|
 |
========================
GLOBAL DEGREE
A Study of Globalization
Volume 3, No. 1
http://www.gdegree.com
Editor: Mel Ochoa
========================
In This Issue:
I. G-Maverick: Sharad Devarajan
President & CEO
Gotham Entertainment Group
II. Global Spotlight: Global Voices
III. Sidebar: Japanese Lucky Kit Kats
IV. Global Wire by Keith Porter
V. Coda: The Yes Men & Gender Globalization
+++ Print Global Degree and enjoy it over time +++
=============
I. G-MAVERICK
=============
This award reinforces the belief that one person can make a difference on a global level. Whether it is advancing the benefits of globalization or stopping globalization's harmful wake, Global Mavericks define the power of one with their bold ideas and actions.
Sharad Devarajan, president & CEO of Gotham Entertainment Group, has achieved G-Maverick status in the publishing category by launching, along with Marvel Enterprises, Inc., Spider-Man India.
Spider-Man India interweaves the local customs, culture and mystery of modern India, with an eye to making Spider-Man's mythology more relevant to an Indian audience. Readers of this series will not see the familiar Peter Parker of Queens under the classic Spider-Man mask, but rather a new hero -- a young Indian boy named Pavitr Prabhakar. As Spider-Man, Pavitr leaps around rickshaws and scooters in Indian streets while swinging from monuments such as the Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal.
Global Degree: Why is it important to "trans-create," as you term, Spider-Man for an Indian audience? How do you overcome keeping him too American, since the original is composed of many American ideals, so that he will relate to Indians?
Sharad Devarajan: Just to give you a brief background, our company, Gotham Entertainment Group, is the South Asian publishing licensee for Marvel and DC Comics, as well as for King Features, Dark Horse Comics, MAD Magazine and Warner Bros. Worldwide Publishing. The company currently publishes local editions of numerous American comics in India in English, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil and Malayalam languages.
Since we first started Gotham, we have always dreamed of fully integrating a western superhero character into the Indian market in this revolutionary way. It is one thing to translate existing U.S. comics, but this project is truly what we call a "trans-creation," where we actually reinvent the origin of a property like Spider-Man so that he is an Indian boy growing up in Mumbai and dealing with local problems and challenges. I have always believed that the superhero relates to a "universal psyche" already firmly established in India through centuries of mythological stories depicting gods and heroes with supernatural abilities. This project is the true culmination of such a synthesis allowing us to interweave the ethnic & mythological themes of India into Spider-Man's very origins and powers.
The project came about through a number of dialogues my colleague Suresh Seetharaman (Gotham's co-founder and COO) and I had with Marvel, discussing ways to enhance our existing publishing program of American Marvel comics. We discussed a number of ideas including having the U.S. version of Spider-Man make a trip to India in a comic series. However, the one that really excited us was the concept of reinventing the property specifically for India.
Certainly, none of this would have ever been possible without the creative vision of Marvel who has nurtured this concept with us from the very beginning and embraced the potential of the cultural integration this project represents. Marvel has continuously pushed the boundaries of comic entertainment throughout the world, often transcending the genre and taking bold risks with the medium. As a company, we greatly admire their entrepreneurial spirit and are honored to be working with them on this groundbreaking project for India. They have truly enabled one of my longtime dreams to finally become a reality.
GD: How much of the classic Spider-Man story is seen in the new version? Is there a Mary Jane or Aunt May? Which important life lessons transfer over from his American counterpart?
SD: I think the core mythology of Spider-Man is very relevant to anyone in the world. He is a universal superhero that in many ways transcends cultures. A modern mythology. In fact, as mentioned above, we already successfully publish a number of American Spider-Man titles in India. However, I think this project offers a very unique way to really make an international hero also a local hero, and have fun interweaving the origin of the character with some of the great mythological culture of India. Also, one if the greatest aspects of people's identification with a character like Spider-Man is the fact that he lives in the real world versus a fictitious city. For Indian readers to see, for the first time, this new version of Spider-Man bouncing off rikshaws and climbing local monuments like the Gateway of India will be great fun and hopefully bring in many new readers to experience this great character for the first time.
The story remains true to the underlining mythos of Spider-Man, which is epitomized in the phrase, "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility." The character, however, will be reinvented so his powers, problems and costume are more integrated with Indian culture. Unlike the U.S. origin that is deeply rooted in science, the Indian version is more rooted in magic and mythology. This version of Spider-Man will gain his powers from ancient mystic in order to combat the evil threat of the Green Goblin, who will also be reinvented as a modern day Indian demon from myth. And let's not forget the multiple-handed incarnation of the villainous Doc Ock.
Many of the core character names have also been reinvented to desi equivalents (Mary Jane -- Meera Jain; Uncle Ben -- Uncle Bhim; Aunt May -- Aunt Maya, etc.) If you have not already seen the costume redesign, it will help solidify the indo-western fusion we are describing, take a look at www.spidermanindia.com to see a number of images and sketches.
