changing their approach to suit that market
MTV sets up local operations (often working with local cable networks) that allow it to push America music but, most of all, to do what is profitable and play what is popular at a local level
Whilst MTV sought to respond to local demands, in many localities MTV has been superseded by local alternatives in the same format
Is music television in your country distinctly American?
Michael Lynton, chairman of Sony Pictures “These are not signs of Hollywood's homogenizing effect on the world. They are signs of the world changing the way Hollywood works. It
makes sense to marry our production, marketing and distribution experience with the growing global appetite for entertainment tailormade by and for a variety of cultures.�
Can film be truly global?
Hollywood films make significantly more money from global audiences than in the US box office
There are three main factors: 1. 2. 3.
The emergence of greater ‘leisure spending’ in the developing world Global marketing of Hollywood films A concerted effort to refocus the content of films to be more globally appealing
Global cultural identities 
Hollywood films are seeking to remove American cultural references and cast a more diverse range of actors
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A focus on American military interventions is particularly troublesome, and the same applies to local cultural events and stars
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In some movies, plots are being re-shot to include culturally-specific scenes
The influence of China
In 2012 China lifted its limit on foreign films from 20 to 34
With a rapidly growing economy and increased discretionary funds, the Chinese film market is booming
The Chinese government is planning to support the construction of up to 35,000 more cinemas screen over the next five years – up from a current 5,000
In 2012 foreign films made $US1.41billion out of a total of $US2.74billion and American films were seven out of the top ten
The Chinafication of Hollywood
Hollywood films are being specifically designed for the Chinese market, with more Chinese stars and locations as well as more Chinese friendly plots
Because the market is controlled by the Chinese government, Hollywood has to comply to the strict controls set, including restrictions on the ‘supernatural’ and negative depictions of China
Much of the violence of the Quentin Tarantino move Django Unchained, for example, was cut from the Chinese version and the film was banned for a period until further cuts were made
As China will soon be the biggest market for films, entertainment corporations are ‘forced’ to comply with these practices
The case of Iron Man 3
In 2013 Iron Man 3 set the Chinese record for the biggest opening weekend for a foreign film, taking in over $US65 million
Whilst Iron Man is a continuation of the US cultural tradition of ‘superhero’ blockbuster movies, Iron Man 3 was designed with the Chinese market in mind It was co-produced with China’s DMG entertainment Scenes were filmed in Beijing with famous Chinese actors and a product placement deal with TCL electronics The main villain was changed from Chinese ethnicity to one of indeterminate identity
Global funding
Not only are Hollywood studios like Fox are setting up local studios and ‘production partners’, but funding from China is increasingly lucrative
Many global media corporations have local subsidiaries to help them negotiate local practices
Germany’s Bertelsmann AG is the local distributor for Random House publishing
Local studio productions are also becoming more common, sometimes importing ideas or whole films from the US
The counter-hegemonic global
Globalisation might be a story told by the winners but, in film, counterhegemonic movements are becoming more influential
China’s financial influential and cultural-political restrictions mean that the biggest budget films are more likely to portray China positively
But, villains have to come from somewhere – they can either be from smaller film markets, or be of non-local identity
Culturally specific films from the Western world are increasingly being remade with local actors and plots, rather than being dubbed
The global village of film
With global audiences, global production and global funding, we are witnessing the convergence of global cultures through film
Studios wish to appeal to the widest audiences possible, so plots and characters become more generic
As audiences have a greater demand for popular culture, government restrictions are slowly lifting
However, the bigger the market, the more films are likely to represent them positively
Moreover, the vast majority of films play to a local audience and local practices still rule in some genres
What translates?
At the start of the lecture I noted that popularity of foreign entertainment reveals the connections between cultures and the universally of ideas and cultural practices
We see this in films, where action films are popular with global audiences, but comedies struggle
To succeed across cultures, films have to empty themselves of any unrelatable content: comedy relies on insider knowledge of a culture, whereas special effects and action do not
Not funny? 
