Moksha World

WHY YOU SHOULD BE WATCHING INTERNATIONAL TV

I’ve always been fascinated with other cultures. When I was 10 years old I had a list of about 15 languages I decided I wanted to learn after looking at writing samples in an encyclopedia. I loved a book my parents bought me about a brother and sister whose parents worked at the United Nations. For their birthday party they invited all their friends to come in national costume. I loved all of them but my least favorite were the twins as cowboys. I think that was my first hint that I didn’t relate to popular American culture. Not that I disapprove, but as a young child growing up in New York City, in public school, my concept of “American” was influenced by the city’s diversity. Cowboys were no more real to me than something I read about in books or saw on TV – about as real as ninjas in my mind.

The first time I felt really connected with a character was a Chinese movie with Gong Li. Of course there isn’t a direct parallel between my life and her character. But I understood her conflict and subsequent actions. A few years later I ended up working for the International Emmy Awards for a summer job that continued for 12 years. After more than a decade watching international television programs as my job, international programming is still the majority of my TV viewing. We viewed hundreds of programs each year and it occurred to me early on that the differences in programming from country to country were in fact not that big. There were programs based on books, history, love stories, family or work conflicts, crime, mysteries, etc. The issues the characters faced were similar even though the attitudes and circumstances vary. 

Netflix and Amazon have made international programming easily accessible and offer a great way to learn about the lives of people you may not otherwise be in contact with. There are also newer VOD services like MhZ offering great international content. We can hear conversations in other languages, learn about different holidays, customs, and food. Often our preconceptions of people are shown to be superficial or wrong and we come to learn about the different reasons underlying these misconceptions.

This blog will be used to highlight programs that have caused me to re-think my opinions. After years of reflection, this is the forum I chose to explore the positive ways that television can influence us. The thoughts I plan to share are not to present an absolute truth but rather spark discussion about our experiences and learn from each other about human nature. Perhaps even avoid some mistakes…more on that in a later post!

As different programs are discussed, I would like to open up discussion with the following questions (for starters!):

• What international shows are you watching?

• Do you feel TV accurately reflects life in your own city or country?

• Which types of programs from your country do you relate to the most?

• Are there programs you feel have misrepresented your city or country?

• What are your thoughts about companies like Netflix and Amazon making claims about bringing “high-level programming” to local production areas? Is this positive or does it detract from their unique style?