Comments on: Nothing Like Some Chindia Rivalry

By: Ashley Breneman

Ashley Breneman — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 04:00:23 +0000

I really don’t know if China will ever let a large proportion of American television shows into the country. It is no surprise to me that India is more of a success for the U.S. Even though India is much more traditional than the U.S, they are much more ready for change. As I spoke of in my blog about the women being beaten for being out at the bars, many in the younger generation are desperately seeking a new age India. The women are much more focused on being successful and independent. Without as many restrictions from the government and the enormous population, I think the U.S. has serious growth potential in India and was smart for taking that market on in the first place.

As for China, a lot of change needs to be made with the government before they will let our media into the Chinese society. there is far too much censorship remaining in China to permit a lot of the shows that are aired in America today. Yes, i agree that there is a huge potential due to population itself, but until the government becomes a little more open to a more democratic type of society, I do not think they will allow programs that encourage people to be independent and possibly rebellious.

By: Patrick Johansing

Patrick Johansing — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:07:02 +0000

Nice topic Morgan. Khana touched on the movie industry in Billions of Entrepreneurs. This was the section when he spoke about the difference between Chinese and Indian “soft power.” He said that right now Indians have a better grasp on how to make a movie that people want to see. He mentioned that this was because they’ve been forced into creativity to scrape up a living. China, on the other hand, had a creative scourging during the Cultural Revolution. After years of oppression, they had no creative foundation on which to build. It seems like this is a vacuum within China that will be filled in the near future. I’m sure China recognizes the benefits of soft power, and this is probably something their government is looking into to try to fix, as they seem to do a lot. I’d imagine China would like their cinema market to come from within, but as we’ve read so much, they are willing to hire the right people if that’s what needs to be done. I think that the media giants should probably try harder to get into this market. If they are able to make a deal that the government deems beneficial, they will have found themselves a huge market with no competition.

By: Victoria Rodriguez

Victoria Rodriguez — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 04:28:02 +0000

I didn’t know about the underlying tone of Spongebob SquarePants, but I’ve never actually watched the show. But it makes me think about how you can push the limits in media with subtle undertones and maybe just maybe it grows until the government cannot stop it if that is possible.

There are many culture tones of the U.S. that I do not think foreign people really understand. I have seen the reverse prejudices on how foreign people think they know all about American culture because of our media. There are many differences and social standards that vary from city to city in the U.S. that are not so obvious. One item that I don’t think people get is our sense of humor - we make fun of ourselves more than we make fun of others. And because the U.S. is made up of so many cultures, we have a lot of material to work with. This comes off like we are making fun of other cultures, but in fact those different cultures here are a part of U.S. culture by our open door policy. I wonder if these culture differences and misunderstandings limits what American studios can do in China.

Another item is how China’s government censors the internet which is so expansive I am impressed that it can actually be done. But it makes me wonder what actually will ever be allowed in terms of movies. I think media from China would be very interesting because of their long history - they have a lot of material. I would like to see China open up its doors to media - the world would like to share and learn more

By: David McKinnon

David McKinnon — Fri, 29 May 2009 23:41:58 +0000

China prevented economic growth for so many years, then followed Singapore’s business example and huge growth followed. With China limiting the number of American movies to 20, the government is taking the same approach as it did a few decades ago. The last paragraph of the article is telling. This time, instead of copying the strategy of Singapore, they are copying the strategy of India. Interesting to see that China is still taking a “wait and see” approach.

By: Mark Wegemer

Mark Wegemer — Wed, 20 May 2009 05:34:53 +0000

This is a very interesting comment especially stating the fact that China wants to be a part of the movie industry that Slumdog Millionaire has taken a part of. I think of it as ironic when Chinese, according to the article, want to be a larger part of the Western media, yet they impose large amounts of censorship and regulations on mundane things. I think the rivalry between the two up and coming nations will benefit both in a truly awesome way. If China’s government can ease off of a lot of the regulations that plague the society, then American companies can take advantage of the media market like they have for Indian residents.

India 1 China 0, let’s see what happens next.

By the way Morgan, Spongebob Squarepants is one of the single most awesome cartoons that allows one to escape reality into a wet world of ridiculousness.

By: Nazia Vasi

Nazia Vasi — Fri, 15 May 2009 10:29:40 +0000

I don’t know if you’ve seen the http://www.2point6billion.com blog, but it also makes some interesting China-India comparisons. (the blogs name refers to the combined populations). You might want to check this out:
“An Uncertain China”
http://www.2point6billion.com/2009/04/27/an-uncertain-china-1309.html

By: Morgan O'Hara

Morgan O'Hara — Thu, 14 May 2009 23:45:23 +0000

Seems like the one characteristic FFIP execs and expat media/businessmen in China must possess to keep from losing their wits: patience, optimism, and the ability to take a hit. I plan on keeping tuned to see how the battle plays out …

By: Jimmy Spann

Jimmy Spann — Wed, 13 May 2009 23:00:24 +0000

This is an interesting topic. After reading these articles I realized that the Chinese government has a lot more control over what happens in the country than I gave them credit for.

I also think that just on the surface that India would be a better looking market than China based on two reasons:

1) India has Bollywood, which creates its own media just as our Hollywood does. I am sure that they have Bollywood gossip columnists that fans follow. And this type of environment is similar to what we have in the States. The media in general seems like a logical step over to India for many of the large media companies.

2) You totally avoid dealing with the Chinese government. Which is something that I would avoid due to its high chance of regulations and censorship. You would have to make many changes to your companies operations and goals, that it almost seems like more of a hassle than a help. But then again the 1.3 billion people does seem like a great dragon to slay, if I were a media mogul, which I’m obviously not.

But maybe I need to do some more marketing research and regressions before I make these large observations. Hopefully I am not too far off base

By: Chris Carr

Chris Carr — Wed, 13 May 2009 05:17:58 +0000

Good post.

I defer to a fellow who knows and understands China much better than I ever will, David Wolf, at the always insightful Silicon Hutong blog.

See his below recent and related post on the financial news aspect of the issue you raise.

http://siliconhutong.typepad.com/silicon_hutong/2009/05/the-financial-news-sidestep.html