Globalization seen through the Lord of the Rings

     My presentation discussed the Hollywood style films and how globalization has impacted them and how they have further globalized the world. The Lord of the Rings trilogy, original books written by J.R.R. Tolkien and directed and produced by Peter Jackson, is a prime example of the many impacts of globalization within the film industry including cultural imperialism, free flow of information and regionalization. The first point of my argument was that Hollywood style movies are made to be simply, entertaining and universal; these movies can be watched and liked by many different types of people. However, the high cost of producing such popular films has allowed for most of these films to be produced in the U.S. in comparison to other countries, thus promoted U.S. cultural imperialism. New Zealand, the country where much of the Lord of the Rings trilogy was filmed, has been greatly affected by these films especially through film-induced tourism. One student asked, “How can we make movies that don’t misrepresent other cultures?” My answer was that, in this case we really can’t; New Zealand country and landscape was simply used for certain scenes in the film.

Globalization of Netflix

Netflix is a growing media service. Starting in 1997 as just a website to rent DVDs, Netflix has grown all over the world to over 200 countries. Netflix has partnered with many companies in the US to market their products in hope to bring even more people. Making almost 5.5 billion every year, they continue to surprise the world by firing new creative ways to bring them to even more countries. Netflix global is rising fast, 200 countries watch Netflix and millions of people everyday sign up to watch. The name is heard all over the world and international companies are wanting a piece of them. They are partnering with international companies to promote there brand to others not wanting to pay the monthly fee. Although some countries do not want Netflix, they continue to work out agreements to try and spread the brand everywhere. Netflix is growing more rapidly then another tv/ movie company in the world. As long as they continue to partner with others, there should be no reason Netflix should drop in revenue. In conclusion, Netflix is spreading like a virus, even people in the US are starting to get Netflix. Netflix is the new future and people around the world are ready for it, they are ready to see what other new projects Netflix will release not only in English but in other languages.
















https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/26/technology/netflix-streaming-expansion-mwc.html

Spotify and the Globalization of Music

Spotify has been one of the leaders in music globalization since its launch in 2008. With 140M active users, 60M of those paid subscribers, the music streaming service has made it possible to access a library of over 20M songs at a moment’s notice across 61 countries. In each individual market they enter, the company gathers a team of experts to curate specific playlists that appeal culturally to each country. The globalization of music requires sensitivity to the markets in which one intends to reach; the cultural proximity of the equation plays an equal part of the diffusion in music. In terms of the music itself and how the industry determines its popularity based on its widespread accessibility, streaming services have compltely changed the way music is rated. Fifteen years ago, music was easily measured based on physical sales and radio play. Now with the access to streaming services, popular artists can run the billboard charts for months with the right exposure. While this is good for these specific global stars, it creates an impossible pedestal that upcoming artists cannot seem to match. New acts fail to match the same kind of exposure as the superstar talent, and their music is licensed off for very little return in royalties. The formula for services like Spotify has created a great opportunity for artists to get their ideas across continents, however the impact on the industry has been so major that it has created an entire new playing field that artists and music corporations have to address.

IFPI. “Global Music Report 2017.” IFPI - Representing the Recording Industry Worldwide, International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, Apr. 2017,   www.ifpi.org/recording-industry-in-numbers.php.  

This global music report highlights several areas of my presentation along with more examples as to how the industry is evolving. 

CNN vs Reddit user controversy

Sparked by the controversial tweet put out by President Trump on July 2nd depicting himself slamming an individual into the ground a la WWE style, CNN’s publishing of an article turned controversial shines a light on 2 important duties that both the producers of content and consumers of content have: a duty to inform the producers of content that they have crossed a line. In this instance, some legal lines appear to have been crossed by CNN.

While that answered the question of “who monitors the media”, the question of “who controls the media” hasn’t really been answered yet. And in the end, only those who hold a position of authority within a media source choose what they want to cover and have published.

But while one can very easily brush this off as the fault of someone that simply didn’t do their job properly, a company of CNN’s size should very much have higher quality standards when it comes to editors reviewing articles before they are made public, regardless of what side of the political spectrum you align with. Otherwise, potential legal troubles can emerge, as pointed out by consumers of this content, such as Julian Assange and Ted Cruz to name just a few.

Sources

• Kaczynski, A. (2017, July 05). How CNN found the Reddit user behind the Trump wrestling GIF. Retrieved September 14, 2017, from http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/04/politics/kfile-reddit-user-trump-tweet/index.html
• Dailymail.com, L. Q. (2017, July 05). CNN is accused of 'blackmailing' Reddit user who created Trump GIF by 'threatening to reveal his identity if he posts more offensive material'. Retrieved September 14, 2017, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4667962/CNN-accused-blackmailing-pro-Trump-Reddit-user.html
• Silva, D. (2017, July 02). Trump tweets video of himself body-slamming 'CNN'. Retrieved September 14, 2017, from https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/president-trump-tweets-wwe-video-himself-attacking-cnn-n779031
• Tweets taken from the twitter accounts of Julian Assange, Ted Cruz, CNN, and Andrew Kacyznski
• New York Consolidated Laws, Penal Law - PEN § 135.60. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2017, from http://codes.findlaw.com/ny/penal-law/pen-sect-135-60.html
• FindLaw for Legal Professionals | Law & Legal Information. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2017, from http://lp.findlaw.com/

Twitch and the regulated media

The Question of the week for my presentation was Who controls and monitors the media. My case study relating to this looked at Twitch.tv and some regulations it has regarding its viewers and producers. Twitch is a privately owned streaming service that strives to maintain a community of respect and passion.To ensure this quality of content, Twitch utilizes the ESRB video game rating system to identify which games are prohibited on their site such as Adult Only content. Outside of the ESRB, Twitch also bans the use of excess sexuality or violence. In this process, Twitch has banned users for showing off detailed gun replicas, using hate speech and offensive language, illegal solicitation, or sometimes even simply having inappropriate attire.