GD: Some say that cultures are losing their distinctiveness due to globalization. Does Spider-Man India prove this true by popularizing an American pop culture icon for your audience, or does it disprove this by interweaving local customs into the new comic book?
SD: I think this is a case of reverse globalization -- or making an international hero also a local hero. Unlike literal translations of U.S. comics into a foreign market, this is a "trans-creation" where we actually reinvent the origin of a property like Spider-Man so that he is an Indian boy growing up in Mumbai.
Overall, we believe this project truly epitomizes the increasing exchange of ideas and sharing of cultures taking place between India and America. For the first time when Spider-Man takes off his mask, the face under it will be that of a local Indian kid.
GD: You mention that Spider-Man India deals with local problems and challenges. What are those? What are the biggest changes with Spider-Man India due to the differences in Eastern and Western cultures?
SD: Though we would rather not divulge too much of the story and allow readers to experience it firsthand, I think readers will really enjoy the way we have stayed true to the core elements of the Spider-Man characters while similarly intertwining them with new origins that are distinctively Indian.
One of the core elements of this series is that Pavitr is a traditional village boy who moves to Mumbai for the first time on an academic scholarship. There he is surrounded by these very modern kids of the city, who dress and act like kids anywhere else in the world. In fact, the whole city seems like a foreign world to Pavitr compared to the village. The fact that he is still so traditional and "out of touch" with contemporary society is what makes him an outcast and the laughing stock at school. However, as with the U.S. edition, the irony will be that the same kids who mock Pavitr will also have a growing admiration for the new hero Spider-Man, even though his costume interweaves many of the traditional elements they mock. In many ways, the story will try and capture some of the cultural phenomena of modern India, wherein the cities are moving ahead at light speed and a boy from a far-off village may find he feels like a foreigner within his own country.
GD: Mr. Devarajan, what is your opinion of globalization?
SD: We stand at the forefront of an increasingly borderless world, particularly in the area of entertainment. I firmly believe that India's next great export will be its culture. Similar to the phenomenon we have seen with Japanese Anime and Manga, which has influenced virtually every aspect of popular media in the West today, our goal is to reinvent contemporary Indian popular art and permeate this new style and vision throughout the globe. Our company has a collective vision of providing the catalyst for a new creative renaissance to emerge from the Indian market. We truly believe that in the years ahead India will become a leading global cultural exporter. In the same way Indian children have embraced Batman, Spider-Man, Scooby-Doo and Britney Spears, today's Western world has an increasing global appetite for the most engaging content, regardless of its cultural affiliation. Today some estimate that 30 percent of all children's programming in the United States is based on Japanese Anime, and Chinese films such as Hero have been top of the movie charts for two consecutive weeks. Such phenomena are proof that Asian content has a global appeal that resonates with audiences on a global scale.
This belief is further re-enforced by the increased popularity of Indian themed content in the West. In fashion, today's American teenagers wear clothing with Indian elements, accessorized with bindi's on their foreheads, nose-rings and even henna on their hands. In music, artists such as Madonna and rappers such as Jay-Z have incorporated Indian rhythms and lyrics seamlessly into their songs. Eastern philosophies and practices such as meditation and yoga have become commonplace in contemporary America and Indian-themed or stylistically infused movies and shows such as Moulin Rouge (stylistically Bollywood), The Guru, Bend it Like Beckham and Bombay Dreams have found strong audiences.
Learn more at http://www.spidermanindia.com, http://www.gothamcomics.com and http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4271120&sourceCode=RSS
.
--Global Mavericks--
Publishing: Sharad Devarajan, Gotham Entertainment Group
Technology: Lee Thorn, Jhai Foundation
Business: Jeremy Hockenstein, Digital Divide Data
+++ Nominate a G-Maverick: contact(at)gdegree.com +++
====================
II. GLOBAL SPOTLIGHT
====================
Global Spotlight highlights an organization that is interacting with globalization.
Global Voices is an international effort to diversify the conversations taking place online by involving speakers from around the world, and developing tools, institutions and relationships to help make these voices heard.
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/globalvoices/
Global Voices is a global citizens' media project, sponsored by and launched from the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at the Harvard Law School.
The primary mission of Global Voices is twofold: 1) To call attention to the most interesting conversations and perspectives emerging from citizens' media around the world by linking to text, audio, and video blogs and other forms of grassroots citizens' media being produced by people around the world; 2) To facilitate the emergence of new citizens' voices through training, online tutorials, and publicizing the ways in which open-source and free tools can be used safely by people around the world to express themselves.
At a time when the international English-language media ignores many things that are important to large numbers of the world's citizens, Global Voices aims to redress some of the inequities in media attention by leveraging the power of citizens' media in new ways. To do this, they are experimenting with the use of aggregation and tagging technologies. They will be experimenting with weblogs, wikis, podcasting, live chats, aggregators and other forms of new media as they try to call attention to conversations and points of view that they hope will help shed new light on the nature of our inter-connected world.
