tv-pop

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[tv-pop]

Ear Challenge: Where's that From?

Song 1:

Ethiopia

Ukraine

France

Song 2:

China

Vietnam

South Korea

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Sharing Culture Through Music

Nonetheless, there is a clear mutual sharing of cultural and social ideas when looking at music internationally. Surely, there is a skew that favors western influences more, but that doesn't mean these influences can't be advantageous in moving other cultures into the forefront and giving the rest of the world outside that culture a glimpse into it. This sharing and potential for insight into various cultures through music is what makes pop music one of the leading mediums for globalization to occur in pop culture.

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Eurovision Over the Years: A Multicultural Platform

One of the most popular and clear representations of transculturation through pop music is none other than Europe's annual song competition, "Eurovision". Documenting past winners, from 1998 until 2013, there has been a stunning increase in the use of English in music meant to represent a majority of which are non-native speakers. Nonetheless, the presence of each representative's culture remains present in the competition, and winning the famed competition may surely bring much attention to one's culture, even if the song had not been in the characteristic language.

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Musical Oppression? How English has Infected our Ears

Within the last two decades, popular or “pop” music has become an infectious disease across radios worldwide. Because of the internet and other technologies, pop music has grown tremendously so that it can reach practically every corner of the globe. However, because of its origins and the western industry that dominates it, English has developed a central relationship with this music. Now, more and more international artists are implementing English into their music, or in some cases creating completely new versions of their music in the dominating language.

Evidence of this western influence can be most easily seen through world music charts:

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Why Use English?

There's namely two reasons why international artists use English in their work where it would otherwise be thought unnecessary: The sheer appeal of the words and its sound or its marketability. Because the internet is a huge tool for globalizing music, its heavy reliance on English leads many artists to adapt to survive, or in this sense profit. On the other hand, some see using English purely for its sound or context, in most cases within songs already in their primary language.

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What's the Appeal of Animated Film?

Animated film is able to reach a broader audience by targeting various age groups. These films use different type of humor and references in order to appeal to adults and kids, creating a unified family experience. Their stories and art styles are unique among different producers and animators, which allows for visual variety. 

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Shrek (2001): Crude Humor and Adult References Abound

Family classic with too many sequels to count, Shrek really knows who its target audience is: adults. Funny jokes, a talking Donkey, and a big green Ogre, what more could a gal ask for?

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Global Spread of Animated Film

Animated film has the benefit of being able to represent social issues in a visual manner that can be accepted by any nationality. They can cover topics like religion or politics with the country of origin's unique cultural elements. One can compare the approaches of a large scale Hollywood production to a lesser-known film from a foreign country; they might cover a similar topic but their representations are different.

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Waltz with Bashir (2008): Remembering War and Destruction

A moving film that challenges the expectations of animation, Waltz with Bashir takes your breathe away through a blending of surrealist imagery and painfully real destruction.

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Persepolis (2007): Religion and Politics Wrapped into an Animated Autobiography

Starring a free-spirited female character, this unusually witty story depicts a tale unknown to most audiences yet is relatable to anyone. It made me laugh, got me close to tears, and made autobiographies interesting.

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Prince of Egypt (1998): A Pilgrimage for Broadway

A classic revived with a visionary soundtrack and fantastical imagery, Prince of Egypt makes Moses seem like a stand up guy who can part the seas to anyone's heart.

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Princess Mononoke (1997): Feral Girls Gone Civil for Trees

Beautifully animated with a really badass female lead, Princess Mononoke reiterates that our forests are important and if neglected their spirits will fight back. Wait, forest spirits?

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Wall-E (2008): iEnvironment

When tree huggers make a robot movie, they make this: a little robot saving humanity and cleaning up our waste while also finding love. It's totally a cute family movie with some powerful visuals.

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Western Dominance of Animated Film

When one thinks of animated movies, they often recall a Disney or Pixar film they saw as a child. The popularity of primarily American animated films is felt globally, with the films that we feel nostalgia for being known names in foreign countries as well. However, foreign producers and animators are not often known in the western world.

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Toy Story (USA)

A cowboy doll is profoundly threatened and jealous when a new spaceman figure supplants him as top toy in a boy's room.

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Metroplis (Japan)

Kenichi and his uncle Shunsaku Ban must find the mystery behind robot girl Tima.