Films as we liked it

I would like to know what determines a popular culture, especially a national culture that could affect the whole of Asia, and maybe the world. How does a country affect another country, since the other country have their very own beliefs and culture? Take for example the Korean Wave.

They have made used of their film industry as communication tool to the world. Films are dream factories, they conjured dreams that receiver like us wished it were possible that it may happen to us. Korean films were able to do that successfully. They took a dream or a wishful scenario and injected that scene into the characters’ also mundane everyday life. Korean film gave the viewers a hope, a chance, a belief that it could happen to them, as so it seems, they have similar characteristics as the characters on the shows, which is the use of “soft power” as persuasive communication.

A dream does not make up a film. Other platforms like props, the genre and the actors also help boost viewership. The narrative of the film is able to naturalise the scenario for the viewers to relate to, and thus, adding value to the ideologies behind the film. Every film has an ideology behind it. Be it a meaningful ideology from a documentary like ‘The Cove’ or a persuasive underlining ideology like ‘The Devil wear Prada’.

Korean and Japanese dramas are based on facts of similar modern temporality in real life, where we faced with scenarios of urban consumerism, western influences, pursuing the same dreams and aspiration. It gives viewers the empowerment that if the character of the show could have the power to overcome any obstacles that came his/her way, chances of it happening to them is high.

Dramas like these are able to tap on viewers emotions easily, due to the realisation of the similar background stories that the viewers could relate to with the character. These dramas are usually popular with the female audiences, since female are brought up with notions that there are always a prince to come sweep her off her feet, a step mother that stops her from pursuing her dreams and a fairy tale ending, from the western fairy tale books we read when we were younger.

Therefore Asian dramas are usually ends with a fairy tale ending, in an urban layout. They all share the similar plots. The main characters would face a problem that hindered his/her career and love life just at the peak of his/her life. Whilst he/she goes through the trials and tribulations, he/she finds will power and empowerment to continue to ‘work hard’ to get where he/she later succeeds with: a love life and a dream career. The plot is overused and will always be used again and again as this is the very plot that we are all brought up with: with the education we have, we aimed at our dream careers and have a prince/princess to live with, happily ever after.

No movie/film/drama is actually about stories of failure, of course unless it is a documentary and info-documentary, but yet although most documentaries tries to give light to the real truth and realisation of what is happening to us, viewers is given the option to choose to watch and accept their plots, or still be ‘trap’ in the dream-like scenario sheltered by the drama/film/movies made just for them.

Culture as we liked it

What is culture? Culture is cultivated and not natural. It is man-made. Culture is the emergence of a belief in a value or experience. Culture is the by-product of the chapters of human history, of human’s experiences. And from culture, it leads to the start of traditions.

Then what is contemporary culture? The definition of contemporary culture meant “existing, occurring, or living at the same time, belonging to the same time.” Put those two words together, it meant the everyday life, the occurrence of the NOW, the present.

The culture you see today and the ones ten years ago, differs a lot. Culture is ever changing and like a computer software, upgrading. It is not rooted down. And now that we have entered the technological era, mass media, information are readily available, which leads to the intensity of the influence in culture on the modern society we live in today and everyday. We are now living in the media culture.

And from here we began to naturalize a way of living.

Denaturalising the natural: What defines being natural? The way of life. But what contributes to the way of life? Everyday culture. Everyday culture is shaped by socialization and acculturation, which results in the gradual practices of beliefs and behaviors. In the turn of the century, our cultures changes with time. And so does our beliefs and behaviors. And mass media is significant provider of beliefs in this era.

We now live in period where mass media is all around us. The mass media plays a part in shaping our understanding of the world today. Mass media is a tool in telling us what is good, what is bad, what is boring and what is fun. Children in the past played outside, catching spiders and picking fruits, but because of mass media, children of this generation look up to mass media to tell them what is fun, what is hip, what could make them popular amongst their friends if they got the toy shown in ads and television. I remember during my childhood, we had ‘masak masak’, role playing games of everyday life, cooking and cleaning, or a simple running and catching game. Now, my nephews grunts and groan about getting the latest ‘Bayblade’, a top-looking toy. They cry if they did not get what they wanted, as it seems owning one of these toys help them stay close to their friends who have it, and not owning one is perceived by the other kids as not popular. Owning a ‘Bayblade’ will make them the coolest kid in school, was their mindset set by television ads and the cartoons they watched.

