Global Media

1
Global Media
2
The problem of cultural differences

• Globalization is another major strategy employed
  by media giants for the purpose of growth
• BMG Sony AOL Disney Viacom
• foreign 64 67 26 21 21
• Revenue
• No. Countries 28 20 22 20 17
• Entered as an
• Acquirer
• Economy of scale
• Public goods
• First-copy cost

3
The problem of cultural differences

• By the mid 1990s, it has become clear that local
  audiences prefer local television over
  international television, if the difference in
  quality is not too huge
• Cultural discount
• Throughout the 1980s, media researchers have also
  conducted a lot of reception studies showing
  how media products are understood in a localized
  manner

4
The problem of cultural differences

• Three strategies to deal with culture
• Universalization or deculturation
• Localization
• Transculturation

5
Universalization

• Cultural specificity of the product
• Certain media products move across cultural
  boundaries more easily
• Certain media products need localization to a
  larger extent
• The level of cultural discount varies according
  to the characteristics of the media products

6
Universalization

• Examining the box offices of Hollywood movies in
  Hong Kong
• Q Do movies of certain genres exhibit a higher
  degree of cultural discount than movies of other
  genres? If yes, which genres suffer more from the
  problem of cultural discount?

7
Universalization

• Data
• Hong Kong box office Motion Picture Industry
  Association (MPIA)
• Top 100 list
• N 580
• US box office http//www.boxofficemojo.com/
• Movie genres www.imdb.com
• Two concerns
• Box office ratio the question of relative
  cultural discount
• Box office correlation the question of
  predictability and degree of local reception

8
Universalization

• Implications of the findings
• Actions and violence are often regarded as having
  universal appeal, but from the Hong Kong data,
  science fiction seems to be the most universal
  movie genre
• Comedy seems to be the opposition the most
  parochial genre
• Hollywood actions and thrillers suffer less from
  cultural discount, but their popularity are not
  more or less predictable
• Hollywood horror and romance do not have
  advantages in cultural discount, but they have
  advantages in predictability

9
Universalization

• It makes more economic sense to produce movies of
  the more universal genres if the concern is to
  sell the movies to the globe
• Produce more science fictions, actions and
  thrillers?
• Does genre really matter?
• Example 1.1 vs. 1.2 vs. 1.3 vs. 1.4
• Culturally universal vs. culturally specific
  references

10
Localization

• Another method adopted by media producers is to
  localize their products
• E.g., Hong Kong/Asia versions of magazines, such
  as Cosmopolitan, Elle, Times, etc.
• E.g., localized programming of international
  television
• Glocalization To see globalization and
  localization as two sides of the same coin
• Localization of content, however, involves cost
  and thus runs counter to the idea of economy of
  scale

11
Localization

• Standardization vs. differentiation
• Whether to offer standardized products to
  different markets or to differentiate the
  products according to the needs of the local
  markets
• A number of distinctions
• Standardized product vs. standardized marketing
• The same product can be marketed differently in
  different countries
• Example 2.1 vs. 2.2 vs. 2.3
• Level and extent of differentiation
• National or Regional
• E.g., movies adding subtitles, dubbing,
  changing the ending, etc.
• E.g., magazines translation or original content

12
Localization

• Differentiation involves cost, but cost can be
  reduced by standardizing the differentiation
• E.g., Disneys dubbing practices are consistent
  in all the countries where it operates (ex.3.1)
• Localization follows a formula
• An executive explains every voice that we dub
  in animation has to be approved by someone who
  sits in L.A. It has to be identicalwe cannot
  record at all without having an exact match.
  Perfect example is Robin Williams. We had to find
  him in Tamil, Telegu, and Hindi.
• Variation is allowed when direct translation is
  very difficult, such as in the case of humor

13
Localization

• The question is whether to differentiate, how to
  differentiate, and differentiate to what extent
• Factors affecting decision on differentiation
• Nature of the product
• Durable vs. non-durable goods, in other words,
  hardware vs. software
• Software is supposedly more culturally specific
• Possibilities of differentiation
• Localizing a magazine is very different from
  localizing a movie
• Whether the product allows differentiation at a
  relatively low cost
• Whether a global brand name and image can be
  maintained after differentiation, e.g., The
  Weakest Link

