Hollywoodisation

Oxford Dictionaries online defines Hollywoodisation as a “[conformity] to the supposed norms of a typical Hollywood film, especially in respect of being unrealistically glamorous, exciting, or simplistic” (2013). I find it rather interesting how they note that it is “unrealistically glamorous” when a greater part of Hollywood’s actors and actresses are expected to constantly portray themselves as glamorous.

According to Christina Klein (2004), Hollywood, “in many ways, is no longer an American film industry” (p.371). In regards to this, it should be important to realise that Hollywood has now become, what I believe, a stigma.

Firstly, I’d like to note that in addition to what Klein observed, she also notes that, Hollywood “remains heavily dependent on overseas audiences” (2004, p.363) to which she continues to explain that it is important to pay close mind to the “complex nature of cultural globalisation by looking at the diverse ways...[that] it is experienced in particular instances” (p.362).

For this post, I will be discussing the plastic surgery procedures that are becoming highly popular in South Korea, where full facial reconstructions are undertaken to appear more Western than that of their Asian heritage.

In conjunction with Klein, Frederick Wasser (1995) explores transnationalism, where “various institutions are promoted or destroyed by the export surplus of American mass media” (p.245). American mass media does include Hollywood, of which includes the appearance of Hollywood actors and actresses, in which South Korean’s are increasingly changing their appearance to suit the Western image; one in five South Korean women have had some form of plastic surgery in comparison to one in twenty Americans. Furthermore, Wasser continues to note that the “extent to which an international audience adopts American values [is] because of the increased exposure to American mass media” (1995, p.245).

The K-Pop industry is notorious for containing the visual facial appearance of a more Western look.

Firstly, these are a few before and after images (that I think are the most extreme):



 

 

 

 

 

Images: Courtesy from BuzzFeed 

  

This is a K-Pop video:

 

Video: MrSommi

As the images and video show, the faces do appear more Western through bigger eyes, with a double eye-lid, leaner faces (pointy chins) and even the fashion is “unrealistically glamorous”, with suits that are highly Hollywood-esque.

I believe there is a new-found obsession with wanting to appear more Western that  was driven from Hollywoodisation.

 

 

References:

Klein, Christina 2004, ‘Martial arts and globalisation of US and Asian film industries’, Comparative America Studies, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 360-384. 

Man Man Ha Ni - U-KISS MV 2009, Youtube, MrSommi, 26 November, retrieved 22 September 2013, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx8xNJ5Ow-w>

Oxford University Press, 2013, ‘Oxford Dictionaries’, retrieved 22 September 2013, <http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/Hollywoodize>  

Wasser, Frederick 1995, ‘Is Hollywood America? The Trans-nationalization of the American Film Industry’ Critical Studies in Mass Communication. Vol 12. Pp423-437.

Wright-Ruiz, K 2013, ‘BuzzFeed Community’, retrieved 22 September 2013, <http://www.buzzfeed.com/kierawrr/31-crazy-before-and-after-photos-of-korean-plastic-4gx1>