Essay on "Hollywood vs. Bollywood"

Essay 5 pages (1419 words) Sources: 5

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Hollywood vs. Bollywood

Society has started to express more and more interest in Bollywood during the recent years, as the Indian film environment experienced significant progress. In contrast to Hollywood, Bollywood is not a physical place, with Indians having built a motion picture industry meant to reflect Western film style. Even with that, Bollywoodian films are adapted to Indian cultural values and are apparently meant to principally address local audiences. The general public has become supportive concerning this particular industry, however, and Bollywood's actors and films gained recognition in the West. It is difficult and almost impossible to determine whether Bollywood is better than Hollywood or vice-versa, as these two film industries largely address different publics and put across thinking that can be associated with the Indian, and, respectively, the Western environments.

While most people considered that Bollywood was a simple imitation of Hollywood, films produced by the Indian motion picture industry in the recent years demonstrate that it can actually be a rival to the Los Angeles film business. Bollywood no longer addresses a local audience as some films that have been created by it in the last few years were provided with particular attention from an international public. Although most people are likely to believe that Hollywood cannot even be compared with Bollywood, it is probable that the latter will experience a significant evolution in the near future.

Bollywood is traditionally considered to be the result of a South-Asian public interested in having access to Western films. Given that people in India were unable to see Western films in the second half of the twentieth century, the authorities got actively engaged in providing them with an equivalent that was even better because it contained a series of elements present in their culture. "South Asian diasporic filmmakers have gained access to resources in many different ways, including Hollywood financing, state funding, and multinational sponsorship"(Desai, 2004, p. 38). Even with that, the Indian film industry does not rival Hollywood's businesses, as it simply inspires from it in order to employ the perfect formula in achieving success while presenting its motion pictures to an international public. Trans-national corporations in the U.S. dominate the global media and virtually make it impossible for film industries from other countries to rival its enterprises. Moreover, Bollywood is not only faced with Hollywood's contemporary actors and films, as it has to deal with a long history of successful films that were provided with credit from the international public across the twentieth century and in the last few years.

In contrast to Bollywood, Hollywood "operates within a postindustrial mode so that it seeks to acquire and distribute "independent" alternative films without involvement in production" (Desai, 2004, p. 38). However, the Indian cinema has recently expressed interest in expanding its influence and in having international audiences identify it as Bollywood rather than associating it with India in particular. Bollywoodians are concerned about having the world know that they are capable of producing films that are not only meant to address Indian viewers and do everything in their power in order to succeed.

Danny Boyle's 2008 motion picture Slumdog Millionaire is one of the last of a series of Bollywoodian films that have impressed the international public through the concepts that it put across. This film managed to have audiences feel less hesitant about liking a motion picture made in what they previously associated with a cheap imitation of Hollywood. In spite of the fact that it addresses an international public, the film contains a great deal of elements related to Indian cultural values and most of the actors playing in it are Indian. Films such as this one have influenced the masses in acknowledging that Bollywood is no longer a local alternative to Hollywood, as it is almost as important as the real thing, especially when considering that the film received eight Oscars. The director cleverly introduced elements related to globalization, a new India, and the harsh conditions of Mumbai's streets with the purpose of having viewers familiar with the general environment in India. What is surprising about this particular motion picture is that it is very difficult from typical Bollywoodian musicals. While some might argue that the film is not 100% Indian because of the nationality… READ MORE

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