Good Question

Kelsey Madges is an old friend of mine who also keeps a blog. Our subject matter doesn’t cross paths very often, but our reasons for writing are similar. We’re both keeping friends and family abreast on our lives.

Anyway, she wrote me recently and asked an interesting question, and I thought I’d address it here.

She asked: “What do you think about the idea that what people think of America(ns) comes largely from our exported media? Can better communication between cultures at a younger age make a difference?”

I believe that for me to best address this question I should start with the song that has been stuck in my head for the past three days. The artist is Akon, and the song is titled “Smack That.” While the catchy nature of the tune is a credit to its producer, the lyrics make me angry. I mean that literally; when I hear them I actually wish physical harm upon their singer and author. In his opening verse Akon finishes five of the eight ‘rhymed’ lines with the word “now.” The other three lines end with the word “down.” Now that’s just lazy. Do we really need to explain the concept of rhyming to the hip-hop artists of today? This is particularly frustrating when the artist’s father is a highly respected Senegalese percussionist.

Anyway, back to Kelsey’s question. Very few American artists or consumers think about how our highly contextualized pop culture is interpreted by the rest of the world. And why should they? It’s our pop culture. Our market is huge, and the consumers want to feel like the message is directed at them. So when Akon suggests we “kick it, like Tae bo,” it doesn’t really matter whether or not people dancing in a Hungarian club have ever heard of Billy Blanks. They are going to hear the song and think one of two things:

1) “I don’t understand any of the words this man is saying.”

or

2) “Yes, I am kicking it like Tae bo. Very much like the Tae bo.”

Here is where that becomes a problem for America’s image abroad: Record companies, television syndicators, and movie producers all love the foreign markets. Places from Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe all devour American media products. Everything our media outlets produce is shinier and more polished than the domestic stuff.

The message being espoused by our media products, unfortunately, is little more than an afterthought. Akon could sing about his dream of becoming a certified public accountant, and the majority of Hungarians (or any other foreign market) would never blink an eye.

So what American media does my part of the world consume? The answer isn’t going to help improve America’s image.

Movies/TV: Forget wide distribution for any American movie that does not involve explosions or fat-suits. If you can get both into one frame, all the better. This is because the Hungarians have become convinced that Hollywood peaked with “Armageddon.” Most Hungarians know the movie is awful, but they do not believe Hollywood can do any better. They’ve decided Hollywood panders to the lowest common-denominator, and we produce enough crappy movies to drive the point home. If they want smart cinema, they will turn to other countries.

Music: As far as I can tell, in order to sell a significant number of records in continental Europe, you must include a synthesized drum n’ bass track on every song. Madonna, Britney, Justin, and Akon all do very well in Europe, but our clever lyricists and intelligent signer/songwriters are less then insignificant over here.

Can we solve this problem? I don’t know.

Kelsey’s suggestion is a good one. Every student I teach who has visited the States has a much more realistic idea of what the US is all about. It would also help if American children became a bit more aware of what’s happening beyond their own borders. Ask 10 kids where Hungary is – No, better yet, ask 10 adults. The results would be interesting.

It frustrates Europeans when they find out that America doesn’t know anything about the rest of Western Civilization.

I’m not so sure how much can be achieved, however. The US markets its media products with an aggressive savvy, and explosions and fat-suits are what sell US movie tickets. Smacking asses is what sells dance club singles. So that’s what gets exported.

If we really want to improve America’s image abroad, we need to improve American taste.

“Norbit” topping box office sales didn’t help.

Beyonce singing “I could have another man in a minute / In fact he’ll be here in a minute” isn’t helping either.

But both have made their way across the pond, and now we look like gluttonous adulterous sex-fiends who can’t find anything to rhyme with the word minute.