Choose one of the following questions and answer with reference to specific case studies from one or two countries or regions. Your essay should include a list of references (in alphabetical order) and will count for 50% of the overall mark.
This means that you can either focus on a case study from one country/region and do a close analysis of it or choose one case study from two countries or regions and compare and contrast them.
Asian popular culture and its globalization, transnational flows
- How does Asian popular culture relate to processes of regional integration and/or globalization? How is popular culture affected by, and how does it affect in turn, the transnational flows of people and products within and outside of Asia?
The function and role of Asian popular culture in our society
- What is the function of Asian popular culture? Does it have a political function, and if so, does it subvert or reinforce existing power structures? Is it more a form of escapism and containment of dissent, or a potentially subversive force in society? Is ‘Soft Power’ real or just a political construct?
Solution
Introduction
It is important to realize that the politics of a land are a function of its political culture. Political culture, by rote, is dependent upon the political behaviour of the people of the land. In addition, political culture is not a static quantity. It changes. It varies in relation to the newer ideologies, industrialization, the role of the new leader of the times, and other reasons. How a country or a region incorporates these changes into its overall system, and how these changes are absorbed into one generation and the next also reflect the political socialization of the country. One can also say that the socio-political development of any given land is not possible without its political culture (Paul 2018, p. 6501). When it comes to India, the culture and the society are such that it has a very direct bearing on the people. It is not as if the politics of the land are isolated from its people or the ethos of the country. Political fortunes are a function of society which exists as on date. The people do not get led astray easily by idle talk of politicians but are usually able to determine which political leader is worthy of the position he or she holds in the government or otherwise.
In the same vein, it is also true that the Indian people are by and large an emotional lot. They do get swayed at times by emotional sashays of the political leaders of the times. Thus, a political leader who is very good with words may sometimes be able to sweet talk the local gentry into voting for him or her by making promises of a rosy future to them. With time, however, such talk should materialize into solid action or else the leader may get booted out of the office he or she was voted into. Interestingly, the soft power of the Indian ethos has made its presence felt in the international arena and it is helping this country in coming onto center-stage, globally. Be it various new Indian authors, the basic Indian culture of hospitality and of religious tolerance towards one and all, its logic system of exercising or meditation, or even its movies, etc., all are slowly coming into their own in front of the global audience.
Background
It is known that through the process of globalisation, the integration of the economic, religious, political, and cultural phenomenon of the world happens. This globalisation has brought changes in transportation, ideologies, and communication of the world. The Asian popular culture has also gone through changes from the impact of globalisation. Furthermore, Asian popular culture has also played its part in impacting the other cultures as well. The Japanese animations, Chinese Kung Fu and cuisines, South Korean Pop music, Indonesian Reality TV Shows, and Horror Movies have impacted the world and its masses with its cultural intensity. This phenomenon, when witnessed in the realm of the Indian culture and its media, shows a culture having dominant features of political characteristics and its impact on the masses. However, even though these characteristics are positive in some sense, it has also shown limiting features as well (Athique 2008, p. 307).
Popular culture does have a political function in India. It plays a dual role of reinforcing as well as subverting existing power structures. It is not merely a form of escapism and containment of dissent. Neither is it a potentially subversive force in society. It takes the middle path in most cases to establish what exists as on date in society and also addresses the issue of what can be done about it. Like the case of Nirbhaya (a young girl was raped in New Delhi, the national capital, and she later died in hospital). This case took centre-stage within the country for several days and people from all walks of life took to the streets to protest against the incident. This led to a mass uprising in the country. This was possible partly due to continuous coverage in the electronic and the print media in India. Likewise, the truth behind the public façades of certain self-proclaimed saints in this country has been brought into the limelight by the media. The eyes of the people are opened to the harsh reality of the times via this reportage from the media circles of the country. The press does enjoy a fair amount of freedom here. However, they do have to be alert and on the guard for not rubbing on the toes of people in power all the time. Thus, we can conclude that this form of ‘soft power’ is real and not just a political construct. Nonetheless, the fourth estate cannot take too many liberties with those who yield a lot of clout in the land. There is a fine line drawn for them to enact their roles. If one crosses this boundary, there can be trouble for them. This came through wide and clear in the Gauri Lankesh case study (a journalist who espoused the cause of the Indian ethos was shot dead outside her home in the South Indian city of Bangalore).
