Introduction
The media industry is a very powerful industry that is constantly changing to adapt to the political, cultural and economic global climate it witnesses. It not only reflects said climate, but it is also able to mold and almost completely control it. For that, in this essay, we try to gauge the interactions of media with politics, culture, and economics by evaluating the impact of digital media. Through further analysis of our case studies, this will be done through focusing on the international level of media first (the differences), and the global level of media after (the commonalities).
National Media
In this section, we will be comparing the South Korean national media from our own case study, with the Chinese national media from Eden and Thethe’s case study. (Abdul-Razzak & Almohannadi, 2020; Wagari & Ngalula, 2020). Firstly, the history of those two countries are both very similar as they are both located in Eastern Asia, and are close to each other. South Korea has a history of having foreign mandates from nearby powers, like the Japanese rule during the second World War. It is also a country that has conflict with their Northern friends of the Korean peninsula, which is the reason behind why they have the world’s most heavily militarized borders. (Abdul-Razzak & Almohannadi, 2020). In contrast with South Korea, China has a history of being the more dominant power. This is demonstrated in the sole existence of Chinese rule in China throughout its history, consisting of multiple powerful Chinese dynasties. In 1912, the last dynasty, the Qing dynasty, was concluded and succeeding it, rose the Republic of China, followed by its successor in 1941, the People’s Republic of China. (Wagari & Ngalula, 2020). This contrast is interesting because it gives more context as to how both countries’ media regulations came to be the way it is today, with China more inclined to being an independent power, and South Korea more inclined to be dependent on a power due to the animosity within the Korean peninsula. Media in China is state-owned, which means it is regulated and controlled by the government to a high degree (protectionist). The government tends to limit the flows of media external to China, and tries to support the Chinese media industry in every aspect, so it would not have to rely on media content from outside (the U.S. and the West). For example, they do not use the “traditional” social media platforms that are common around the globe, but instead, create their own platforms, as well as content, that become specific for Chinese-use. This is due to the capitalism-communism tension that digital media intensifies. The chinese government is aware of how influential digital media can be in terms of spreading capitalism, thus, it is extremely cautious when it comes to that. (Wagari et al., 2020). Simultaneously, because the South Korean economy is capitalist and is a strong ally of the U.S. (which are both against North Korea), it is not as concerned with regulating external media flows as China is. The media system is generally free and competitive (free-market) in South Korea, with little government interference. (Abdul-Razzak & Almohannadi, 2020). It is restricted in a few aspects, like any form of media content in favor of North Korea and anything that violates defamation laws. (Abdul-Razzak et al., 2020). Although, even when South Korea is relatively relieved from any culturally imperialist flows as it already incorporates some Western values into their culture, it is aware it needs to retain a few defense mechanisms to protect South Korean culture as a product of media. Similar to China, South Korea encourages the use of some media platforms that are mainly based in South Korea (still accessible elsewhere, though!) Another defense mechanism would be the ever-growing popularity of their entertainment industry, which strengthens South Korea on multiple levels, including its shield against hegemonic flows. All in all, while the national media of both those Eastern countries may differ in political values, they both share a need for protectionist tactics.
Global Organizations
Both the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Telegraph Union (ITU) have similar aims of bringing people together and creating alliances to prevent major disagreements and future wars. The ITU is the first telegraph-regulating organization to be created and to involve such a large number of members. It was initially created in 1865 under the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and it involves around 193 members, this includes states, global organizations, and many more. The ITU deals with the whole ICT sector, it regulates and governs technology, and connects individuals from all around the globe. Our case study covered the ITU and states those point, in addition, our fellow classmates, Buthaina and Hajar also covered the same organization and they have stated that the ITU is the core of telecommunication in that it governs and also created broadcasts, Radio telecommunication, internet, software, automotive, and smart cities. (Abdul-Razzak & Almohannadi, 2020; 2020). The other organization is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, it was founded in 1945, with its main aim being preventing another world war and there clearly was not a world war after that, however it is believed that the UNESCO has been losing it’s in field impact in terms of action and prevention over the years. Our classmates Faiz Ullah and Ane Scripnic covered UNESCO in their presentation and they have highlighted that the organization became more of a brand that is involved in politics than an actual union that focuses on its initial aim. (2020). Hence, especially when it comes to the world of media and communication it is clear that the international telecommunication union is far more effective.
Global Conglomerates
This section will focus on The Walt Disney Company as a global conglomerate, and operationalize its impact on digital media in a few political-economy theories. The Walt Disney Company is a global conglomerate that is surprisingly not as juvenile as it may seem from the animation/family-centric theme it is widely known and loved for. It exists as one out of the five conglomerates that operate and dominate the oligopoly -which refers to power in the hands of a few- of the U.S. media market. In 1975, Dorfman & Mattelart dedicated an entire book to illustrate the cultural imperialist work that is the Disney-produced comics of Donald Duck through interpretations of the comics. (2018). A metaphor was made on how there were two forms of killing: “by machine guns and saccharine.” (2018, p. 60). This quote in itself coincides with the meaning of cultural imperialism: a war waged not through traditional means, but through softpowers. This theory, which was developed by Schiller in his analysis of global power dynamics, is embodied in Disney in how it was subtly, yet heavily promoting capitalist and consumerist values through its comics and magazines at a time where that meant something the most: during the Cold War. (Thussu, 2018, p. 37). While cultural imperialism is the invasion of cultures and the undermining of existing values in other communities through software (content) only, the dependency theory, which was developed by Latin American thinkers, focuses on how the global South grows accustomed to depending on the global North for both hardware and software in order to become “developed.” Due to the strong orientalist/overall-hegemonic rhetoric Disney’s content holds, it was made clear how newly independent states or “third world countries” still required “catering” or constant guidance of the global North or the West. The following dialogue from a Donald Duck comic will further demonstrate our description:
Donald (talking to a witch doctor in Africa): “I see you’re an up to date nation! Have you got telephones?”
