Thursday, 10 October 2013

The Global Flip-Side of the Film Industry

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The film industry is a major contributor to the economy and has developed as one of the largest industries globally. This is due to globalisation, ‘the growing interconnectedness of different parts of the world, a process which gives rise to the complex forms of interaction and interdependency’ (Giddens in Rantanen, 2005, p.7). As such, movies and television series are able to be viewed across the world and interpreted across languages. There are cultural differences that exist within the reknowned Hollywood film compared to that of European or Asian style film. However, the film industry has been said to be experiencing a back-flip in terms of cinema methods, with Hollywood becoming Asianised and Asian films basing their production on 'Hollywoodised' ways. The term Hollywoodised, or Hollywoodisation, is defined by Christina Klein as a tool used by productions, other than films based in Hollywood, to incorporate Hollywood themes, techniques and storylines. (Klein, 2004, p. 369).  Asianisation, on the other hand, involves methods adopted by Hollywood to integrate Asian film techniques into their production. This is specifically noted in martial arts or action films and in television animations.

Christina Klein in particular discussed this notion of Asianisation a decade ago noting the movie Kill Bill (2004) as being a perfect illustration of her argument. Kill Bill directed by Quentin Tarantino includes elements of cinema stereotypical to Asian production methods. The use of martial arts and sound effects during fighting scenes emphasises this, along with the chosen music in scenes. The actions involved in the fighting typically occur in slow motion or are very jolted or distinct to emphasis the fights as you can see in the following YouTube Trailer. Sean Tierney (2006, p.607) notes that ‘in 2003, Hollywood released three major films in which a White protagonist “mastering” an Asian martial art was part of the narrative: Kill Bill, The Last Samurai, and Bulletproof Monk’ all of which feature traditional Asian weaponry. The distinctive use of a samurai sword, which originates from Japan, also brings a form of Asian culture to the film. They also make transitions from a coloured picture to black and white when flashbacks or significant moments. Klein states that 'Hollywood today (a decade ago) is fascinated with martial arts to an extent unseen since the heyday of Bruce Lee in the early 1970s' (p. 360). This is still evident today.


The 2010 movie 'Kickass' and its sequel previewing this year, 'Kickass 2', continues with this theme of martial arts, fighting and prominent sound effects being used. Huaiting Wu and Joseph Man Chan (2007) state that, 'oriental culture is globalized against the odds as predicted by theories of cultural imperialism' through the case study of the blockbuster Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. They note the influence of martial arts within cinema and its growing culture in the industry. Kickass is one example of the takeover. Several other recent films in this category include Dragon Eyes, The Man with the Iron Fists, and the remake of the Karate Kid (2010).


Similarly television series are taking on the Asianised stance specifically in the anime or cartoon sector. The 'Merriam-Webster online website definition for anime is, “a style of animation originating in Japan that is characterized by stark colorful graphics depicting vibrant characters in action-filled  plots often with fantastic or futuristic themes.”' (p. 1) Several American shows have adopted these styles and incorporated Japanese context. Avatar The Last Airbender falls under this blanket being a Nickelodeon production however being branded an anime is controversial as it is not of Japanese orientation. The concept of Avatar is a boy who is essentially the ‘chosen one’ who, through mastering the four elements (water, earth, air, and fire) is able to stop the war between the segregated element nations. The characters all have Asian names and are portrayed are originating from Asian descent. They all communicate verbally in English however all written messages are in Asian scribe. The buildings in the cartoon also reflect Asian influenced architecture. This production has been one of the most successful Anime-like American produced television series however controversy surrounds the labelling attached to the show. This video discusses how anime is now a problematic concept with the American cartoons.