+++ Print Global Degree and enjoy it over time +++
=========================
III. SIDEBAR: Kitto Katsu
=========================
"Kitto katsu" is a Japanese phrase used to wish students good luck before an exam. Due to this, Nestle has seen a huge increase in sales of its Kit Kat bar in Japan by parents giving the candy to their kids. You can't buy this kind of global marketing!
+++ HELP CREATE A GLOBAL DEGREE
+++ Please forward this issue to others
===============
IV. Global Wire
===============
Globalization news and findings from leading publications throughout the world.
+++ Courtesy of Keith Porter (http://globalization.about.com) +++
Why World News Matters (GradeTheNews.org)
http://globalization.about.com/b/a/171138.htm
Bill Clinton: The Clinton Global Initiative (Fox News)
http://209.254.132.170/home.nsf/pt_press11
David Brooks: In Africa, Life After AIDS (International Herald Tribune)
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/06/09/opinion/edbrooks.php
Security Check: Confronting Today's Global Threats (KQED Public Radio)
http://www.globalsecuritycheck.org/pd
A Keith Porter article:
Experts Agree: A Strong U.N. is Good for U.S.
http://globalization.about.com/od/unreform/a/gingrichmitch.htm
=======
V. Coda
=======
Globalization and the Gender Gap
I recently read an article on the corporate gender gap in one of my favorite magazines, The Week. It stated that one of the reasons for the gender gap in the workplace is that top executives usually come from the competitive (and profit producing) areas of sales, product development and strategic planning (usually male domains). Women tend to stay within marketing, public relations, human resources and finance. Thus, they are not groomed for the CEO spot.
Another suggested reason is the biological clock; prime childbearing years for women are also those most crucial to building a career through long hours and sacrifice.
The article finally stated, "...the corporate climate is actually becoming more Darwinian, not less. Wall Street demands constant growth and climbing profits, and globalization creates enormous pressure for productivity. That, in turn, requires executives to work exhausting schedules."
If there is an increased gender gap in the workplace, it is not because working mothers can't meet the "enormous pressure for productivity" that stems from globalization. Have you ever seen the multi-tasking ability of a mother? A day in the life of a mother, and more so a working mother, is the epitome of productivity. I've learned a lot from smart, hard-working women in the workplace, so I hope we can value the importance of a CEO/mother combination and reverse this flawed logic.
Wanting to be a mother is not the reason for a lack of top female executives, nor is the mounting force of globalization. Instead, it is the shortage of encouraging work environments.
**********
The Yes Men
A friend loaned me a documentary called The Yes Men. According to IMDB, the plot outline is as follows: Anti-corporate activists travel from conference to conference, impersonating members of the World Trade Organization.
Initially, I thought the concept was interesting. I didn't find the pranks particularly hilarious, but I have to give them credit for being somewhat creative. Further, their point is a strong one -- that we sometimes take for granted much of the information we receive simply because it is in the media or it comes from people who look like they are in charge (and should know what they are talking about).
However, I wasn't fully supportive of their methods. Even if we assume corporations, governments, the WTO, IMF and World Bank lie, it is a little unsettling that the "good guys" also lie by impersonating members of the WTO. Shedding light on potentially dishonest organizations is a good thing, but do it in a truthful way that garners just as much attention and builds just as much awareness. This takes even more creativity and hard work so as not to be yet another protest, but at least the "good guys" wouldn't be stooping to the level of lying to the public (even if to make a point).
It is considered unethical for a PR person when working with a journalist to lie in order to make a story more interesting, such as staging a photo opportunity (and yes, it still happens). Why, then, is it all right for an activist in The Yes Men to impersonate an official in order to get on a news program? It seems a little awkward to me.
Don't lie. Make convincing and compelling arguments in an interesting and funny, but honest, way.
--Mel Ochoa
===================
About Global Degree
===================
+++ Print Global Degree and enjoy it over time +++
With an increased global interdependence, Global Degree presents the many facets of globalization in a fresh and interesting manner to the widest possible audience. Global Degree is a medium for CEOs to exchange ideas with activists, for filmmakers to interact with politicians, and so forth. Each issue offers a timely, open and multidisciplinary discussion of globalization and its impact from different perspectives including, but not limited to, business, politics, academics, technology, economics, activism and foreign policy. Essays and interviews touch upon ideas, opinions and concepts related to trade, investment, technology, labor, governance, law, political and/or social unrest, the environment, and culture.
EDITOR:
Mel Ochoa
http://www.gdegree.com/about
Global Degree welcomes essay submissions, feedback/comments and suggestions for all sections. Email the editor directly or visit http://www.gdegree.com/submit for essay submission guidelines.
No part of this publication, advertising or editorial, may be reproduced without written permission of the editor and individual essayists. The Global Degree subscription list will not be sold for third-party marketing or advertising purposes. The opinions expressed herein are those of the contributors and not necessarily shared by the Global Degree staff. Inclusion of a product or service in Global Degree does not imply an editorial endorsement. All editorial rights reserved. Copyright 2003, 2004, 2005 Mel Ochoa.
SUBSCRIBE: http://www.gdegree.com/subscribe
+++ HELP CREATE A GLOBAL DEGREE
+++ Please forward this to others |
