Globalization is a global issue

Much of this semester we have discussed the way globalization has affected numerous areas of the world. For the most part, we have discovered that globalization takes effect, at some level, every where in the world. There are places that globalization has “taken over” and other countries who have fought against it, places such as North Korea.

Globalization has a negative connotation much of the time but through this class I learned that it isn’t always bad. Many countries adapt the customs of the United States but to the surprise of many, we inherit customs from other places as well. The US is a very diverse community of people with different beliefs and customs. I think this provides a wider array of knowledge and helps the global community be better informed about other countries around the world, which is a great thing.

A great example of globalization is Bollywood. My first exposure to an Indian movie was Slumdog Millionaire. This is a great example because although it is a foreign film, it was shot to appeal to large audiences across all cultures, particularly in the US. Bollywood movies are appearing more and more often in American movie theaters and some people don’t even recognize that they are from India.

Bollywood movies are much cheaper than American produced movies, much for the price American film production has to pay to above-the-line workers. Bollywood is picking up speed, rapidly, throughout the globe and gaining a lot of respect for the films. Their style of long, dramatic stories with music and dancing has stayed true and the rest of the world accepts it and spends their money on it. The globalization in this instance is a two-way street. Bollywood movies are being adapted for the rest of the world by dubbing them in numerous languages and changing their style slightly to cater to the expensive American taste. However, Bollywood also has an effect on American culture because their movies are increasingly popular. Slumdog Millionaire won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and that screams acceptance into our culture.

Overall, I have learned that globalization has affects all around the world and most countries contribute to the globalization of the world.

Al Jazeera would be positive for the U.S.

I found out discussion on Al Jazeera during class last week very interesting. We talked about whether or not the United States should provide an Al Jazeera channel to Americans. At the moment, the only people who have access to Al Jazeera, via television, are certain government officials. In my opinion I think an Al Jazeera channel should be created and allowed for a couple different reasons.

The first reason is that they have better access to the most important viewpoints in the world. With 65 bureaus all across the world, Al Jazeera has access to reporters from all parts of the world and who can speak many different languages. When you have a reporter that can blend into a culture and communicate directly with the people in the middle of the conflict or story, they will be able to report a viewpoint from within, instead of a story that has been communicated through numerous sources and translators.

Second of all, since they are based all around the world, I think they are less biased than new sources based in a single country. Although I don’t think that news can be completely unbiased, due to the human involvement, I believe Al Jazeera gets as close to the real story as possible. It also broadcasts 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, so there is always a way to get up-to-date news, happening at all times.

And lastly, 60 percent of the traffic to the Al Jazeera English website originates in the United States. So, although there is no channel allowed to broadcast Al Jazeera on television, Americans are still finding ways to watch it. Also, the government isn’t concerned about Americans watching on the internet, so I think allowing it on the television would allow an older generation to experience Al Jazeera.

Overall, I think it should be a allowed on American television and there should be a channel created. What better news is there than news from inside the conflict?

Cartoons easy way for children to relate

I think there are several reasons that children’s television programming is the third most popular gender in the global market. It is thought of as family friendly, it is cheap for the producer and the consumer, and children’s television is though of as a “universal language.” Children’s TV is a medium that is easy to relate to and people tend to relate moments of their according their favorite shows at that particular time. I think of shows like Doug, Rugrats, and Hey Arnold. Since parents can remember the shows they grew up with, they want their children to have the same experience and push them toward children’s programming. Most children’s shows are thought to be family friendly, something that everyone can watch together. Also, it is cheap to produce and to consume. Most cartoons have the same themes that just get repeated and told in different ways. Some are educational themes and others aren’t, but the themes seem to stay along the same lines. This is true from season to season of a children’s series as well as from show to show. This makes it easy to show reruns as well because children are willing to sit and watch multiple reruns of the same shows and never get bored with them. Therefore the companies producing these shows don’t have to come up with brand new scenarios and can reuse old episodes and still profit from them. Lastly, it is a universal language. Children are children no matter where they are in the world and they all have similar interests, especially in television shows. Nickelodeon broadcasts shows across the world because kids like the same TV shows. If families all across the world can relate through the same children shows, this is probably why children’s TV programming is the third most popular gender in the global market. Children and Television