There is much talk about globalisation in the film and entertainment business. Among the detractors, there is a sense of uneasiness that its by-product will be standardisation. There are apprehensions of a global village that will engulf the indigenous and sanitise it with international sensibilities, with nuances of local cultures being sacrificed for a larger audience connect. From my vantage point, this vista appears different.
Changing the lens a bit, to observe a child is always a learning experience. To her, everything is new, fresh. A shining spoon could mean a tool to make noisy music, the tail of a dog could be a hand fan, the pattern of the floor tiles could be as engaging as a fresco, and even the act of her father lathering and conducting his morning shave could be a great spectacle.
It is no secret that as adults, we turn on the autopilot. We get up in the morning, then turn on the same coffee machine, get into the same train or car, sit down at the same cubicles at work, and so on. There is a certain indistinctiveness to life. Landscapes blur while local sights and sounds collapse into the background. Native wisdom and customs become reduced to nothing more than formulaic acts and words. Our look at everyday life becomes sterile.
It?s not that these things cease to matter. One still can?t do without familiarity?and its provision of comfort. One likes life to have survival sanity. But it ceases to amuse, engage and stimulate. The charm chips away.
My sense is that globalisation will rekindle the child in us.
The child once exclaimed to me, ?The house shouted back to me.? She had experienced the echo of an empty house for the first time. The unfamiliar can power alchemy. Its turbulence can release the creative sap, so we have a poem, a sketch, a composition, an idea, a character, a thought or a vision.
Chaos marks everyday life in South Asia. A BMW and a hand-pulled rickshaw cart being side by side on the same road are disturbing yet intriguing for the non-locals. The sideways nodding of heads is affirmation, when it would indicate disagreement in many cultures. In New York, there is the grammatically debatable way in which they say standing ?on? line instead of ?in?. In Japan, there are the two hand gestures, both of which mean ?come here?, though one could easily convey ?go away? to the uninitiated. There is the probability that an average Hispanic woman seems exotic to many in the West, and an equally average white woman seems beautiful to many in other continents. It is these small, intricate things that surprise, amuse and engage, and project the everyday as distinctive.
As cultures interact, they will not lose individuality but instead create opportunities for a new creative language?hopefully languages?to develop. This is not about noticing or celebrating cultural differences, it?s about being able to get a totally different take on life.
I firmly believe that globalisation will help create the ?alien eye? that we so need for ourselves and for the commerce of our creations.
Sometimes the argument is that without delving deep into the local culture and becoming well-versed in its nuances, one cannot represent it. Let?s brace ourselves for some bluntness.
Advertising is different from academic documentaries. Seeing the ?ordinary? in a different light altogether is incredible and inspiring.
Euro RSCG Milan?s commercial takes us through the mutilating journey of a locally made ambassador car, which is banged in an innovative fashion to resemble a Peugeot. Here are 60 seconds of an entertaining, engaging and charming take on the Indian way of life. A local may not have visualised it this way. The flavour and the essence changes when a new and different frame of reference is used.
For that matter, take the snail race in the ?Bet on Black? Guinness commercial. A really limited sport gets a refreshing look from an alien eye. Or consider the Happydent palace commercial. All audiences don?t get the irony concerning an erstwhile feudalistic culture, but they get the path-breaking idea that a town is actually being lit up with teeth. What a visual interpretation it was!
Globalisation doesn?t just facilitate fresh views or surprising interpretations. There is also what I term the ?juxtaposition art? that emerges as a result. When a Kula Shaker belts out the ?hare rama govind jaya jaya? chant, it?s hair-raising stuff. When Paul Simon weaves Afro beats into a harmonic fabric, it gives birth to Graceland. When Danny Boyle looks at the slums that have become a blind spot for so many of the locals, he generates a spirit that infects many across the international film fraternity. When a Thai pop star?s parents notice a truck company?s name in another country in Asia and find it rhythmic, they name their daughter ?Tata?. When Asian marital art is interpreted by Tarantino, Uma Thurman and Kill Bill explode on the mind screen. When the Indian goddesses Kali is interpreted by renowned photographer Stephen Livick, it results in the avant-garde murals works.
In Hindu mythology, we are familiar with the belief in Shiva?and his third eye. One interpretation is that this eye opens up for the destruction of evil. From a broader spiritual angle, however, the third eye represents ?awakening?, realisation from within, a new perspective and knowledge. Increasing globalisation will increase opportunities for seeing things with an alien eye. And that?s just fine.
The author is an ad guru, film lyricist and dialogue writer. He is assosciated with Bollywood hits like ?Rang De Basanti? and ?Taare Zameen Par?