14
Localization

• Factors affecting decision on differentiation
• Differences in culture
• The regional movie market in East Asia
• Differences in legal and political environment
• Market position
• Presence of local competition
• Presence of international competition
• The target market/audience

15
Global news channel as an example

• Global news channel as an example BBC World and
  CNNI
• Factors Attribute Implication
• Durable or non-durable Non-durable Should
  differentiate
• Possibilities of differ. High Should
  differentiate
• Cultural specificity High Should differentiate
• Cost involved in differ. Medium to high Should
  not differentiate
• Cultural differences Large Should differentiate
• Difference in law/politics Large Should
  differentiate
• Local competition Strong Should differentiate
  from pure
• localism
• International comp. Moderate Should differentiate
• Target market Middle class Should differentiate
  from pure
• localism

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Global news channel as an example

• The above factors affect global news channel in
  general
• Organizational factors affect whether and how
  each organization differentiate their products
• A comparison between CNNI and BBC World in Asia
  (Shrikhande, 1998)
• CNNI gained prominence in Asia during the Gulf
  War
• BBC World entered Asia in 1991
• Increasing competition TVBS, STAR TV, CNBC,
  Bloomberg news

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Global news channel as an example

• Finding 1 The impact of increasing competition
  on financial commitment
• CNNI invested more and more as competition
  increased
• The main role of BBC World was to supplement the
  income of its parent corporation, so it was
  limited in its ability to commit resources to its
  operations

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Global news channel as an example

• Finding 2 The importance of strategic alliance,
  especially with distributors and governments
• In the international arena, media corporations
  need to deal with a third market the
  distribution market
• Strategic alliance with local distributors is
  very important
• CNNI was very aggressive in forming alliances in
  local market
• BBC World was less aggressive and also less
  successful in negotiating alliances because
• Of its own strategic concerns
• Of its unwillingness to compromise with political
  power

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Global news channel as an example

• Finding 3 Increasing competition and product
  differentiation (or localization)
• BBC World has been less aggressive in
  regionalizing the content, except for India
• Historical reasons
• Cost concerns

20
Global news channel as an example

• Performance of the two channels
• Audience figure estimation
• A Pan-Asia cross media survey in 1997 found
  that, in six Asian cities (HK, Taipei, Bangkok,
  Jakarta, Manila, and Kuala Lumpur), 32 of
  business decision makers and 24 of affluent
  viewers chose CNNI as their favorite satellite
  channel, the corresponding figures are 7 and 6
  for BBC World
• The same survey in 1998, with Singapore added,
  found that 24 of affluent viewers chose CNNI and
  6.5 chose BBC World
• Other similar surveys also showed that CNNI was
  watched to a larger extent by viewers in Asia in
  general

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Global news channel as an example

• By 1997, CNNI announced that it was profitable in
  Asia, but BBC World could not break even in 1999
• An executive of BBC World The premise was that
  there would be this large group of people
  described as the Asian middle class, leading
  certain lifestyles, who would become
  consumersthis isnt true except in one or two
  markets like Hong Kong or Singapore

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Transculturation

• Transculturation a process through one culture
  reconfigures another for its own purpose
• Another method global media conglomerates use to
  broaden the appeal of their contents
• Often resulting in a synthesis of different
  cultures
• Cultural appropriation in Hollywood movies
• Examples 4.1
• The case of Disneys Mulan

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Transculturation

• Location of animation in Disney
• Since 1992, six of the eight top-selling videos
  in the US were Disney videos
• Mulan is Disneys 36th animated feature, and the
  first time Disney used an Asian story
• Mulans co-director Tony Bancroft Disney has to
  find new and interesting characters from
  different locales and cultures so that they
  dont all end up similar..it just does not
  work to go to the same provincial town in Europe
  and see some classic tale being spun
• Use of foreign stories
• Add varieties to Disney production
• Reduces risks because the stories have stood the
  tests of their own culture