To ensure this quality of content, Twitch utilizes the ESRB video game rating system to identify which games are prohibited on their site such as Adult Only content. Outside of the ESRB, Twitch also bans the use of excess sexuality or violence. In this process, Twitch has banned users for showing off detailed gun replicas, using hate speech and offensive language, illegal solicitation, or sometimes even simply having inappropriate attire.

One of Twitch's larger issues that have led to past lawsuits (Twitch won) had to deal with viewing bots, programs design to inflate viewing numbers. This was considered fraud and cybersquatting and Twitch has had several users permanently banned for creating and implementing these bot programs.

Here are my sources:

•About. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2017, from https://www.twitch.tv/p/about/

•Community Guidelines. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2017, from   https://help.twitch.tv/customer/portal/articles/983016

•Cook, J. (2014, October 20). Twitch Founder: We Turned A 'Terrible Idea' Into A Billion-Dollar   Company. Retrieved September 14, 2017, fromhttp://www.businessinsider.com/the-story-  of-video-game-streaming-site-twitch-2014-10

•DiPietro, M. (2016, June 17). On Artificial Viewers, Followers, and Chat Activity. Retrieved   September 14, 2017, from https://blog.twitch.tv/on-artificial-viewers-followers-and-chat-  activity-317906f1c7ea

•Goldsmith, J., & Wu, T. (2006). Who controls the Internet?: illusions of a borderless world. Oxford   University Press. Retrieved on September 10, 2017, from  http://www.rexsresources.com/uploads/6/5/2/1/6521405/who_controls_the_internet_.pdf

•List of Prohibited Games. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2017, from   https://help.twitch.tv/customer/portal/articles/1992676-list-of-prohibited-games

•Parenti, M. (2010). The Politics of News Media. Sacred Heart University Review, 19(1), 1. Retrieved   September 10, 2017, from http://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/shureview/vol19/iss1/1

•Twitch Interactive Inc. v. Bouchouev et al, 16-cv-3404, (UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN   DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SAN JOSE DIVISION June 17, 2017).

Net Neutrality and the ISP Boogieman

My case study was a semi-dramatic rant about how internet service providers are coming to steal our rights and destroy the freedom of the internet. Looking back on it, I may have gone a little too hard in the paint, but I think the points I made are still very valid. When answering the question "who controls the media" it is very important to ask who controls the means of access to media. The internet has come a long way from its humble beginnings in the 1990s, and it is growing and changing more rapidly then our regulations can keep up with. The internet represents the bleeding edge of society and culture, and is becoming (if it is not already) the centerpiece of tomorrow's society. It goes without saying that whoever control the internet will have a lot of power moving forward, and I for one don't feel warm and fuzzy about that controller being large corporations. As I discussed in my presentation, the current chairman of the FCC Ajit V. Pai, represents a very suspicious element in the fight for a free internet. A cursory glance at his back story reveals some very conflicting work (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajit_V._Pai, yes this is a wikipedia link, please have mercy). He served on the Justice Department's antitrust division, and then went to work for telecom giant Verizon, who you may know from such recent foibles as https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/07/verizon-wireless-apparently-throttles-streaming-video-to-10mbps/. Maybe Pai is a cool guy, and has all of our interests at heart. But I get a little suspicious when people who work in the private sector move on to oversee the same industry they worked in, and will likely return to after their new 5 year term is up. But I'll leave the judgment up to you.

Government in Social Media

In my case study, I delved into the government’s involvement in social media. Because governmental involvement is generally a new idea, I focused my idea on how politicians, in the past, rejected media and now it is embraced. It was rejected because it encouraged knowledge to the people. Now, these political figures have embraced social media because it allows them to be the gatekeepers of news. Government officials were almost forced to join the social media movement because asynchronous communication was starting to create problems, in that; there was no filtration in the information being shared. So in order to try and regain power over the common man, they had to ensure that their opinions and stances were explained. This case study uses scholarly citations to help explain that “with the coming of new media, people who have long been on the receiving end of one-way mass communication are now increasingly likely to become producers and transmitters”. Because politicians and government officers are being so strictly monitored, it is easy for individuals to make mistakes that could hurt their careers and reputations. Following that, it is easy for important officials to control and influence media. This was well represented in the case study done on “Fake News”. President Trump was able to discredit and jeopardize the integrity of news stations that rival his opinions. The overall purpose of this case study is to explain the power of gatekeepers and how much politicians have evolved in the sense of social media.

Banerjee, I. 2008. “The Impact of New Media on Traditional Mainstream Mass Media – A Critical    Assessment.” A Series of Lectures on Trends & Future of the Malaysian Mass Media. Presented at Dewan Tunku Canselor, University of Malaya Kuala Lumpur. 

Straubhaar, Joseph, and Robert Larose. (2008). Media Now: Understanding Media, Culture and Technology. Belmont, CA.: Wadsworth Company.