MGT 365 week 3 Discussion - post and response

MGT 365 Week 3 responses

Response to all of the 4 students

Johnathan Berghorst

1. Hollywood projects many different values and messages across the world through their movies. Some of these values are bad and others are also good. There are still movies that are made that prompt positive qualities and show heroic and honorable people and values. However, there are stereotypes that are portrayed in Hollywood as well that can be offensive and inappropriate to other countries. Sometimes this can be to provide comedy, as we often portray Americans too in a not so favorable role for comedy, but this can also be taken to far of course to make a whole nation or race be viewed offensively. The textbook cases talk about the movie where Bill Murray is in Japan and he has to bend down to be able to take a shower or is in the elevator and is taller than most businessmen. If I had seen this myself I would have laughed and assumed most Japanese people are shorter than the average American. However, the people who are viewing this from Japan could find this offensive.

2. Culture does play a key role in how business is done throughout the world. Many movies portray business men and women each day at their jobs, or wall street, or American corporate life. These portrayals could be real but also could be skewed by Hollywood. I would prefer not to learn about international business from Hollywood. I would rather go to a country and learn how they do business and meet with someone who is from that country or knows the culture and is able to inform me about how international business and culture is conducted in their country. Hollywood does portray things, and particularly other countries and cultures in a different way then they most likely are, therefore I would not trust Hollywood with something as important as learning the business and culture of another country that I am trying to do business with.

3. I think Hollywood movies are so popular because of the reputation that Hollywood has made for itself. Hollywood is one of Americas largest and most well know and established enterprises. The motion picture business was started mainly in America and has been the leaders in the industry since then. I think the importance that Hollywood has had on not only America culture, but also international culture plays a role in way people are so drawn to Hollywood movies. The movies themselves and the popular celebrities that play the roles also draw in the large consumer bias for Hollywood. It will be interesting to see what comes of other countries attempts to gain a foothold into the cinema industry but with Hollywood celebrating almost a hundred years of leading the industry and its size counties to grow I am not sure that anything will have as big of an impact as Hollywood does.

Sheila Magnan

1. The United States has had much exposure to many cultural metaphors, which has allowed Hollywood to affect the outside culture of the United States. More and more films that are produced in Hollywood are going to market outside of the United States. For example, in the ending case of chapter Three the reading discusses how movies that depict a lot of Americanization and how other countries see us. This can warp the true culture of outside countries by making hasty generalizations about another country’s culture as a whole. Some countries may not want these films shown in their country as they feel it could be offensive to their culture due to stereotyping.

2. In the reading, there were a couple of examples that were presented to show the kinds of stereotypes that are depicted in Hollywood movies. For example, many outside of the United States criticized the film Slumdog Millionaire because it brought negative stereotypes to surface through the movie to depict Indian culture as a whole. However I do think Hollywood can bring appreciation to other cultures as well by using foreign actors and promoting directors that are from outside of the United States that are creating films in Hollywood.

3. Hollywood could be very popular abroad because the “American way” to make a movie comes with a ton of special effects, it’s fast paced and entertaining. Hollywood like to use a big budget that is going to wow the audience with special effects and less though provoking material. It’s easier to just sit back and enjoy than have to put forth effort to understand. Americans also could possibly be less curious and knowledgeable of other cultures around the world, and it could be vice versa with other countries and cultures that they want to be entertained by our fast paced culture.

Veronica Yacks 

Hollywood Movies

COLLAPSE

Top of Form

Personally, I feel that the lack of demand for foreign films in the United States has to deal with the fact that most foreign films are also in foreign languages. Some films that are in foreign languages offer voiceovers in English, but I know a lot of people also argue that this takes away from the overall “ambiance” of the film. For example, last year my roommates and I went and saw the movie Parasite which is a South Korean film written and directed by Bong Joon-ho. I know that he had said in interviews that he would not offer voiceover versions of the film in English because it would take away from the story that he was trying to tell. Instead only English subtitles were on the movie. I think that many Americans refuse to accept foreign films because they aren’t anything like what we’re used to and breaking away from what’s “normal” scares a lot of Americans which has led to the lack of demand for foreign films in the United States.

 

In most Hollywood movies there are stereotypes of other cultures present. Frequent examples are the portrayal of Asian characters as nerdy, Latinas and black women as angry/sassy, and black men as dangerous. All of these stereotypes are rooted in racism and heavily offensive to the cultures they are mocking. While there is a plethora of negative uses of stereotypes, I have noticed that in movies and television recently Hollywood is being more accepting and representing different cultures in a better light. A positive example that comes to mind is the movie Crazy Rich Asians. 

 

Finally, movies have really changed the business world by how companies advertise their products. Lots of Hollywood movies include product placements. Not only that but Hollywood movies often partner with other companies like fast food restaurants to create toys that promote the new movie. On top of this movies have also had a huge influence on trends like social media, online dating, etc. which effect businesses. I think that by watching foreign films we can gain a better understanding of how to conduct business with other countries by seeing how they portray their attitudes, values, manners, customs, religion, etc. All of these can give us a lot of information and insight into a foreign country and how we can respectfully and effectively conduct business within that country. 

Bottom of Form

McKenzie Herman 

Hollywood Movies

COLLAPSE

Top of Form

Most aspects of foreign culture, such as language, religion, gender roles, and problem-solving strategies, are hard for the casual observer to understand. In what ways do Hollywood movies affect national culture outside the United States? What aspects of U.S. culture do Hollywood films promote around the world?

There are many movies nationwide that pull at all cultures. There are movies based on Japanese culture, Indian culture, African culture, and the list goes on. Certain people, of the culture presented in movies, are not happy with how they are being portrayed to the world. They believe that it is insulting and rude to show something that isn’t true. For example, when Bill Murray’s character is hovering almost a foot over the elevator full of people, this goes to mocking the small structure of the Japanese. Hollywood films are always showing biased opinions of reality. The United States has a strong work ethic and are very driven. I feel the United States has brought that into the film making by being able to overcome obstacles. U.S. stars and actors are very known and have their way to do things in the international movie business.

 

What STEREOTYPES OF OTHER CULTURES do you see reflected in Hollywood Movies?  Can you observe any positive effects of Hollywood movies on world cultures?

There are many stereotypes within the movie industry for many different cultures. Directors want to make the movie that people want to watch and could get some laughs out of. There are people in the world that love watching movies such as The Dictator because it has negative traits in the movie that focus on Arabs. These movies are made because there is an audience that will watch it for the comedy. Many of the things that are in these movies are negatively portrayed and false information based on these cultures. That’s why most Hollywood films are getting a negative outlook because they are hurting certain cultures ways. A positive is that U.S. actors and directors are well established in the international movie scene which gives a sort of dominance to the U.S. Also, by showing the ways people see certain cultures through the bias reality, it will open the eyes to many others who will help change the way the U.S. looks at these cultures and it will spread awareness to stop with these bias thoughts.

 

Why are foreign films demanded so little in the United States? What can foreign filmmakers do to increase demand for their movies in the United States?

Foreign films are kind of like a last thought to many people in Hollywood. Having Hollywood films dominating the industry, it doesn’t give a chance to any foreign films. Many of the foreign films are restricted because they give off a bad reputation of the American film industry. Countries should specialize in producing what the country does best. If they aren’t good at making movies then don’t. Foreign filmmakers need to try harder to get their movies to the U.S. market because that is where all the demand is right now.

Bottom of Form