Comedy relies upon insider understandings of culture, and it also expresses a truth of that culture: to laugh is both a social reaction and a cultural reaction
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It is often very difficult to translate these understandings between cultures, even between quite similar cultures
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In order to get around this some big-budget companies, like 21 and Over, have different plots to suit different cultural understandings
Do you ‘get’ the British sense of humour?
Concentration of Film Production
Source: UNESCO, INTERNATIONAL BLOCKBUSTERS TO NATIONAL HITS ANALYSIS OF THE 2010 UIS SURVEY ON FEATURE FILM STATISTICS
The case of Indian identity
The increasing global popularity of Indian film, or ‘Bollywood’ signals the presence of a counter-hegemonic globalisations
Bollywood was once largely limited to the local Indian film market and remains a hugely influential element of Indian culture
Bollywood has a very distinctive style, often focusing on song and dance and ‘epic’ stories that are culturally different from Western cultural practices
Although they are very popular across Asia and parts of Africa, they had struggled to have an impact upon American audiences
Globalising Bollywood 
Bollywood films have started to become more popular in America and in Britain
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This shift has come less from an cultural change in either audiences or in the films, but from targeted marketing at the Indian global diaspora
Indian diasporas
Diaspora's are geographically scattered populations with common origins
At an estimated 25,000,000, the Indian diaspora is the biggest in the world and is increasingly affluent
As diasporic populations are geographically detached from cultural traditions, many had struggled with their cultural alienation and had attempted to assimilate into the local culture
In the era of global media, however, diasporas are able to carve out cultural niches through satellite and internet technology
The global in the local 
In appealing to these scattered populations, Bollywood films are becoming increasingly globally popular, but only within a single culture
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In this case we have cultural similarity detached from geographic location and greater cultural difference both across the world and within localities
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Conversely, as wealthier emigrant populations change their cultural habits, films are slowly changing with them
Summary
Entertainment is a core aspect of our cultural identities, but also has a political function
American film remains culturally dominant, particularly amongst the global youth, and is an example of ‘soft power’/cultural imperialism
Conversely, the rise of the China film industry and the global spread of Bollywood reveal the presence of counter-hegemonic trends
Next Week WEEK 5 VIRTUAL RESISTANCE: MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY AND TRANSFORMATION
FEATURING: ESSAY REVIEW
POSTNATIONAL TELEVISION?
Good gracious me and the Britasian diasporia
Our Questions
Is there such thing as a global entertainment culture? Do our local cultural identities change through entertainment media?
Global India-ness
Good Gracious Me represents the presence of Indian immigrants in British society: they are both local and global
Whilst the overt appeal is to the ‘Britasian’ community, 80% of its audience was ‘White’ (p.407)
Executive producer Jon Plowman “It’s like watching Frasier or Friends when there’s a joke you don’t get but is clearly supposed to be funny…You think, ‘Oh, that must be about being American’…it doesn’t ruin the whole show for you” (p.409)
In what circumstances do you find the popular culture of a foreign culture entertaining?
Geographical Importance
Luckett highlights the importance of the digital expansion of the global communications system for maintaining cultural links
Rather than relying on state funded national media (see p.405), cultures are able to stay in contact despite geographical distance
What has more influence on cultural identity, virtual cultural links (TV, internet, movies…)or geographical location?
Global Culture
The Indian diaspora is continuing to spread
Through migration, particularly of students, more people from Eastern Europe, China and the middle-east are coming into contact and hybrid cultures are forming
Good Gracious Me demonstrates the prominence of the Britasian cultural community in Britain (p.406)
Yet, “Allusions to Hindi cinema suggest the importance of ‘national’ culture in a postnational world, especially for diasporic populations, suggesting that hybridity does not necessarily imply dissolution” (p.411)
Is entertainment media more likely to produce a genuinely global culture than social media?