The Global Media Market

Globalisation in media is no longer simply about access to a wider range of media from different countries. The disintegration of global ‘boundaries’, together with capitalism, has led to a new wave of media production that is both local and global at the same time. What we are seeing are television shows and films, which have a noticeably global formula, but have become cultural hybrids.

For such media production to succeed, it is necessary for global production companies working within convergent media environments to tailor media to the individual consumer, as opposed to attempting to appeal to a homogenous audience (Tay & Turner, 2008). Successful global media is thus a media that can traverse a global community whilst remaining culturally different (Voltmer, 2008).

While it may be appealing from a business point of view to adopt the widespread US media model on a global scale, the reality is that the varying political, cultural and economic framework of various countries will simply not allow for it (Voltmer, 2008). Varying levels of government control, consumer attitudes towards media, cultural values, and the strength of the economy, are all play, and will always be reflected in the media market.

It is not surprising then that the international media we experience has recognisable elements of Western consumer culture, and yet has a cross-cultural resonance, depending on the cultures being represented in the media form. This is largely within international co-productions, but is also evident in local media that has adopted a Western formula – for example the Chinese dating show If Your Are The One.

Of course, the adaptations can go too far. For example, popular American TV show Friends has had widespread popularity across the US, UK and Asia. Due to its popularity, the Chinese TV show iPartment emerged, which is starkly similar to Friends – following a group of young adults, living in the city. The show received much criticism from Chinese viewers, particularly after it reached cable networks (Gye, 2012). Whilst the show’s producers admitted to some plagiarism, a spokesman maintained that it is not a copy, and simply a product of comedic stereotypes, that pays homage to American sitcoms (Gye, 2012). Is globalisation destroying originality and imagination? Whilst it is necessary for a global media market to recognise that there are cultural cliché’s and experiences that have universal appeal, it is important not to get too caught up in being ‘Western’ to the point of losing creativity.

This can even happen within Western countries – and go just as horribly wrong. Take the TV show Skins for example. A hugely successful show in Britain, and widely watched in Australia, it was adapted by MTV for an American audience. Instead of airing the original TV show, MTV filmed the entire first season with American actors, and following the script practically word for word. What MTV failed to realise was that the shows popularity was not due to any universal ‘teenage’ experience, but rather the unique, quirkiness of the British characters and youth culture, with many idiosyncrasies that did not translate across to American culture (Jen, 2010). Needless to say, the show did not air for very long.

 

Sources:

Jen, 2010, Skins USA (MTV): Complete Rip Off of British Version of Skins, TV Fiends, Web Blog Post, 24 October, viewed 5 May 2013, <http://tvfiends.com/2010/10/24/skins-usa-mtv-complete-rip-off-of-british-version-of-skins/&gt;.

Gye, H 2012, ‘A Chinese knock-off too far? Shanghai TV show under fire for ‘ripping off’ Friends down to the scripts, characters and that sofa’, Daily Mail UK, 7 August, accessed 5 May 2013, <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2184727/Chinese-TV-iPartment-ripping-Friends.html&gt;.

Tay, J and Turner, G 2008, ‘What is Television? Comparing Media Systems in the Post-Broadcast Era’, Media International Australia, no.126, pp 71-81.

Voltmer, K 2008, ‘Comparing media systems in new democracies: East meets South meets West’, Central European Journal of Communication, vol. 1, no. 1, pp 23-40.

Race and the media: the struggle with representation and why ‘blackface’ is never going to be funny

Following on from my last post about gender in the media, particularly focusing on the representation of women and stereotypes, it is important to discuss the issues of race and representation. The problem of accurately portraying different races in the media is ongoing. What is an accurate representation? How do we know what is ‘typically Asian’ or ‘typically Arabic’? Is there even such a thing as a holistic image of these groups? Why try and achieve such an image? There are so many questions that can be asked when it comes to race and the media, and they all have complex answers. This blog post will focus on one: What influences the media in the images they choose to represent a particular race?

The media is often heavily influenced by our historical relationship with various countries when representing different races and ethnicities. Take the relationship between society, particularly American society, with Arabs and Muslims, since 9/11. Alsultany (2013) noted that since the act of terrorism occurred, representation of these groups in media have been a balancing act between positive and negative images, that result in ‘simplified complex representations’ (Alsultany, 2013) – predictable characters, that have a deeper significance in the way they portray the complex historical relationship between the Western world and the fear of the Middle Eastern ‘terrorist’. Yet these balanced images can aid the recent history of discrimination and stereotyping that has occurred in Western culture against Arabs and Muslims. The TV show 24 is an example of how Arabs and Muslims have been portrayed as the ‘good guy’, helping out the US counter terrorism unit (Alsultany, 2013). The image of the Arab or Muslim ‘terrorist’ is by no means rid of in media, but the media is definitely becoming more inclined to a variety of representations.

