Asianization of Hollywood films

Is Hollywood doing something wrong or are asian film industries doing something right?  In the past decade, many films have been produced that seem to integrate both the hollywood and Asian film styles.  An example of a Hollywood film that has incorporated the Asian film culture is the 2008 film The Eye which is a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong- Singaporean horror film.  According to Klein 'Hollywood is becoming Asianized, while Asian film industries are in turn becoming Hollywoodized' (2004, p.360).  Because these diverse film industries have in some way integrated together by implementing their diverse cultural elements as Klein puts it, has caused the denationalisation of these film culture.

image source here

Globalisation has caused a massive impact in the distribution, consumption and production of films in the global market.  Another impact that globalisation has provided is the infatuation of martial arts taken from the cultural activities from Asia and therefore, have included this phenomenon into western films. This can be illustrated in films such as Mission Impossible and the latest 2013 film; The Wolverine which really incorporate cultural Asian elements which in-turn have caused these movies to become global phenomenon.

Klein articulates the notion of hollywoodization.  She describes it as a concept in understanding the impacts of western films on other global film industries.  I find that hollywood has opened doors for other film industries and this can be seen in the 2012 film Life of Pi which is directed by an Asian film directer but while watching it, I find it has the influence of the western culture as it's setting.

Reference:

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

Celebrity Culture

image source here

Even though celebrities are people just like us, society has put them on a pedestal in which they are now deemed as special and most people seem to struggle trying to look like them. Marshall argues that 'celebrity has developed into a particularly powerful and pervasive trope for contemporary culture' (2013 p.1).  Global celebrities have indirectly shaped today's society and have affected the way people behave or present themselves.  Celebrities like Rihanna, Beyonce and even Miley Cyrus can easily set up trends that people feel they need to follow.  Rihanna for instance has deeply impacted today's society and has affected the way her fans want to present themselves.  The way she sets up trends sometimes would make me feel the need to present myself in the manner that she does.  Other celebrities that have made an impact on people are Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus etc.

video source here

The above video of Miley Cyrus twerking has in my opinion set up a trend and made some fans feel the need to follow suit.  Due to technology and increase in use of social media, people are able to display their personas online. Marshall explains that this public presentation of oneself is seen through the 'two-way mirror of projection' of which it has affected how we are slowly 'moving into the specular economy'. (2010, p498).  Marshall further argues that this has affected how we want to present ourselves and how we want others to perceive us (2010, p499).  Just like celebrities are always under surveillance, I in some way feel like I need to portray a good image to the world because am constantly being watched over.  Instagram and facebook for instance has given it's users the opportunity to display themselves to the world.  Just a couple of months ago, one of my friends asked me to join keek which is a media channel that allows people to share 36second videos.  Going back to my keek profile and the videos I've shared reminds me of Marshall's argument on surveillance. I find myself always trying to find the perfect background and trying to look my best before I can share a video of myself. 

References:

Marshall P. D, 2010, 'The Specular Economy', Springer Science and Business Media, pp498-499

Marshall P.D.2013, 'Persona Studies: mapping the proliferation of the public self', Journalism, p.1

Gaming

For a long time now, gaming has been a part of everyone's childhood.  Growing up I remember being into gaming as much as the boys.  Playing super Mario on the old school cartridges was one of my favourites.  I remember being so into snake and Tetris -the phone games.  However, as technology progressed and new games and consoles were being introduced, the interest in games slowly phased out.

click for image source

Today, more males are into gaming compared to females despite more females starting to make it a non gender biased hobby.  I find that as girls grow older, their interest in gaming phases slowly and this is something I still haven't known the answer to.  During our tutorial we were placed into groups and we were asked to come up with a game idea and discuss what types of participatory media cultures it would promote.  To help increase the female audience in the gaming world, my group came up with a Lion King themed game which we called The Lion Queen.  The concept of the game was different to that of the movie.  The main audience that The Lion Queen will target is the younger generation as it will be a fun action, advanture and educational game and will use the console.  The game will focus on the lioness being responsible for rescuing the lion that has been captured by poachers.  The lioness will need to establish good relations with the other animals in the jungle.  This game will help young females feel the need to take part as they are the protagonists in the game.  It will also educate young people on how wild animals operate.  Reconfiguration will be used in this game in which the gamers will be making 'strategic choices about alternative paths and in the case of adventure games, alternative actions.' (Raessens 20120, p380).  These strategic choices will help gamers establish their own choices on how they should move around in completing their tasks.  it is also important as it can be see to help the gamer use their character to form aliances which are an important aspect successfuly completing this game.  This is important as reconfiguration helps let the gamer take control of their character and to help encounter their demands or benefits (Raessens 20120, p381).

Reference:

Raessens, J. 2005, ‘Computer games as participatory media culture’, Handbook of

Computer Game Studies, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass, pp. 380, 381

Workplace Blogging

image source here

With the increase in technology, blogging has become a more familiar thing to do amongst people.  Many of us even have our own bogs and while some do not wish to write and share their ideas with the world, they are either reading, commenting, liking or sharing other people’s blogs.  While blogging gives people the opportunity to express their thoughts and ideas, the work place blogosphere can be a vital problem.  Richards and Kosmala familiarise the work phenomenon as ‘a space that has become increasingly associated with employees expressing a wide range of views and opinions related to corporate culture initiatives’ (2013, p.67).  As stated by Richards and Kosmala, the workplace blogosphere has given employees the opportunity to vent about their organisations but in most cases this never goes too well.  There have been cases where employees have lost their jobs due to sensitive information they have put up online.  I remember when I just started working at one of my first jobs at a 'named company', the first thing I was given was a form to sign that no work related information would be taken to the public.  I immediately knew that anything I chose to put up online would put my job in jeopardy.

As a student I find blogging as a great to express one’s opinion and most importantly improve my writing skills.  However, when it comes to the workforce, it tends to be a different matter, as one needs to be careful with what opinions they give especially concerning their particular organisations.  This is because in most cases, blogs about an organisation tend to bring dispute between employees and employers, as employers would not want to portray a negative outlook to the public.

References:

Richards, J., & 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 67

*revised