Maggie Nelsen

3/26/12

Media and Representation

                This week’s readings focus on looking at media representations of globalization in context of westernization. Many perceive the two as one and the same, but one of readings also offers the view that such a paradigm may be changing. The Lagaan article took the position that the film defied normal Bollywood themes and plotlines. The film received praise as a revolutionary first for Bollywood because of its authentic portrayal of Indian culture, and exposing harsh British colonialism while still producing a film embraced by western audiences: “allow[ed] for a more balanced view to emerge while still portraying the brutal and oppressive nature of colonial rule in India”(Stadtler, 2005, 521). Lagaan accomplished all these things quite tactfully, resulting in a box-office hit in both its native Asian subcontinent and the Western world.  This phenomenon was particularly noteworthy because usually it is western cinema and entertainment which is circulated around the globe, and this time a major hit translated from East to West. It is important to note that such an occurrence would very likely not have been possible without a product that pleased Western audiences, “If you want to market Hindi cinema to the West, you have to give the West what it wants to see”(522). But Lagaan is a good start.

                The research conducted in Fiji about western media influences on young women’s body image was a really clever study. I think the idea and premise of their study was definitely intriguing: assessing to what extent western television does impact women’s perception of their bodies and beauty. Fiji was chosen because of its little to no consumption of western television programs. However, the methodology was loosely constructed to yield findings about the hypothesis. But, the results do seem to reveal a strong likelihood of a correlation between body image/slimming down and images and messages in western TV. In this sense, the American norm of being obsessively consciousness about one’s physique was imported to society where such a mindset didn’t previously exit. This certainly demonstrates the power of media and also how foreign concepts and practices can be easily absorbed into other cultures where such systems and customs never existed—the profound permeability of westernization. I say westernization and not globalization because it is only western constructs which are permeable across borders and infused in other cultures. The door only swings one way; when non-western things blow into the West they can be rejected, downplayed, or picked over so only certain aspects enter. Previous week’s readings on music have demonstrated this phenomenon. Therefore, this study in Fiji I think really exemplifies how readily non-western people absorb/accept western culture as the world authority. One finding the authors also mentioned was the high degree to which participants peer’s perceptions of them and the media viewed, influenced their opinions. This leads me to the Tomlinson article.

                One aspect I found interesting in the Tomlinson article is the study conducted where couples viewed TV programs together. The experimenters emphasized the necessity of two people in a close relationship watching together—because one’s perceptions of the program is heavily altered or influenced by the other person’s reaction and commentary: “ ‘conversation with significant others’ is a vital part of the interpretive and evaluative process”(Tomlinson, 48) . This was also the case among the girls in Fiji, they became more aware of their body image not just because of the TV program itself, but how it had taught them to perceive each other. Other points made in the article I found quite interesting too. The article spoke a little bit about how viewers ‘negotiate’ with a text, either to justify enjoying a program they know is “trashy” or problematic. I have not come across many articles which speak specifically to the ways in which viewers and audiences interact with a text—which is obviously of crucial importance to overall analysis of media representation. For instance, one scholar is quoted in the article by raising the important question to what extent are viewers actually perceiving texts in the ways in which sociologists and academics believe they are receiving them. Here, clearly the discipline of psychology must come into play in order to help determine just what kinds of messages audiences are absorbing in the media, because while academic critics textual analysis may be spot on, it can’t really be known if that analysis is the same message the viewer is absorbing.

                The dropping fertility rates in Brazil, as a result of increased choice by Brazilian women to get sterilized, comes  as a bit of a shock considering the fervent Roman Catholic tradition in the country. Catholics are known for their encouragement of large families and disavowal of birth control and sterilization. However, the exact opposite is happening in Brazil these days. This article states younger Brazilian female generations as progressive about family planning. The women are quoted as saying that having children is expensive and in a modern world one or two kids is all they need and want. And it is not just well-off women who are prescribing to this belief and making these choices, women of all classes in Brazil are adhering to this concept. In a way this phenomenon seems to contradict the social and economic—and most definitely religious— climate of Brazil; leaving one to wonder if this is a product of a globalized ideal or just 21^st modernity custom in general—as the Brazilian women suggest.

                Kenyan tourism, specifically the Maasai men and culture, provides interesting medium for which to examine and analyze western perceptions of foreign cultures and natives perceptions, beliefs, and how they want to view their own culture. The latter sentiment is exemplified in the Bomas recreational ground, a place that very much reminds me of an outdoor music and arts pavilion in my hometown (Wolftrap: http://www.wolftrap.org/). The Bomas is quite different from the other two tourist places in Kenya as it caters to native Kenyans themselves—not foreign tourists. Bomas appears to do the best job at representing the local culture—in all its diversity—in the most equitable and ‘authentic’ representation possible. However, one must not forget that this is an institution founded and funded by the government, and therefore is technically riddled with its own form of political propaganda or at least government agenda of how it wants to portray the country’s historical culture. Overall, this site is seems to be the best representation of Kenyan culture and history. The Mayers Ranch I think can be said is the most disturbing of the three; owned and operated by a couple from the actual colonial era, this tourist spot screams of imperialist nostalgia and is subsequently problematic—hence its shutdown by the Kenyan government. In the States, colonial Williamsburg (in Williamsburg, VA) is an entire town designed and built like 18^th century Virginia, complete with employees walking around in period-attire. To put the concept at Mayer’s in a metaphorical context:  the American equivalent would be to reenact 19^th/20^th century share-croppers or slaves on a historical cotton plantation in South Carolina, for people walk around and ‘experience’ “old, southern glory”—because Confederate nostalgia in the States undoubtedly exists today. But would we ever see the kind of tourist spectacle akin to Mayers here in the States? One of the most important points from the Mayers compound I want to focus on is what happened to the livelihood of the Maasai men after the place was shut down, because the alternative options were not much better—or different. Most went on to perform at other maasai productions, tourist attractions, western hotels and some even went into the sex industry, taking advantage of the apparent market for strong, ‘exotic’, maasai men which European women sought out. Not enough time to even comment on that…The Out of Africa Sundowner sounded to me like a hybridization of sorts. Maasai performers interacted on a more casual basis, and more of a level of equality with the tourists. And likewise, the Sundowner was for the tourist who wanted to be culturally informed (to a certain extent at least). This is the surface level perception, but the reality is the tourists were still ignorant of and sheltered to real history of the culture. This place is trying to foster an equitable atmosphere and accurate representation of Maasai culture, but in actuality it is a “American image of African culture”(Bruner, 2001, 893).  The core conclusion of this article proposes that very quickly the lines have been blurred between an accurate depiction of Kenyan history and culture and the American “idea” or perception of Kenyan or African culture, so eventually natives will start recording down in history the western version of their culture—instead of what it truly is. This concept I think, as the author says, can definitely be translated into other problematic representations of nation, people and culture across the globe.