By doing this assignment, I think one of the best things I learned was how media is transferred and imported between countries and cultures.  Through this I learned how important it is to make sure that the content is translated and augmented correctly so that it is relevant to the audience that receives it.  The article about the Simpsons and how it has been changed for so may different cultures was really interesting to me.  Before that article, I never really thought that producers needed to change anything more than the language to export a show.  Through that example I found that every detail must be considered and changed if needed to make sure that the audience can understand and connect with the show.

I think that my best work was the post titled “Canadian”.  I hope that this was actually a strong post of mine and that I didn’t just pick it because the concept in the post really interested me.  I think that I did well on this post because I talked about the trouble with Canadian TV that involves a lack of truly Canadian content.  I used this topic to relate to the cultural interview I did for the class, which was with a girl from Switzerland.  I talked about how the “identity crisis” in the Canadian media related to a similar problem in the Swiss media due to the fact that there are 4 national languages and much of the programming is imported from the countries where the languages originate.  I told how this was similar to Canadian media because they have 2 national languages and import a lot of media as well.  I think my comparison and obvious interest in the topic helped me to write a strong post.

My weakest post was by far the one titled, “Tyranny in Italy”.  I think that it was so weak because it was indeed somewhat rushed and an afterthought when it came to the first portfolio check.  I did not develop a central idea or theme for the post and kind of jumped all over the place with my ideas.   I think that if I had slowed down, I could have been more precise with what I wanted to say, which was mainly to talk about how I felt Berlusconi was a tyrant for the way he was manipulating the media in Italy to favor himself.  I also should have brought in an outside source to give a specific example of his control over the media.

If I did this project again I would definitely try to do a better job keeping up with the posts.  It makes much more sense to do the posts as we go through the quarter talking about the readings in class.  I think that if I had given them more time I could have really added more sources and input to the ideas of the readings.  I would also have taken more time to read as many posts of other people in the class just to help build my knowledge about the topics and understand different perspectives.

Overall, I did really enjoy the blogging assignment, I think it was a unique way to go through the topics of the class.  It was a great way to interact with peers and share ideas that might not have been shared otherwise.  I think that there was a lot to learn in the class and blogging about the material really helped me to understand and think about it further than I probably would have on my own.

A part of the reading that I found very interesting included this line, “ One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding the world of Japanese animation is that it only features scantily clad, big-boobed femme fatales with extravagant firearms that gruesomely destroy and decapitate anything in sight.”  Here the author goes on to talk about how many Americans misconceive that anime is a form of porn and that the people making it are perverted.  This closely relates to how i felt before reading the article.  Price says that the artists use anime “as a realm of fantasy in which pent up repression can be released in an exciting and justifiable arena”.  This makes sense that they use anime as a way to express fantasies and desires in a safe entertaining way.  He goes on to talk about how anime is a form of escapism for japanese people and that they need them because,”they are the violent fantasies of a people forced to be gentle”.

I’m very glad that I got to read the article because it helped to open my eyes about a form of media that I was obviously very confused about.

I never really realized that anime played this role in Japanese society, but I think that it makes complete sense and I think I owe an apology to anyone that I have thought was a little weird because they watch anime.

Telenovelas are watched by people in many countries around the world including the U.S., however they are most popular and come from Latin America.  A typical telenovela covers the obstacles that two people have to find love and be together, usually a poor, lower- class girl falls for a rich man and the story goes through the problems that occur when the two fight to be together.  This is very different from American soap operas because telenovelas address social class, poverty and struggles it can take to overcome the inevitable obstacles to be with the one you love, whereas U.S. Soap operas do not usually talk about they real and common obstacles.

I think that it is interesting that a media format can be so popular around the world and not be from America (sarcasm).  I like the fact that telenovelas can speak to so many people in the world and that even America will import the format for entertainment.  I will say that i disagree that telenovelas are proof that globalization is not occurring, I think that the popularity of telenovelas all around the world shows that globalization may be different from what most think it is.  Many thing that the U.S. is a cultural imperialist and it may be in some ways, but the fact that telenovelas have spread so much shows that globalization is the disintegration of media borders throughout the world.  Telenovelas show us that media can come from different sources and still spread globally.