24
Transculturation

• The success of The Lion King and Beauty and the
  Beast made Disney willing to take a risk in the
  early 1990s
• Robert San Souci, a childrens book author and a
  Disney consultant, suggested that the Ballad of
  Mulan may make a good movie
• The Disney formula
• Basic elements of Disney movies good prevailing
  over evil, emotional, catchy songs, cute animal
  sidekicks for comic relief, young romance, funny
  in-jokes, an assorted supporting cast with a wide
  range of personalities, and character voices
  performed by film stars
• The cricket and the dragon in Mulan

25
Transculturation

• Roy Disney, head of the animation department
• Why make an animated movie without the fantasy
  characters? Give us the cricket. Kids really
  enjoy it.
• Mulan is a nice story, but where are the great
  Chinese dragons and folklore and mythical
  creatures? When you think of China, one of the
  first things you think about are those hazy
  mountains and dragons everywhere.
• There are deviations from the traditional
  formula, though
• The insignificance of romance in Mulan
• The production team originally tried to fit Mulan
  into the formula of beautiful rebel seeks love,
  but the character was deemed to be too angry,
  too flirtatious, and much too Westernweakening
  what Mulan was all about

26
Transculturation

• Americanization and universalization
• Filial piety vs. reciprocal love
• Dean DeBlois, Mulans character designer
• I think the pivotal relationship of the movie
  evolved out of the notion that we were dealing
  with a foreign ideal, doing something purely out
  of honor, a duty that youre born to uphold and
  therefore do without question. Honor is a pretty
  universal concept, but to label it as honor and
  not give a specific example of why a person would
  want to live up to that we found ourselves
  tripping over it.
• The producers think that acting out of obligation
  is not convincing
• The movie attempted to solve the problem by
  emphasizing mutual love between the father and
  the daughter

27
Transculturation

• The individualistic and feminist touch
• Peter Schneider, Disney Feature Animation
  President Mulan is a very intimate, personal
  story about a loyal and brave girl whos going to
  find herself
• Barry Cook, co-director of the movie Mulan is
  not only endearing, shes resourceful and heroic
  and she doesnt need a man. I think she
  celebrates the importance of an individual. She
  shows what a difference one person can make.

28
Transculturation

• Decontextualization and recontextualization
• A story has to be essentialized, stripping away
  its context and identifying its core elements
• Then the story is recontextualized
• How cultural icons such as the Great Wall, willow
  trees, pavilions, Buddha caves, and Tiananmen
  Square are used in the movie
• Another method of contextualization is to develop
  a set of characters with clear personalities so
  that they would interact with each other in the
  movie as if they are living out a life of their
  own

29
Transculturation

• Transfiguration
• The change in cultural forms from a poem to a
  movie
• The lack of details in the original poem allows
  room for imagination
• Animated features are freed from the expectation
  that a movie should represent the reality in some
  way
• A movie, compared with a television drama series,
  is much shorter it may become a reason for not
  being true to the original story

30
Transculturation

• Cross-cultural referencing
• How to prevent the backlash from the other
  cultures
• Arab-Americans complained about the lyrics of
  Aladin song
• Native Americans complained about Pocahontas
  being too sexualized
• Blacks complained about the interracial makeup of
  voice talent in The Lion King
• Disney hired Asians and Asian Americans
• Chen-yi Chang, an artist from Taiwan, was hired
  to oversee and design the characters of Mulan
• Chinese American scriptwriter Rita Hsian helped
  shape the story and dialogue

31
Transculturation

• Disclaimer
• Tony Bancroft, co-director We knew we had to
  respect the material. This is a beloved story to
  the Chinese people. We also knew that we werent
  going to make a Chinese picture. We couldnt.
  Were not Chinese. We have a different
  sensibility, a different storytelling style.
• The basic principle is to include enough foreign
  elements to convey a unique experience, but not
  so much as to send people away

32
Transculturation

• Marketing and promotion
• Airing TV ads aimed at children of different
  gender
• Ads aired during shows with big audience of boys
  feature wars and actions
• Ads aired during shows with big audience of girls
  feature the father-daughter scenes
• Localized promotion campaign in Asia and other
  places

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Other thoughts and issues

• What about a Chinese global media?
• 5.1, or 5.2, or 5.3, or 5.4, or 5.5?