Witch doctor: “Have we gottee telephones!… All colors, all shapes… only trouble is only one has wires. It’s a hot line to the world loan bank. (Dorfman et al., 2018, p. 59).
The referencing of the “hot line to the world loan bank” is specifically what corroborates the theory of dependency. The generic referral to Africa, the fact that they made the African doctor a “witch,” as well as the mimicking of accent are all very undermining aspects which are culturally imperialist, however, the claim of dependency that the global South has on the global North peaked at the mention that the only operating phone system in the entirety of “Africa” is the one where they call to ask for loans. Generally, though, Disney not only significantly reflected the times it lived in, but was also an active participant in supporting its country politically. But this also simultaneously implies that it was a product of its time. More recent Disney productions indicate the gradual diminishing of this undertone. This is because Disney is aware that in order to keep its glory, it would have to compromise and comply with the neo-values of the global youth culture, in order to maintain its increasingly political customers/fan-base and overall public opinion. Social media and the internet had somewhat transformed the power dynamics between consumers and producers, and it manifests in Disney being forced to please.
Global Content
This section will explain why we think that despite the fact that digital media was not as advanced as it is today when the Lilo and Stitch film was released, the success of the animation in terms of its audience wouldn’t have changed. Digital media refers to the everyday media we are exposed to, this includes software, digital images, digital video, video games, web pages and websites, social media, digital data and databases, digital audio such as MP3, electronic documents, and electronic books. (Wikipedia, 2020). This is all the media we view, have access to, and is preserved in our electronic digital devices. The media content we chose to evaluate in our M5B GCS (case study number) was Lilo and Stitch, a family animation created by the Disney company in 2002. (2020). People may assume that being a hegemon in the world of animation and children-oriented content would make any product designed or produced by Disney automatically successful and that it would create huge numbers of supporters and fans. It is also commonly thought that all Disney content produced during or post the Disney golden age which is believed to be between the years 1937 to 1942 is a definite success. However, this is not the case since the drawing of Stitch, the main character of the animation, was created and released for the first time in the year 1985, post-Disney’s golden age era and it still failed. We believe that what aided the success of the chain was the scenario, story and that it took place in a new area that the Disney audience is not used to. The movie was in fact successful and as discussed in our case study presentation and essay, it sparked a whole chain of movies and series. In fact, different versions of the original movie and series were created by companies in a number of states and it was modified to suit the media cultures of these states. Although it is true, today's development in digital media does make it easier for content to spread and reach more people, however, we do not think that is the case with this specific animation since many animations were created by the same company in recent years and were not nearly as successful as Lilo and Stitch. In addition, new versions of the movie are still being released, the most recent being the ongoing Japanese version of it that was released in January of 2020. Also, a live-action remake of the film was said to be developed in 2018 and is to be released soon, all of this can potentially generate more audience to the show and this should cover what is said the original film lost due to the relative underdevelopment of digital media.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we believe that global media today provides a very important edge and gives any product or content a somewhat greater chance of succeeding. This is mainly due to the advertisement aspect that grew with the development in technology and media in general. This does not mean that content released prior to media advancement was not successful but does mean that chances of success would have been higher in today’s era.
References
Abdul-Razzak, S., Almohannadi, T. (2020). M3B GCS The International Telecommunications Union. Student presentation for MIT 212-70 Exploring Global Media. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
Abdul-Razzak, S., Almohannadi, T. (2020). M2B GCS South Korean National Media. Student presentation for MIT 212-70 Exploring Global Media. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
Al-Malem H., Almohannadi, B. (2020). M3B GCS International Telecommunication Union. Student presentation for MIT 212-70 Exploring Global Media. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
Dorfman, A., Mattelart, A., & Kunzle, D. (2018). “FROM THE NOBLE SAVAGE TO THE THIRD WORLD.” How to Read Donald Duck: Imperialist Ideology in the Disney Comic (pp. 59-80). New York; London: OR Books. Retrieved December 4, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv62hf1k.10
International Telecommunications Union. (n.d.). Mission Statement of the ITU-R. Retrieved October, from https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-R/information/Pages/mission-statement.aspx
Thussu, D. K. (2018). International Communication: Continuity and Change (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, California: Bloomsbury Academic.
Ullah, F., Scripnic, J. (2020). M3B GCS Global Conglomerates: UNESCO. Student presentation for MIT 212-70 Exploring Global Media. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
Wagari, E., & Ngalula, T. (2020). M2B GCS: National Media in China. Student presentation for MIT 212-70 Exploring Global Media. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
Wikipedia. (2019, July 29). Lilo & Stitch. Retrieved November, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilo_