Reorienting Global Communication: Indian and Chinese Media Beyond Borders. Michael Curtin and Hemant Shah, eds. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois, 2010. 328 pp.
The world is watching India and China, with their liberalized market economies, more than one billion people each, their ancient history with past glories and cultural riches; together, they are seen as formidable competition to the developed world. Yet books focusing on the mass media of these two Asian superpowers are scarce. One is Marcus Franda’s China and India Online: The Politics of Information Technology in the World’s Largest Nations (2002). There are books on media and information and communication technology in the Asian region generally, but most of these are already dated. After more than two decades of liberalization and market growth, the importance of measuring the media’s social and cultural impact in this important region cannot be overemphasized.
In Reorienting Global Communication, editors Michael Curtin of the University of California-Santa Barbara and Hemant Shah of the University of Wisconsin-Madison aim “to reorient perceptions of cultural flow, offering an alternative mapping of the globe.” The book encompasses a broad spectrum of media, and examines such topics as the enormous popularity of Indian and Chinese blockbusters; transnational, national, and regional dimensions of their film and pop culture industries; as well as their TV, newspaper, Internet, and even wedding businesses.
These fourteen informed essays collectively argue that Indian, Chinese, and pan-Asian media generally pose a threat to Western and particularly U.S. domination. For decades, global media scholars have examined media in the light of theories such as modernization theory and cultural imperialism theory, which clearly focus on communication flow from developed to developing countries. Such media also assert the dominance and cultural values of the West. Now, in the twenty-first century, many Asian countries, particularly India and China, boast a much stronger media infrastructure and generally more prominent positions in global affairs. Curtin and Shah urge scholars to examine emerging patterns of communication flow in the context of the multidirectional exchange of information.
Entertainment industries in India and China—particularly film—are thriving. With India and China representing one-third of the world’s population, they have little difficulty in finding large markets for their products either domestically or around the globe. Diasporas “represent not only new markets for media institutions based in the home country that are reimagining themselves as global operators, [but] they also represent resources for politicians who covet the expatriates’ money, expertise, prestige, and mobility,” the authors state.
The film industry plays a major role in the economies of both India and China. As Curtin and Shah point out in their introduction, although Hollywood still reigns supreme, with movies like Spiderman bringing in $900 million (including more than $500 million outside the United States), the sheer size of Chinese and Indian audiences for home-grown products is changing the film industry’s economic balance. They point out that although 125 million people saw Spiderman worldwide, 110 million people in India alone saw the Bollywood superhero movie Krrish. Although the market for Chinese and Indian films outside the countries may be relatively small, they are able to generate an impressive income in video and soundtrack sales. Films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon are able to appeal to Western audiences as well. In her analysis of the film industry in China, Emilie Yueh-Yu Yeh writes that pan-China productions are more dominant due in part to protectionism by the Chinese government, and that pan-Asian productions need the blessing of China’s official agencies in order to succeed.
Tackling diverse topics, the contributors make the reader think about media developments and their impacts in India and China and beyond. For example, Sujatha Moorti explores a different type of transnational business—the multimillion-dollar Indian wedding industry—by referencing films, magazines, web portals, bridal expos, and wedding malls. The average cost of an Indian wedding is between $20,000 and $150,000, with wealthier Indians spending as much as $128 million. Non-resident Indians have contributed to the growth of this industry, Moorti reports, and have added transnational entertainment such as Flamenco dancers and Bollywood dancers. Madhavi Mallapargada, in her essay on the role of websites, discusses how online communities such as Namaste.com promote the idea that “the promise of India is virtually everywhere.” (This essay would have had greater impact if references beyond 2003 had been used.)
Chin-Chuan Lee, analyzing the state-approved discourses in Global Times, a Chinese newspaper with a circulation of 1.5 million, found that the discourses were primarily framed within the con- text of U.S.-China relations. The discussion revolved around China’s peaceful rise to become a global power, and its desire to become a powerful global force. The essay by Zhongdang Pan on the Chinese Community Party-owned CCTV’s spring festival gala hosted by a Chinese-American host further illustrates the fact that Chinese media can easily command audiences of millions. A nationalist integration effort by the Chinese government, this show is now telecast to a global audience created by the Chinese diaspora.
Reorienting Global Communication provides a clear understanding of the growing importance of the media and entertainment industries in India and China. Although the market for Chinese and Indian media products reaches mainly their own citizens or ex-pats, these two countries pose healthy competition to the market for U.S. entertainment. This book takes a refreshing new approach in examining changing global media power, and provides a starting point for continued discussion of cultural pluralism and alternative models of information flow.
SANDHYA RAO
Texas State University