Small entertainment Organic
We now have entertainment everywhere. You can be sitting at home in Bangladesh and watching a drama from Korea, listening to an English song, or even laughing at the humor in a meme made in the U.S. That’s how much globalization has changed the experience of consuming entertainment. It’s fast, exciting, and it opens the door to so many new things. But while we enjoy these global shows and songs, I think we need to pause and ask ourselves: are we forgetting our own roots?
Let’s be honest, entertainment around the globe is sort of wonderful. Their existence, their feelings, their experiences. That can bring people together. You feel more connected. You start to get others better. But meanwhile, it’s very important not to lose our roots. Our tradition, our history, our local drama, and our tradition of storytelling from generations past—these are the things that make us. They make us who we are. And sometimes with all the international dramas and music pouring in, these great traditions fall by the wayside. Younger and younger folks don’t care about folk songs or presentations of local drama anymore. That’s something that we really should be paying attention to.
Some countries handle this differently. Take India or China, for example. They have strong cultural roots and still create a lot of entertainment based on their own traditions. You’ll see Bollywood movies full of Indian culture or Chinese TV shows based on historical events. They enjoy global content too, but they also hold on to their own way of entertaining. It’s like finding a balance and that’s something every country should try to do. And there is a tiny little something special in the way that world entertainment kindles people’s interest. Teenagers especially are learning languages because they like shows on TV from other countries. I’ve seen people learn Korean because of the K-dramas, or English from Hollywood movies. It’s learning and not even knowing you’re learning. You just enjoy something, and it teaches you.
We live today when both global and local cultures define who we are. Kids especially are ready to do something new. For example, Japanese anime is now familiar and viewed all over the globe. Even though it is in Japanese, English dubbing or subtitles open doors. Teenagers not only enjoy watching but are also inspired by the characters and plots. They are likely to try drawing anime-type artwork, incorporate Japanese customs, or even watch cultural festivals depicted in the program. While this is a beautiful means of learning, there is danger, too. If young people learn too much about other nations and forget their own, they are at risk for what experts describe as “cultural homogenization.” That’s where the unique aspects of different cultures start to break down and all will start to look and feel alike. One of the assets of the world is diversity, and losing it would be a loss that would be immeasurable. More and more, the audience of world entertainment is being reached on a daily basis.
With increasingly more people becoming accustomed to English or other popular languages, they are exposed to foreign content more. This helps individuals to get connected and communicate, but in turn also keeps local artists and storytellers out of the light. In some countries, traditional songs, dances, and rituals are falling away slowly as they are not as prevalent among youth. This proves the power of global entertainment in both positive and negative manners.
That said, there are real benefits to this cultural exchange. Possibly the most exciting thing about globalization is that it inspires curiosity. The majority of teens learn new languages because they enjoy content from another country. A student who enjoys Korean dramas might learn a few Korean words. Another who enjoys English music might feel more confident speaking the language. In this way, entertainment encourages learning and people grow. But, we cannot help but recognize that having too much global content can start to change what is respected within one’s own culture. If all the movies we watch are Western, and all the music that we listen to is English, then what happens to our own film and music? Over time, they might get less attention. This is already happening in parts. Folk dances, songs, or languages are vanishing as the younger generation finds them uninteresting or “outdated.”
Take anime, for example. It’s Japanese, but today kids and teenagers all over the world love it. There are those who even try to draw as the characters do or mimic traditions presented in the shows. That’s a good thing it shows that entertainment knows no culture. But again, we have to make sure that we’re not imitating everything and losing our own traditions. English as a world language plays a big part in it. A lot of international material is written in English or translated into English. That makes it available to everyone, but it also makes local languages and local stories get lost. Local artists who do great things in their own language don’t always have an equal chance to stand out.
We need balance. It’s perfectly okay to enjoy world shows, tunes, and movies. I enjoy them too. I watch anime, K-pop, and Hollywood movies. And i also learnt a little Japanese which i try with my friend, sometimes. My real-life friends and online friends often listens to J-pop, watches Japanee, Chinese and Turkish series. But I also think that we need to retain what is ours. Our language, festivals, songs, and local movies they’re ours. We can enjoy the world and still be ourselves.
In the end analysis, entertainment needs to bring us closer together, not eliminate who we are. So let’s keep on watching, listening, and learning from other people, but also keep holding onto our own traditions. Because knowing where we are from is just as important as knowing what is beyond the world. We should adopt global content but also treasure our own cultural treasures. Because at the end of the day, it is our values and our traditions that ground us, even as we reach out to the world. We can be global, but let’s be proud to be ourselves. That’s the real beauty of entertainment without borders.
By: Kazi Mahir Adeeb
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