I enjoy movies from nearly all genres, however, majority of the movies I end up watching are very similar in terms of character development, protagonists and love-interests (though it doesn’t stop me swooning over a charming male lead).
That thought then
struck me that Westernised movies practically follow the same storyline.
Charming/arrogant lead made, damsel in distress or female character that doesn’t
immediately succumb to lead males charm, hiccup within the movie, resolution,
then a happily ever after.
This video sums it
up perfectly.
Video: Academy Award Winning Movie Trailer By BriTANicKdotcom
But there is such a wider context of movies that show different cultures. Take Bollywood for example, globalised cultures to create it's own sub-culture.
Hachten and Scotton
(2002) note that when “cultures receive outside influences, it is said, they
ignore some and adopt others, and soon begin to transform them”. For example,
Bollywood is a hybrid of Hollywood and Indian culture. It affiliates the two different
cultures from either side from a globalisation process.
Bride and
Prejudice, though westernised in some sense when it comes to actors, depicts a
type of ‘modernity’, a certain set of attitudes towards the world of which the
idea that the world is open for transformation, but is 'postmodern' in it's distribution because it's on an international scale.
The 'modernity' part includes the traditional cultural. Vibrant, traditional Indian dress codes, location, and singing in mother tongue at each other - of which can be seen as a 'transformation' because Hollywood is notorious for musicals.
Bollywood is a direct adaptation from Hollywood, and that hegemony is there as Steven’s (2003) comments that it is “achieved when the power of the dominant group in a society appears natural”. Bollywood is so big in India (and globally also), many natives want to live through it. It has become so natural to want to pursue it.
The 'modernity' part includes the traditional cultural. Vibrant, traditional Indian dress codes, location, and singing in mother tongue at each other - of which can be seen as a 'transformation' because Hollywood is notorious for musicals.
Bollywood is a direct adaptation from Hollywood, and that hegemony is there as Steven’s (2003) comments that it is “achieved when the power of the dominant group in a society appears natural”. Bollywood is so big in India (and globally also), many natives want to live through it. It has become so natural to want to pursue it.
Nevertheless, I
love watching different cultures
being portrayed, because I’m so used to my own; it’s almost a breath of fresh
air to view something extremely different.
References:
Hachten, WA, Scotton, JF 2002, ‘News communication for a new global system’, The world news prism: global media in an era of terrorism 2002, Iowa State Press, Ames, pp. 3-14
Steven, P 2003, ‘Political economy: the howling, brawling, global market place’, The no-nonsense guide to global media 2003, New Internationalist/Verso, Oxford, pp. 37-59
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAG9Xn5bJwQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoLtHqS_LhA
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ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteit was interesting to see how you used modernism (in regards to globalization) to explain the how Bollywood has grown into a culture of it’s own.
I agree that the Bollywood trend has created hegemony in some societies around the world. Different cultures have been able to extend across the world because of globalization, and Bollywood is just one of many examples of how the Western World is adopting other cultures and vice versa.
Globalization could also (in part) take blame for the overused typical film storyline you mentioned as well. Over exposure to media technologies has made film & television more accessible to everyone. As such, where you might have only been able to see a film with certain type of storyline infrequently, you are now being over exposed to the same character development/plot line.
i definitely agree that most movies follow the same story line. so boring! bollywood is a great topic to choose because of its traditional and modern elements. i definitely agree that watching films that are different to your own culture or films that you are used to watching is a must. you find out so much about the culture. and you even end up enjoying the films half the time! The structure and layout of your blog makes it easy to read and follows a step-by-step process which makes it easier to read and understand. similar to my blog and music. great work
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI agree that there are a lot of Hollywood films that use the same concepts, the same love story in every movie just altered slightly, these concepts work though, even if it is so repetitive. It was good to read about Bollywood in this post, i haven't seen any Bollywood films, it was interesting to read how other film cultures adopt and ignore aspects of other cultures to create their own in terms of film. Really good use videos as well, it enhanced the post even more. good work