Bollywood films aim to balance global and local influences by incorporating modern elements like international clothing styles and music genres while still emphasizing traditional Indian values and aesthetics like dance, emotion-driven stories, and modest clothing. Researchers studying Bollywood's global impact face challenges in defining what audiences see as global versus local influences and how to account for cultural translation of foreign elements.

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I Need An Indian Touch
Glocalization and Bollywood Films

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Globalization Vs. Glocalization
 Globalization is changing peoples perceived notion of time and
space
 organizing diversity not replication of uniformity
 Requires “the locals to surrender, now incapable of radical resistance”
(Thornton, 2008, P. 80).
 Long referred to as “Americanization” or “Westernization
Glocalization is a theory used to understand the connection
between global-local with audience reception
 Ushered in by global conscientiousness
 Boundaries are broader but existing sense of self, identity & culture are strengthened
 Often used for epistemological and intellectual inquiry but contextual use for media
studies has been limited
 Linking of localities and redefining/inventing ones locality

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Global Sensitivity
Researchers had to work with limits of broad definitions, loose categories and
definitions of international communications.
• Indian emphasis on national dress and importance of modesty
• Branding a new identity within cultural parameters

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Bollywood
in India
• Films that come from
Mumbai, formerly known as
Bombay
• Produce almost 150 a year

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Evolution of Indian Media
 1991 Introduction of international television
 Hong Kong based Star TV
 CNN
 Began with satellite-distributed TV
 Rapidly expanded cable TV options
 “Open Skies Policy”
 “industry status” granted in 1998
 Infrastructural and credit supports, reduction on custom duties on
film, exemption on import profits and tax incentives

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The Bollywood Business
 Single screens went to multiplexes
 Late 90s saw marketing possibilities increase
 Film music was strongly promoted
 Stars began regularly working the press
 Grew with the World Trade Organization as consumption saw
an unprecedented growth

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The Audience Expectiations
 Almost universal reaction that  “We can make films as Western
Bollywood films contain as we want, but our films have
traditional clothing and music to have feelings with lot of
crying, anger and fighting.
 Emphasis on family Western films are without
emotions and that will never
 Showing of a modern India work here.”
without loss of tradition
-Nancy

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The Bollywood Influence
 Wealthy Indians began
travelling overseas
 Shown in Bollywood as a life of
leisure and luxury
 Movies shot overseas, largely
in NYC, New Zealand, London
and Hong Kong
 Challenged advertising to show
modern India and force
commodity to be seen as local
not global

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Music/Dance and Clothing in
Bollywood
 Song/Dance is the heart of  Clothing is a marketing strength
Bollywood  Designers began using their pieces
 Only part of film sexual fantasies mixed with international designer
are visibly displayed labels.
 Songs express hidden feelings and  70s-90s Western clothing was only
emotions used to show temptation and
 Influx of blonde, white foreigners as corruption in a character
backup dancers  Indian clothes show tradition and
 Most laborious piece of virtue
development for film makers  Push for traditional dress of Sari’s and
 Music sees introduction of Salwar Kameez with modern cuts
“Hinglish” instead of Urdu  Changed the definition of clothing
 Introduction of salsa, pop and hip pieces, i.e. Dupatta protected
hop modesty, now seen/worn as a scarf
 Music is seen as marketing, hitting
TV and radio for promotion

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Problems with studying Bollywood
 Scholars focusing on global  Most Bollywood studies done
sensitivities only had broad with viewers in the USA, UK
definitions to work in and Australia
 International Communication  How to use global and local as
was defined by complementary not competitor
geography, media policies
between nations, linear  Recognition culturally
definitions of nation-states transplanted pieces will
undergo a process of cultural
 Researcher must understand translation
what the audience sees as
global and what they see as
local

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Discussion Questions
 Globalization asserts the world
is getting smaller, Glocalization
believes the world is staying the
same and adapting global
influences to create a new
locality. Are both possible or is
one more dominant?

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Discussion Question Cont’d…
 Can a media format serve to
become the conscience of a
nation or be the defining
medium for someone to
understand a culture? Why or
how is this a possibility?