I found this quote from The Jakarta Post interesting; “In the past, parents wanted their children to be doctors, engineers, lawyers or economists. With the passing of time and the advance of technology, however, more and more fathers and mothers do not mind their offspring becoming idols, actors, or vocalists.”  It’s fascinating that parents would view their children attempting to become and idol as acceptable.  I feel this way because I know that in America, the chances of one person becoming famous out of 300 million seems pretty unlikely, and I know that most parents in the U.S. would doubt their kids could actually become famous.  In Indonesia there are almost 230 million people, so I think its ridiculous that parents would actually believe that their child could even become and idol and support their decision to attempt to become one.  Now I know that every parent should “support” their children to achieve there dream but I also believe that teaching your children to be realistic in a competitive world is important.  I think that the reason for these feelings among parents is due to the fact the Pop Idol is so new in Indonesia that they still see it as a novel and realistic opportunity for the common person.

Viacom did come up with programming that featured local talent and local themes, however it did have a slightly western feel with formats commonly used in the west.  MTV featured local singers and bands to entertain the people, but it also had some content that focused on international acts that are predominately American.  This influence from the origin of the company is expected and can be forgiven.  What is questionable is the influence that the Chinese government plays on the content of the programming.  China’s goal to keep the people from having a voice and they have used MTV to reach the youth in order to keep them compliant with the status quo.  This type of behavior is expected in a communist country that must worry about the effect that outside influence could have on the party in power.

I think the fact that China allowed outside influence by Viacom into the media is very interesting.  China is a communist country and throughout history communist states have made blocking capitalist influence a priority.  If one looks at one of the former superpowers of the world, the Soviet Union, they will see that resisting influence of capitalist powers is one of the most important aspects of the ideology.  When Joseph Stalin was in power in the Soviet Union, he knew that if the people were exposed to “capitalist ideals” there would be the possibility of civil unrest.  After Stalin’s death, when Khrushchev came into power he loosened up some of the restrictions to the outside world and the Soviet people got to see what life was like in other countries.  This influence along with many others led to the fall of the U.S.S.R. in 1991.  I  know that it is pretty extreme to suggest that Viacom’s influence in China will lead to the fall of communism in China, but if the influence continues, who knows what could happen.

I agree with Emilee’s point of view that MTV is not really “acting locally” in the case of their media in China.  I understand that MTV does tend to make their content “western” simply by being “MTV”, but in the case of MTV’s programming in China, I think that it is much harder for MTV to fit the Chinese programming regulations to create local media due to it (China) being a communist state.  If you look at other communist states of the past like the U.S.S.R., you’d be somewhat amazed that China even allows a western media company to program in their country.  In the Soviet Union before it fell in 1991, and especially  when Stalin was in power, there was virtually no outside influence of media.  This was the policy because it was believed that outside “capitalist” media would seek to influence people against communism and ultimately the state.  I know that times are very different today and that there political and economic pressures that allow western media in China, but it is somewhat remarkable that a communist state would allow it and it’s not surprising how much they regulate the media.

I think that it is interesting when America begins to import ideas and media platforms from other countries.  America has imported many versions of telenovelas  like Friends & Enemies and Amor Comprado both are slightly different versions of shows that originally aired on TV Azteca in Mexico.  In the talk of American dominated global media it is weird to think that we import shows from other countries, but it does happen and I think it shows that globalization goes further than “American” domination of media to the fact that media borders are simply becoming easier to cross.  People are able to find content from many places no matter where they are nowadays and this is what globalization does for media.

I think that globalization is important to the development of media and even culture in the world.  A more connected world will allow people to cover vast differences in seconds to share their ideas.  Globalization will also give people access to information they never would have been able to come in contact with before the world “shrank” due to the accessibility of media.  Globalization, whether forced or natural is upon us now and the way we take advantage of the media available will decide how people share information throughout the world for a long time to come.

Ferrari also talks about the importance of not only altering the dialects and accents, but the actual content of the show so that local audiences can understand and enjoy the show.  For example, In the arab version of the show, Duff beer was changed to soda; this is because many arab speaking people are muslim and in the muslim faith drinking is forbidden.  This small change is important because it may have offended viewers and it allows the viewers to relate to the story and the situations that happen.  When shows are imported and aired in a new market, the producers and directors must always be cognizant of the local culture and customs so they can correctly change the show to match these cultural differences.  Ferrari’s article shows how cultural identity can have a large impact on the success of media, especially if that media is imported from somewhere else.