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.
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.
The eye (haha) catching poster for the 2002 version of The Eye is what caught my eye, but the opening line is what kept my attention peaked! For blogs I think that opening posts but posing a question to readers is a great way to go. By asking readers ‘Is Hollywood doing something wrong or are Asian film industries doing something right?, you’re introducing multiple topics such as film, Hollywood, Asia, foreign affairs etc. and allowing readers to open up their minds to continue reading on. Right at the end of the first paragraph my attention wavered slightly as I was trying to figure out if you meant to say ‘denationalisation of THE film culture’ or ‘denationalisation of these film CULTURES’. In the last two paragraphs you definitely got my attention back with the name-dropping of recent blockbuster hits! Overall I enjoyed your post; you managed to use some of the weekly topic’s jargon without seeming too wordy which was good.
ReplyDeleteHi Chihi!
ReplyDeleteI should agree on Kush Prem that your first sentence really did catches our attention as a reader. Regardless of who is right or wrong, i think both hollywood and asian film industry are trying to reach out for wider audience and avoid monotonous script by integrating different cultures into their film industry. Because the impact of globalization seems to caused our society to get bored very easily and always try to find and explore new things. This has caused the filmmakers to step up their game and provide a wider variety of entertainment to satisfy the needs of a more global audience. That is why as you mentioned that latest blockbuster movies such as Mission Impossible and The Wolverine tries to incorporate different cultures to the movies.
And the fact that you managed to explain the theory clearly into this short and easy to read post is just great. Nice post Chichi! ;)
Overall a very concise, well written post. I found the point you made about Mission Impossible and Wolverine fascinating, as it had never crossed my mind that these types of Hollywood blockbusters would draw influence from Asian cinema. I also found the Life of Pi reference interesting. Your post has really shown the increasingly blurry line between Asian cinema and Hollywood. Great use of quotes from the Klein reading, they followed up and strengthened your points well. A great and informative post!
ReplyDelete