Although mass media sometimes reshape our mindset of what we believe is good and bad for you, mass media like newspapers and the news is also needed in our lives. It keeps us updated on the world. But I always wonder, with the whole world so big and the information within each country so vast, how do we decide what and which is important and what is not to be put up on the news for us to receive as information?

For example, news of some scientific breakthrough of a gadget that allows us to understand what each dolphins calls represent. Does this ever apply to me in life? Maybe in the long run, I might change my line of work to be a biologist, but as of now, I do not think this is half as important the news of dolphins being herded into a secret cove and mass killed by Japanese fishermen whilst trapped.

How is information weighted? How do we determine what is good for us and what is bad for us, what is needed and what is needed to know, when the only way we get our information is through the same tunnel of mass media.

Communication as we liked it

Communications is part of our everyday lives, love or hate it.

We see and hear information all the time. The moment we open our eyes and made out the first sound, we are instantly communicating and there are always audiences to receive that information, like how a baby communicates through crying, indicating to her parents that she is hungry, and the parents immediately reacts to it. From the sender of messages to the receiver of messages.

We cannot survive without communication in the communication-saturated and communication-dependent world we are living in now, believe it or not. It is unbeknownst to us that it has become an addiction almost, obsessed with the idea of communication, to always to be surrounded by communication, and/or communicating.

But why do we communicate? That is because we want to make meaning and exchange understanding across to the next person. “Who says what to whom in which channel with what effect”.

Than what is persuasive communication? It is communicating through implied intentions and purpose. “Intentional Communication, means aiming at connecting in a meaningful way to exchange information, messages or ideas.” An audience is not forced into blatantly accepting information, but is convinced. Unintentionally intentional. Persuasive communication takes into context of the audiences’ values and beliefs, in other words, audiences is first, communicator second. It is the process of persuasion, guiding oneself or another toward the adoption of an idea, attitude, or action by rational and symbolic (though not always logical) means.

Generally, I feel that Persuasive communication can be used in the worlds of both good and bad.

Good in the sense that it could help a communicator to influence another, by communicating the right, purposeful intentions to its audiences. Like an anti gambling ad encouraging the stop of gambling in a family, an ad on the lives of victims whose family’s life are hindered by an obsessive gambler who so happens to be their family. The ad is relatable to most Asian families, majority of which are Chinese because of our culture and upbringing, of always wanting to make money through the shortest easiest way and our desperate attempt of making it big in our lives. The ad’s message is not direct and subtle but the strong visuals, emotions and the familiar sounding lines the actor said, has the viewer gradually realise of a similar scenario that he/she could remember and relate in real life, in this case, most Asians, because of our gambling upbringing. I like this ad because it not only targets victims of family members who gamble, but also it affects the gamblers, as they come to realise and understand how their lifestyle has affected their family members. This ad is not one-sided on victims, but on the whole picture – the whole family – and how it affects them.

Now for the bad. The bad of persuasive communication, is not directed on how poorly persuasive communication affects audiences, but rather, on the scenarios it is used. Take for example the Visa credit card ad, where Matt Harding dances happily, holidaying in different Asian countries, whilst still holding the Visa card and with appeared text like, “In Singapore without a dollar ”and“ In Japan without a yen”. It implies that without physical cash, it is no problem, as Visa is the solution. Credit cards are not a bad thing. They offer a service which makes it easier to purchase things. But they are not necessary. It is easy to abuse your credit cards and run up a huge balance on them and you find yourself suffering in debt, rather than dancing around happily in your shades in different countries. Ads like these could encourage bad habits/lifestyle, despite its picture-perfect scenario shown on the advertisements.

Persuasive communicated ads can be enlightening and sinister. And ads as such would not stop coming in, as long as there is a sender and a receiver of messages, communication will always be around because “Communication is the quintessential human activity”.