Exactly to how much degree is this new function subversive or potentially reinforcing the existing power structures cannot be judged exactly. However, a glimpse into its reality can be taken by looking at the extent to which it has rattled the international markets and audience. It is one of those dynamic moments of history in which the First and the Third Worlds engage in confrontation of cultures. At this time, the Third World is looking for reframing its cultural identities in order get rid of the threat of the cultural genocide which is threatened by the rampant globalisation. Even though the Asian films do not lurk like early days in the peripheral space and has entered into the mainstream sphere with successes like Ben it Like Bekham, it still has not found its true audience (Rajgopal 2003, p. 54). While certain analysts consider this Popular Indian culture is rising in the west as mere flirtation, there are others who certainly believe it to be a milestone. Whatever the future, it may hold, it is certainly evident that after many successful acceptances of earlier multicultural products like rustic jewellery, ethnocultural tourism, spiritualism, exotic food, new works of literature, oriental fabrics, and New Age music, popular Indian films have also entered as the new cultural currency popular among its Western audience (Athique 2008, p. 308).
Theory
Looking at the Asian Popular Culture, we find many impressions in the world in the form of Japanese animations, Chinese Kung Fu and cuisines, South Korean Pop music, Indonesian Reality TV Shows, and Horror Movies. For instance, the Chinese Kung Fu has been found to be very popular in the world, even though it belongs precisely to Chinese culture. The philosophy behind the Kung Fu has also spread with the similar characteristics. The “going with nature” has not only been accepted but also encouraged in other cultures. The images of Kung Fu actors like Jacky Chan and Brue Lee have had an influence on the people for several generations. Films like Hidden Dragon, Crouching Tiger, had won more than 2000 Academy awards. The animation series of Kung Fu Panda is another example of such impact.
Looking at the Indian Case Study and the popular culture functions and its characteristics, one can find the political aspects quite clearly. The global presence of Indian films with the rise in the technological advances has given rise to its cultural impact on the media content. The term “Bollywood” is not only representative of the topography of this specific terrain, but also of the political limitations and the containment of escapism. The rising changes in geopolitical and the movements of people in time, with cultural knowledge of the audiences, are evident in these films. The contradiction is visible in these films. The lakes of Switzerland are inherently an important part of the romantic movie’s landscape, even though the audience of Switzerland barely sees these films. The rivers of Pakistan and Nigeria, on the other hand, are never seen in these films which makes an important and huge audience of these films. The mere ignorance of the Pakistani audience and the absence of its culture in the textual and verbal forms of the cinema indicate the political divorce and cultural familiarity contradictions (Athique 2012, p. 18).
India, as is seen, has plenty of soft power resources as well, but they still need a more strategic approach to harness its full potential. The Indian people have still to come to terms with the richness of their culture and the importance it can give them in various world forums. Of late, India has been dipping into its soft power resources by a bit to get its rightful attention in the world. Let us take yoga, for example. The real reason for its wide-scale popularity is the benefits it accrues to those who make use of this discipline for ensuring good health and fitness. Soft power essentially comes from the culture, the political values, and the foreign policies of a country. India is now making a very serious bid in the right direction to utilise all three forces to get a gainful position in world politics. In fact, the Ministry of External Affairs of the country has also decided to create a soft power matrix to ascertain the actual outreach of the soft power it has and can yield (Ramachandran 2015).