Recently I noticed a much loved childhood show of mine had also incorporated Asian themes into their show. Power Rangers, an American television series surrounding a group of teenagers who morph into superheros to combat evil was merely a superhero action series to most. However further research has shown that the series was actually based on a long-running Japanese series, Super Sentai. Power Rangers has developed and changed across its lifespan with the most recent series Power Rangers Samurai taking being the most prominent in terms of Asianisation. The weapons that each Power Ranger possessed is of Asian orientation, as the name suggests, samurai swords are used. They all draw an Asian symbol in the air to morph into their superhero persona. The headquarters is primarily based on an Asian style structure internally and externally with plenty of wood and see-through (or sheer) walls. This Asian theme is the result of producer, Haim Saban, aiming to keep Power Rangers as similar to its Japanese basis as possible.
It is clear that Hollywood is still implementing Asian based strategies in their film production but the question is why would Hollywood film makers change their methods when Hollywood films have been so successful in the past? To appeal to a wider global market of course. The US owns majority of the media and has much influence over perceptions. In order for the industry to further their success adopting strategies utilised by other cultures, expanding on them and using large scale budgets to improve the quality. In sociological terms cultural imperialism is taking place. Cultural imperialism, according to Herbert Schiller (1997) implies that although the US (the main global producer of TV and cinema material) had not physically invaded other countries in order to expand their markets, they could still win the hearts and minds of the people. This could be done through the adaptation of other cinematic methods as discussed.

On the flip side Asian films are incorporating Hollywood styles, techniques and even storylines into their film making. Asian films have also become Hollywoodised, incorporating the typical Western love story into their movies. One of the major films that stands out in this factor is London, Paris, New York which looks like a typical 'chick flick'. The storyline follows that of a Hollywood film in that two individuals meet and through their differences end up finding love. The cover of the film even represents the hollywoodised, somewhat cheesy, love story.

This Hollywoodisation of Asian cinema was, perhaps, firstly noted in the form of Bollywood. The concept refers to Indian cinematic methods in their attempt to appeal to a more Hollywood style of film as the name infers. Bollywood has become one of the most popular concepts of cinema within the film industry with there being ‘more than eight hundred films a year shown in more than thirteen thousand predominantly urban cinemas, viewed by an average of 11 million people each day, and exported to about a hundred countries’ (Mishra, 2002, p.1). Bollywood encompasses Hollywood styles in terms of settings taking local cultural stories and filtering them through the Hollywood formula such as large scale sets, stages and stars but with only a minimal budget. The initial objective of Bollywood cinema was to target an increasing middle-class Indian audience, especially among young people however through globalisation this idea has become popular around the world, hence the prior statistics. It also identifies love as a major theme in majority of the productions with an emphasis on the dancing element and elaborate costume design which does align with the Indian culture.

Hollywood is the benchmark of the film industry, thus western society owns the media industry, with independent film producers having Hollywood in their sights. As such, ‘Hollywood influence has created a globally recognised image bank’ (Hardy, 2008, p. 215) which is reason for Asian cinema adopting Hollywood film tactics.

Both Hollywoodisation and Asianisation can be likened to the sociological notion of ‘Glocalisation’. As defined by Erik Swyngedouw (2004), ‘glocalisation refers to the twin process whereby, firstly, institutional/regulatory arrangements shift from the national scale both upwards to supra‐national or global scales and downwards to the scale of the individual body or to local, urban or regional configurations and, secondly, economic activities and inter‐firm networks are becoming simultaneously more localised/regionalised and transnational’. Thus, glocalisation is where elements of a product are merged with and expressed a local cultural channel. This is precisely what Hollywoodised and Asianised production methods have implemented.

It is clear that Klein’s concept of Hollywoodisation and Asiainisation still exist in modern cinema with globalisation being a key influence in the changes. Both Hollywood and Asian films are expanding their market globally by trying to incorporate a culturally different approach which is currently being an effective approach. Through making productions relatable to particular parts of the world that have been experiencing their films in a certain style, adopting other cultures cinematic approach allows for a wider audience appeal whilst introducing their culture to new forms of films. Thus far, the strategy has been a success and is a growing trend.







Reference List
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Schiller, H.I. (1997). Not yet the post-imperialist era. In T. O’Sullivan & Y. Jewkes (Eds.), The media studies reader. London: Routledge
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Tierney, S 2006,Themes of Whiteness in Bulletproof Monk, Kill Bill and the Last Samurai, Journal of Communication, vol. 56, no. 3, p.607, retrieved 10 October 2013, <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2006.00303.x/abstract;jsessionid=E5287BFDA1A0C0785867CA10A1FA871B.f02t01?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false>
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Wu, H & Man Chan, J 2007, 'Globalizing Chinese martial arts cinema: the global-local alliance and the production of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon', Media Culture Society, vol. 29, no. 2, p. 195, retrieved 26 September 2013, <http://mcs.sagepub.com/content/29/2/195.short>
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