Cooper-Chen, Anne (Ed.). Global Entertainment Media: Content, Audiences, Issues.
Bosshart, Louis
Cooper-Chen, Anne (Ed.). Global Entertainment Media: Content,
Audiences, Issues. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2005. Pp.
xi, 267. ISBN 0-8058-5169-0 (pb.) $29.95.
For ages there used to be no positive correlation between the
amount of entertainment that was consumed and the amount of scholarly
research in the field of entertainment. Now it is different.
Entertainment is not only important from the audience's point of
view. More and more scholars are shifting the emphasis towards
entertainment. Entertainment is the key part of modern popular cultures
and a tremendously big international market. The 10 countries that are
analyzed in the book of Anne Cooper-Chen "represent major domestic
markets and, in many cases, are major TV exporters," (p. x).
In a first chapter the editor and co-author outlines the term
"entertainment" with the basic meaning of amusement,
distraction, relaxation, and enjoyment. It becomes evident that the
clear distinction between entertainment and information, fiction and
facts, as well as between enjoying and learning is an artificial one.
The boundaries are blurring!
The second chapter (Richard A. Gerson) gives an overview of the so
called "Transnationals: Media Corporations, International TV Trade,
and Entertainment Flows." The transnational media corporations are
strong players in a global television market that deals with news,
sports, and music entertainment. "At the same time, a single,
unified market for TV entertainment is not likely to emerge. Differences
in culture, including language, shared common experiences, and social
values, will preclude that possibility" (p. 33). Nevertheless, four
out of the seven biggest transnational media corporations are of
U.S.-American origin.
Chapters 3 to 12 follow a basic scheme: the country as such;
political, social, and cultural backgrounds; the media system;
regulations; content and ratings; broadcast imports and exports; and a
presentation of the prime time television programs during a selected
week. The countries reviewed include the United Kingdom, Germany, Egypt,
Nigeria, South Africa, India, Japan, China, Brazil, and Mexico.
Sports is information and entertainment at the same time. Anthony
Moretti, in his chapter on "The Olympics," shows how "the
media--especially television--have transformed the Olympic Games (and
all sports) into something beyond just fun and games" (p. 222). It
has to be mentioned that sponsors and advertisers play an important role
in the mariage a trois!
Anne Cooper-Chen adds another chapter to her book, following her
Games in the Global Village (Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State
University Popular Press, 1994). This time it is "A World of
'Millionaires': Global, Local, and 'Glocal' TV Game
Shows." She wants to know what the global success of "Who
Wants to Be Millionaire" can "tell us about the many societies
that have embraced it" (p. 237). The answer is short and clear:
"Local culture asserts itself." This very interesting chapter
reveals the only weakness of the whole volume: It is one chapter too
short. There is much information scattered in different chapters that
should be rescued in an overview or summary: differences in the
appreciation of humor, problems of multiculturalism, the impact of a
colonial history (from both sides), a geography of popular cultures,
problems of a market where there is a shortage of good ideas and where
there are too many channels of diffusion. The option of an additional
analysis of the very rich set of data does not diminish the value of the
interesting and informative volume.
The book contains both a bibliography and a reference index.
Louis Bosshart
Fribourg-Freiburg, Switzerland