Additional Case Studies
In order to reinforce the point of the importance of politics in this country, let us take the Congress Party of the country, for example. This was formed even before the independence of the country from the British Rule. It is still one of the leading national parties in the country and enjoys a certain position of prestige and power. Even though it was not elected into power during the present term of the government, the Congress Party still has a loyal supporter base within the length and the breadth of this country. The Nehru-Gandhi family which helped the Congress party during its start-up times still retains its hold to date. It is important to note that the ethos of the social scene of the country does have a very major influence on the movies which are made in this country. Several movies bring forth interesting concepts which are woven into the Indian cultural and social fabric. Earlier on, there was a movement in which Bollywood was the name given to the movies which were made just for sheer entertainment value. Some of them still did have a social connotation to them. They try to bring forth subjects which are related to the social issues of the current times in most cases. It is also true that during the entire exchange of economic and culture of any given place, the Indian tradition and religious ethos comes as a viable entity in front of western ethos. India, as the matter stands, is the tenth largest industrial country on planet earth and its information technology sector has as many or even more numbers of software engineers which exist in any other nation in our world (Krueger 2004, p. 12). India is also a land which is very ritualistic in nature. A predominantly secular country, it gives deference and respect to all the major religions of the world, though it is primarily a Hindu state with a maximum population of Hindus. Hence, the popular culture of the land is influenced by Hinduism and the Hindu way of living and giving. Hindu society, interestingly, is a caste-dominated one. However, the change in the belief in the caste system is evident. Thus, the changing face of society is a function of the politics of the land, and vice versa as well. These two form a circle of sorts and one influences the other and so on.
Similarly, the case of the broadcast TV shows of the Indonesian TV is also evident. With the emergence of private channels in the 1990s, most of the broadcasting expanded into the phrase “entertainment”. Since 2002, TV has been widely popular with the emergence of reality TV becoming highly popular, attracting commentary and concerns alike. The highly controversial reality TV shows questioned the approach the TV producers take to assess what the audience wants. Thus, what the audience wants remains an untraceable question. The idea of “entertainment” is very general. It justifies such acts which can create controversies. The resignation of President Suharto in 1998 led to the end of the New Order which opened new exploration areas and excitement among the media (Heeren 2007, p. 216). With the emergence of so many entertainments and television options, the media were finding ways to glue its audience to its channels. The most popular among these was the coverage of the crime stories, paranormal, mystical and social violence. These programmes were targeted at the mass market and have raised extensive public debate on the concerns of the dangers of televisions as “pure entertainment” (Hobart 2006, p. 405).
Interestingly, for India, gender plays an important role in Indian popular culture. This country has produced leaders of national ranks like Indira Gandhi in the past. Women participate in lesser numbers when we consider aspects like exercising the right to vote, power-sharing, membership within the various political parties of the country, even in attendance in party meetings, in holding key party positions, in standing for elections, and so on (“Political participation of women in India”). In fact, India came in the 149th position in a total of 193 countries when it came to the representation of women in the lower house of the government (Lok Sabha) in July 2017. Globally, women take up about twenty-two percent representation. In India, this is a minimal 11.8 percent. In the Rajya Sabha (the higher house) of the Indian parliament, records show an 11.1 percent of women’s participation in its ranks. Of the 4,128 legislative constituencies, only 364 are represented by feminine folk in India (Jamil and Anmolam 2017). There are basically three areas in which the presence of gender in the country relies on: the new economic policy of the country is the first. The second is the movement of the Indian women. The third is the importance and the reach of the Indian media in modern-day India (Chaudhari 2014, p. 153). The present-day Indian government has introduced several schemes and policies for the upliftment of the urban and rural women within the ramparts of the country. The ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ movement is an example of this. As per this scheme, the government is encouraging the family members of girl children to educate their daughters and other girls in their family fold. They are given incentives for the same.
Bollywood themes of certain movies reflect this change in the overall ethos of the times. Take the movie “Dangal” for example. It is based on the real-life of a person from rural India, Mahavir Singh, who raises his daughters to become wrestlers. Two of his daughters, in fact, have even reached the national and even international level in this sport. Such a movie is an example in front of the Indian populace that it is time for the feminine folk to step out of their homes and hearths and stake a claim to bigger and better fortunes.
Let us take a look at some statistics. As per the 2011 Census of India, the overall literacy rate in seventy-three percent. However, a thorough look at the figures reveals that the rate of literacy for men was 80.9 percent, this figure stood at 64.6 percent for women (Katiyar 2016, p. 54). It shows that about one-third of the country’s female population is illiterate. Thus, came in the role of the government of the day to unveil certain programs and schemes to better this rather sad state of affairs.
