Asian-Hollywood

Whenever we think of famous film productions we think of Hollywood, ‘Home of the entertainment industry’. Once a predominant white-based film industry, the market has expanded featuring many films with different multi-cultural influences. In order to cater to a large Asian population, many films have been adapted to suit this target population as well as Asian films being influenced by elements of Hollywood as well.

Klein (2004) suggests that each culture is influencing one another, while “Hollywood is becoming Asianized in diverse ways…[the] Asian film industries are in turn becoming Hollywoodized.” (Klein 2004, pg. 361) The most well-known example of these ‘mixed films’ are evident in many martial art storylines. This is seen in movies such as the Rush hour series, as well as Children films such as The Karate Kid (2010) and Kung Fu Panda (2008). In Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000); which tells the storyline of a warrior and his love for a women as well as a Princess desiring to become a fighter all set in an era where a war has broken out. This film features many ancient Chinese practices such as historical information about various dynasties that existed at the time, the types of weapons and lastly how martial arts was practiced. All of these characteristics have been adapted into Hollywood productions and as a result these two different industries have become more closely related.

Image sourced: Amanda Meade

Critics may say that while introducing Asian influences into a Hollywood production may lead to certain elements of the Asian culture diminishing in order to cater for a wider audience (homogenization). This to a certain extent is true as some meanings were lost in the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). Pham (2004) analysed that while the film was a major success it was not meant to be an action move (as depicted in the trailer below), but to showcase the artist merits of the storyline as well as the Asian culture not to stereotype the Asian race.

It is clear that living in a globalised world; elements of different cultures are bound to affect one another creating new cultures. While the debate continues whether multi-cultural influences are positive or negative in the filmy industry, one thing is clear; with geographic boundaries no longer becoming a problem it is here to stay and cultivate.

Reference List

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

Pham, M. H. T. 2004, The Asian invasion (of multiculturalism) in Hollywood in Journal of Popular Film and Television, vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 121-131.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), YouTube, 29 April, retrieved 26 September 2013,  <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEaGsdiA0y0>

 

Who am I?



Image sourced: Nicole Forrester 

No matter how hard we try to escape from social media, we normally always return back to these sites within a few days, hours or for those constantly attached to their phones (like myself) in a few minutes. Aided by advancements in technology, especially since the development of smart phones, our dependency to be “in touch” with the virtual community is growing; but with this comes the issue of identity: are we presenting our true selves or the image that society created?

Marshall (2010) introduces the term ‘specular economy’ to define how society is becoming more conscious of how we present ourselves on our social media networks and thus how others interpret our profiles. I constantly ‘filter’ my news feed and only comment or like certain uploads on Facebook such as photos, tags, videos or status’. I myself have been guilty of tweaking a status before posting (especially with added #hashtags) but never has it occurred to me that I was doing this on a daily basis; editing my somewhat boring status’ to one that is more humorous and witty.

According to Lasch (1979) we live in a narcissistic world where ‘competitive individualism’ exists. Comparable to celebrities, we constantly over analyse how we should best present ourselves online. We are consciously aware of how we present our profiles and how others perceive us (especially potential employers). To a certain extent, manipulating our true selves in order to get a few more ‘likes’ or ‘comments’ to feel accepted by our fellow ‘friends’.  The best example of this is the classic “selfie” shot. After taking a few ‘selfies’ I usually select the best shot, filter it then upload it. The question is: with all this editing, is the person in the photo still me?

 

(Video sourced: Michelle Phan 2013)

DiMicco and Millen (2007) theorise that users of such social media sites present themselves when they are using one site to keep in contact with both their past social groups from school and their current social connections in the workplace. Social media allows us to feel relevant and important but at the same time also promotes being egotistical. With that being said – how do we separate our real identity to the one that we virtually construct online? Sadly, aided by the work of globalisation it is sure to spread.

#yolo #swag

References

DiMicco, J. M & Millen, D. R 2007, ‘Identity management: multiple presentations of self in Facebook’ in Proceedings of the 2007 international ACM conference on Supporting group work, New York, pp. 383-386

How to take the perfect selfie 2013, YouTube, Michelle Phan, 5 September, retrieved 22 September 2013,<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbqIQcKNE7E&feature=c4-overview&list=UUuYx81nzzz4OFQrhbKDzTng>

 Lasch, C 1979, Culture of narcissism: American life in an age of diminishing expectations. New York: Norton

 Marshall, P.D 2010, ‘The Specular Economy’, Society, vol. 47, no. 6, pp. 498-502

Campus Life & Gaming

Although I would not call myself an avid gamer; I do believe the gaming sector has revolutionised the way we interact with others and some might even say that it is an extension of our own identity in a virtual setting. The way we play video games has evolved, whereby gamers have endless functions and multiple options to choose from when gaming. Culture has played a role in this and will continue to do so as demand is steadily increasing for more realistic gaming experiences to be created and thus shared with others around the world.