Yet there are still many problems with racism in the media that we are struggling to get rid of. The issue of ‘blackface’ comedy as entertainment is something that crops up every so often when a TV show, film, or other media, accidentally think that enough time has passed to make a joke about dressing in ‘blackface’. In an article from 2009, Melanie Mahony commented on the Hey Hey It’s Saturday Jackson 5 skit, which left many shaking their heads in disgust. Mahony (2009) pointed out that the history of ‘blackface’ entertainment in both American and Australian history represented black people as dim-witted and evil. This degrading history is something that is difficult to forget, and indeed should not be forgotten, because every so often someone slips up and we are reminded of black slavery in America, or the stolen generations in Australia, and realise that it is never going to be funny.

Even if a blackface skit is intended to be completely innocent and light-hearted, can it really be shrugged of as such? It is easy to say yes when you’re not the centre of the joke. A white person might say ‘How come whiteface comedy is never condemned as racist?’ But as we can see, there is more to it than that. If white people had the same history of degradation and ridicule in media, that reflected the way they were viewed in society, they would be singing a different song. And so, movies like White Chicks are acceptable, but roles such as that played by Robert Downey Jnr in Tropic Thunder, are not.

 

References:

Alsultany, E 2013, ‘Arabs and Muslims in the Media after 9/11: Representational Strategies for a “Postrace” Era’. American Quarterly, Vol. 65 No. 1 <http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/american_quarterly/v065/65.1.alsultany.html >

Mahony, M 2009, ‘What’s all the fuss about “blackface”?’ Crikey, <http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/10/08/crikey-clarifier-whats-allthe-fuss-about-blackface/ >

 

So close, yet so far: Gender stereotypes in TV drama

Gender stereotypes and the media are two concepts that are constantly crossing over. Media is our main source of representation for different groups, and the stereotypes we might find ourselves recognising each day ultimately come from the images we are fed in the news, in film, on the radio, and many other mediums.

We might not think much of it at the time – often it can be quite humourous, perhaps because deep down we know it’s not the entire truth. But such generalisations about groups within society can also be damaging, and create unrealistic and limiting expectations of those groups.

The representation of women in the media is an ongoing debate. When we watch a TV show that features women in key roles, we might not think much of their characters at the time. In 2012, Maureen Ryan and Jace Lacob from the Huffington Post had an interesting conversation about HBO’s drama ‘The Newsroom’. Ryan points out that ‘many scenes involve men setting women straight, men supervising women, a man teaching a woman how to use email…’ (Ryan & Lacob, 2012). It seems quite far-fetched when you think about it. Here are supposedly accomplished female reporters, getting confused over technology that many would say their grandmother can even operate. Ryan also comments that the men are often presented as the ‘hero’ that saves the woman (Ryan & Lacob, 2012). Although this discussion is centred on characters represented in works of Aaron Sorkin, it is easy to make similar connections in other TV shows.

Take the series Homeland for example. Whilst on the face of it, it would appear that Clare Danes’ main character Carrie is the strong leading woman. But her character’s strength is played down by the fact that she is dependent on medication and therapy for her bi-polar mental condition.

Eliana Dockterman wrote in an article that even the strongest female characters in TV all have one weakness – men (Dockterman, 2013). From Olivia Pope’s affair with the president in Scandal, Carrie Mathison’s obsession with Brody in Homeland, Emily Thorne’s childhood crush in Revenge and even Daenerys and her husband in Game of Thrones (Dockterman, 2013). All these strong women allow their emotional dependencies on certain men to cloud their judgement. Thus their characters are weakened.

Dockterman also notes that when the same plot device is used for male characters, the key difference is that these men are seen to be making sacrifices to protect the women in their lives (Dockterman, 2013). Once again, they are heroic, not weak and self-destructive.

Such portrayals as these fuel the stereotype of the ‘weak, emotional female’, and encourage ideas of the male ‘dominant’. Whilst media has come a long way in allowing women to play more key roles, there are still gender stereotypes at play that limit the development of female characters. Media needs to work on altering these stereotypes, not just with females in their lead roles, but other less prominent female characters. Media is the source of many of the gender stereotypes that are so prominent in society. More changes in media representation are needed if we want to make a change to gender ideas and values within society.

 

References:

Dockterman, E 2013, ‘TV’s Strongest Female Characters Share One Stupid Flaw: Supposedly empowered women are making terrible decisions because of men’, Time, 10 October, viewed 3 May, <http://entertainment.time.com/2013/10/10/tvs-strongest-female-characters-share-one-stupid-flaw/ >

Ryan, M & Lacob, J 2012, ‘’The Newsroom’: Women Problems Abound In Aaron Sorkin’s HBO Series’, Huffington Post, 7 February, viewed 28 April, < http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maureen-ryan/the-newsroom-women-aaronsorkin-

hbo_b_1641982.html >