The popular culture of the country tries to the essay and portrays the tone of the country and the vibe of the people of India. Music plays a very important role in India. The country is one of the largest music markets in the world. It has about 1.3 billion music lovers, and the value of music is slated to double by the year 2020 (Musically.com 2017). It is not just folk music, but the various songs and jingles of movies also bring forth the trend of the times. Popular melodies of the times reflect the status of the social strata in the land. At times, people even use music as a means to bring in a change in this social structuring and formatting. Small plays and music-based programs are conducted at the school and college-level to bring in an awareness of the necessity of social change in different parameters. Take the importance of looking after senior citizens after they are unable to work professionally due to advanced age. Several plays and dramas have been made on this theme to educate the youngsters to take care of their senior citizens and not leave them to fend for themselves after a certain age. India is a country which gives a lot of respect for its elders. However, more work is being done in this arena to further this cause even more.
Even the dramatics associations of the country show certain aspects which are reminiscent of the flavour of the times. It is unless and until the drama is set in a period of another era. In fact, the dramatic base of the country is very strong in the English language as well with a large number of plays and adaptations of novels and books. In fact, right from colonial times, theatre in India was meant for something far more than mere entertainment (Becker 2014, p. 702). It was and continues to be a very vital social space which shows the current trends and the movement of the times. It primarily bent of the theatre towards the issues of social relevance continues till date. In fact, theatre is a means to educate and make the audiences think about the society they live in (Rao 2016). Let us take the case study of the play ‘Nirbhaya’ (2013). It was made in December 2012 after Nirbhaya (mentioned earlier) took place. This incident shocked the Indian people and led to a large-scale mass uprising about the number of rape cases in the country. Plays in modern-day India too are an extension of the social and even the political fibre of the country. They are not isolated from the values which exist in the land as on date but are a means to familiarize oneself with them.
Popular Indian culture is not isolated from cartooning in the country. Take the very popular cartoon strip ‘The Common Man’ by R.K. Laxman in the Indian daily newspaper, The Times of India (R.K. Laxman Biography – Childhood, Life Achievements, and Timeline”). One cartoon was published each day in this newspaper, and this was a true reflection of whichever political or social issues happening in the country. His lampooning on the politics or the social ethos of the land is well-known the world over. Such measures go a long way in informing and educating the people of the country about important issues at hand which need to be dealt with. Also, such means are a viable vehicle to improve the social and political movements in the country and to change their direction for the better. If one certain project politicians in a certain light, it is essentially via the media of the local people and their inner expression. It is their voice of acceptance or dissent in front of the given people and the way to project to them about what the local gentry feels about them and their manner of working. Thus, the concerned politicians or even others in the limelight due to different reasons, get an opportunity to get feedback from the horse’s mouth so to say about the role and the collective voice of the people of the land. Such cartoons were and should be taken seriously since they denote the true feelings and emotions of the Indian people.
Thus, as seen, the Indian people via popular culture can manage to have their vote come in front of the politicians of the nation. It is a circle of sorts in which the political and social format of the country is reflected by the popular media, and the media can influence and make or break the politicians of the moment with their say at times. It is not always the case, but it certainly sometimes is so. Hence, popular media is a way for even the politicians and other heavyweights of the nation to exactly know their status in the eyes of the people. Of course, things are not hunky-dory since forcible means are used at times to silence certain protesting voices as well. Take the case of the murder of the well-known journalist, Gauri Lankesh. The editor of Gauri Lankesh Patrike, a weekly newspaper (Mondal 2017 ) (mentioned earlier). She was a firebrand journalist of her times and one who dared to show the truth about Indian politicians as they existed, among other issues. Such events are also known to happen in this democratic nation which is fast becoming one of the most important countries on the world stage. Thus, journalists have a responsibility towards ensuring their survival as well and have to be careful at times to not upset the rosy applecart of certain politicians who can resort to any means to silence those who may try to expose their wrongdoings in front of the people of the country.