According to Raessen (2005, pg. 375) there are three domains of participation. Specifically, one of the categories includes interpretation, which is the process of making meaning from various media sources. This process of encoding and decoding is subject to participatory cultures as well as the user’s personality as there can be multiple interpretations to one situation, as this depends on the individual. The interpretation reading is evident in games such as Campus Life, although an application on smart phones, this application has similar characteristics to computer games although at times more convenient.

https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/campus-life/id504634395?mt=8

 

Without ever having to download or play this application, users are already making interpretations from the title of the game. The name implies “sorority girls” and thus users assume that the characters value the social aspects of their “campus life”. Although a generalization, this is a somewhat accurate depiction of the game. This interpretation is not only affected by cultural values but also has a hint of “Americanisation” influence as well. Not only has Americanisation influenced sectors such as clothing and the music industry just to name a few, it has also impacted the gaming experience.

 

Campbell, Davies and McKay (2004) state that Americanisation (cultural influences of America on other countries) has directly affected the perception of how “sorority girls” are observed in other cultures. Furthermore, there are certain elements of American college girls that are similar with “campus life” and this can be seen below in the film, Legally Blonde.

 

 

 

 

Gaming has a much larger role in society than initially thought. With Globalization (Americanisation?) on the rise our interpretations will become much more diverse although some may interpret this as a negative aspect in terms of a lack of originality in future games to come.   

 

 

 

Reference List

 

Campbell N, Davies J, & McKay G 2004, Issues in Americanisation and culture, Edinburgh University Press.

Raessens, J 2005, “Computer Games as Participatory Media Culture”, Handbook of Computer Game Studies, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass, pp. 373-388

Legally blonde Official Trailer 2012, YouTube, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 5 October,  date retrieved: 16 September 2013, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8I-Qzmbqnc >

 

Another angry rant at the ... blogosphere?

We’ve all had our fair share of bad days at work. No matter which industry you work in, there will always be “that one customer” in which a casual whine can quickly escalate into a long and lengthy rant. Employees have now turned to the online world where it is seen as “acceptable” to vent our frustration with our keyboards without other customers or our employers finding out; the blogosphere. According to Ferdig and Trammel (2004), the blogosphere is often likened to a collection or series of online personal journals that are considered unedited and reflects the true opinion of the writer in which “bloggers” occupy. This implies bloggers are able to criticize any detail of the work environment right down to other employees, customers or managers whilst maintaining a semi anonymous identity…well that is until the organization finds out.

 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7nQ24J3pJA, Fox Broadcasting Company, retrieved 7 September 2013) 

While venting online can provide helpful insights about how the company can further improve particular work aspects in the future, where do we draw the line between offering constructive criticism and downright complaining? While not all posts are negative, the majority of them are. According to Richards and Kosmala (2013) the blogosphere allows employees to escape their corporate culture where employees are expected to be self-disciplined and follow work protocols. With the blogosphere on the other hand, the power is reversed. Employees are given a sense of control and community with others that feel the same way which allows employees to feel empowered with a sense of authority. But this can also back fire on the individual when inappropriate photos are posted online leading to them being sacked. (See picture below)

(Picture sourced from: http://www.webpronews.com/kfc-employee-fired-after-mashed-potato-licking-photos-hit-facebook-2013-02)

 

Before you quickly log on and type about a particular “opinionated” (read annoying) customer causing a scene at your workplace, just remember is it really beneficial to the company that you represent or your reputation? There is no question that blogs are useful in conveying an individual’s opinions, but there are also risks involved with heading onto the online world and posting work related rants. For managerial concerns, it is best to address the “root of the problem” with the manager than to convey this online, but with the expansion of the online community, will the “grass root” concerns ever be addressed if no action is taken at the actual workplace?

 

Bibliography:

Family Guy – Women complain about work clip, video, 20 January 2013, date retrieved: 7 September 2013,  <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7nQ24J3pJA>

Ferdig, R. E., and Trammell, K. D., 2004. ‘Content delivery in the ‘blogosphere’, The Journal, vol. 31, no. 7, pg. 12-20.

Richards, J., and Kosmala, K., 2013 ‘In the end, you can only slag people off for so long’: employee cynicism through work blogging’, New Technology, Work and Employment, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 68 – 77.