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When we think of Hollywood we conjure images of red carpet,
bright lights and celebrities on every corner, well at least I do. The film
industry in Hollywood has produced many blockbusters throughout America and it
has produced many celebrities that are icons of our attention. But how does
Hollywood fit into Globalization? Hollywood can be seen as a representation of
the American film industry, which “no longer addresses a national audience” (Wasser, F 1995, p.1) as such the films that Hollywood produce have
a global audience. So how does Hollywood appeal to the different audiences
around the world?
A significant factor in appealing to a global audience is the
choice of actors. For instance, a film that incorporates Asian film stars like
Jackie Chan & Jet Li will appeal to an Asian Market. Film stars in this
regard can be seen as a commodity for international marketing. The same goes
for Australian actors like Hugh Jackman, and his ability to attract an
Australian audience.
Hollywood can also appeal to global markets through the use of
particular genres. “Hollywood’s embrace of martial arts …(and) many forms of
Asian culture,” (Klein, C 2004 p.2) appeal to a larger international Audience.
This can also be done from Asian film studios that seek to gain western
audiences. Ponyo, an animated feature
from Japan utilizes American celebrities as voice actors in the ‘English’
version of the film. In this regard both countries are cross-pollinating their
unique film industries leading to “denationalization of individual films and
film industries on both sides of the Pacific” (Klein, C 2004 p.2).
This raises another question, what will the future of the worlds film industry look like? When
considering the ever-amalgamating genres, film stars and cinematography… will
all films in the distant future be hybrid representatives of culture?
Reference:
Klein,
C 2004, ‘Martial arts and the globalization of US and Asian film industries’,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. P
Wasser, F 1995, ‘Is Hollywood America? The
Trans-Nation of the American Film Industry’ Critical Studies in Mass
Communication 12 (1995), 423-427.