Conclusion
In fact, the soft power in India, the Indian culture, has the ability to make the country a very influential leader in the twenty-first century. However, the country needs to sort out issues like poverty and terrorism on its own mettle before it can actually come on centre-stage in world politics. In the same breath, there are several aspects of Indian culture which have made this country appear really attractive to the world audience. It is a civilization which practices, religious tolerance for all major religions of planet earth, including Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, etc. The country is a secular state not for nothing. This is despite the fact that the primary population of the land comprises of Hindus. Thus, it automatically becomes very credible to those with or even without any religious leanings of any kind. The soft power of the land cannot be undermined due to this very aspect of religious tolerance. Indeed, popular culture, in India, may at times get a bit subdued due to this wrongful use of force of a certain section of dangerous politicians of the times. However, by and large, a collective conscience of the people does manage to pervade into the culture of the times to change it for the better, be it for political or be it for social causes. It ensures that the Indian ethos and way of living manages to retain its flavour as being positive and one which shows humanity, courtesy, respect for all people, and kindness as its basic tone.
The people of this country are known for their warmth and gentle nature and also for the hospitality and patience they show for their fellow humans from other religions and countries. These emotions and feelings of the people are the backbone of the Indian culture. Such a reflection comes through in a shining manner in practically all the nuances and sub-categories of cultural contexts in India. It is now becoming known as one of the most forward-thinking nations on planet earth when it comes to aspects like software development and environmental causes.
Bibliography
Journal Articles
Athique, Adrian M. “The ‘crossover’ audience: Mediated multiculturalism and the Indian film.” Journal of Media & Cultural Studies 22, no. 3 (2008): 299-311.
Becker, Tobias. “Entertaining the empire: theatrical touring companies and amateur dramatics in colonial India.” The Historical Journal 57, no. 3 (2014): 699 – 725.
Heeren, Katinka van. “Return of the Kyai: representations of horror,commerce, and censorship in post‐Suharto Indonesian film and television.” Inter‐Asia Cultural Studies 8, no. 2 (2007): 211-226.
Hobart, Mark. “Entertaining Illusions: How Indonesian E ́lites Imagine Reality TV Affects the Masses.” Asian Journal of Communication 16, no. 4 (2006): 393-410.
Katiyar, Shiv Prakash. “Gender disparity in literacy in India.” Social Change 46, no. 1 (2016): 46-69.
Krueger, O. “It is all about loving your parents. The reflection of tradition, modernity and rituals in popular Indian movies.” Marburg Journal of Religion 9, no. 1 (2004): 1-22.
Paul, Sumanta Kumar. “Political culture in Indian society.” International Journal of Emerging Trends in Science and Technology 5, no. 1 (2018): 6498-6504.
Rajgopal, Shoba S. “The Politics of Location: Ethnic Identity and Cultural Conflict in the Cinema of the South Asian Diaspora.” Journal of Communication Inquiry 27, no. 1 (2003): 49-66.
Books
Athique, Adrian. “Chapter 6: Bollywood, Brand India and Soft Power.” In Indian Media: Global Approaches, 111-130. Polity, 2012.
Chaudhari, Maitreyi. “Chapter 10: Gender, Media, and popular culture in a global India.” In Routledge Handbook of Gender in South Asia, by Leela Fernandes, 145-159. Routledge, 2014.
Internet Sources
Jamil, H., and Anmolam. “Why are we not dealing with the lack of women in Indian politics?” The Wire. 2017. Accessed June 2, 2018. www.thewire.in/gender/politics-womens-representation.
Mondal, S. “Why was Gauri Lankesh killed?” New York Time. 2017. Accessed June 2, 2018. www.nytimes.com/2017/09/13/opinion/gauri-lankesh-india-dead-html.
Musically.com. “India: The sleeping giant of digital music is ready to wake up.” Musically. 2017. Accessed June 2, 2018. www.musically.com/2017/12/22/India-sleeping-giant-digital-music.
Ramachandran, S. “India’s Soft Power Potential.” The Diplomat. May 2015. Accessed June 2, 2018. http:www.thediplomat.com/2015/05/indias-soft-power-potential.
Rao, P. “My view: 9 must-watch plays of all time for theatre-lovers in India .” The Better India. 2016. Accessed June 2, 2018. http:www.thebetterindia.com/77553/theatre-best-plays-must-watch/
+447462439809