Television & New Media / November 2002 Juluri / MTV and Youth Culture in India Music Television and the Invention of Youth Culture in India (original) (raw)

Music television and the invention of youth culture in India

Television & New Media, 2002

MTV is often associated with concerns about global cultural homogenization and the spread of a rebellious youth culture. However, the political economy of satellite television in postliberalization India has ensured the construction of a music television audience that is neither antinational nor antielder. On the basis of a reception study of music television in India, this article argues that audiences construct a sense of generational, national, and global identity in a manner that calls for a deeper understanding of cultural imperialism and audience reception. The findings of this study suggest that although the emerging youth culture in India does not seem confrontational in generational or national terms, it is not so much a case of audience resistance as that of co-optation by global hegemonic forces.

Growing up with MTV in India

India in the nineties witnessed an era of prosperity that was propelled by several political and socio-economic phenomena. The rigid, oppressive bureaucracy or “license-raj” as it was somewhat contemptuously referred to, gave way to economic liberalization. This brought in a surge of several global TV networks such as Sony and STAR that gave a stiff competition to Doordarshan- the government-run TV network that was the only entertainment channel available in India until the early nineties. This coincided with the now famous (or rather infamous in the USA) globalization of India as a result of a lot of Information Technology (IT) related work getting outsourced. As a result of this newly injected wealth that outsourcing brought in, at least a small percentage of the population experienced the pleasure of having a disposable income. This set of well-educated people started travelling across the globe and consequently fine-tuning their tastes to what they held as “modern.” It was during this time period that Indipop rose on the horizon and in a very short time captured the music landscape. Admittedly, there is a lot more to Indian pop culture than the Indipop. There is really no dearth of popular art in India – be it music, dance, theatre and cinema to talk of. However, the Indipop phenomenon is something that I have experienced firsthand and really, grown up with. I present here a brief account of its rise and what it did to shape the identities of us, the millennial generation in India.

Formation of Global Identities through Mediated Images: the Indian Case

In this paper an attempt has been made to explore the question of identity and how it is formed among the youth through the influence of the media. Popular culture which is often expressed through the media is important because of its mass appeal and its impact. It affects the identities of millions and also shapes self-identification and perceptions of the 'body' as well as the ways in which the 'self' and the 'other' look at each other. The challenges that the youth often face and the dualities of their own 'selves' are areas which needs to be sociologically understood. Amidst the expectations of the society, wherein one has an undefined pressure of image maintenance, in terms of taste of fashion, music, language, food which is often informed by the effects of globalization does ones actual identity gets lost? This paper therefore also looks at the blending of identities in the backdrop of globalization. To understand this process of identity formation the Goffmanian understanding of the " presentation of the self in everyday life " will be useful.

A Sociological Analysis of Cultural Imperialism of International Media on Pakistani Youth

Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2014

The research was conducted an analysis of cultural imperialism because if the national media of any country absorbs the change from the international channels then the viewers are ready to adopt those changes. Different channels are driving away our cultural boundaries, shaping the perceptions and dreams of ordinary citizens, affecting our language, influencing traditional values and ways of thinking for a long time. In every society it is the natural phenomenon that the true representative of its culture is said to be always the educated class and youth which firstly brings any change and then pervades it in to the society. The objectives of the study were to examine the people perception about International media that to what extent they are changing our cultural patterns and to find out the respondents' views about media influence on our identity. For this purpose descriptive approach was used. Population of the study consists of 150 students of University of Sargodha and Bahauddin Zakariya University. The questionnaire was used as research tool and had sixty five close ended questions. The results indicate that International media strongly influence youngsters in negative direction. It is found that these channels has vital role in replacing Pakistani culture with other cultures and changing life style, language and other aspects of Pakistani people. The results of the study showed that youngsters frequently watched international channels and frequent exposure to these channels plays a significant role in shaping their life style and identity. It was concluded that television channels with positive social values should be emphasized while the negative social values should be de-emphasized. It has been noted that in most of the programs that youngsters watch negative values are mostly portrayed while the positive values are at the background. At International media they watch use of alcohol, cigarettes and love affairs etc in their serials which negatively influence their lifestyle and identity.

Impact of Cultural Globalisation on Indian Youth: Facing the Challenges of Dialectical Identity

International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research, 2023

Modernization and Cultural Globalization both are the processes through which Indian society is changing itself towards adapting the modern rational values within the sphere of structural and institutional patterns of behavioural norms. While internalising the values and norms of cultural globalization, Indian youth are facing the challenges of conflict between tradition and modernity which is somehow responsible for creating the crises of dialectical identity among youth. With the learning of values such as equality, freedom, egalitarian and rational approach towards life, individualism, economic progress and secular belief, Indian youth still follow the traditional behavioural patterns due to structural (Caste system) and institutional (Family, kinship system) characteristics of society. This conflict generating the dialectical consciousness and identity feeling among youth in Indian Society. The objective of this paper is to analyse those factors and assumptions which are responsible for developing the dialectical identity crises into the personality system of Indian youth.