Media and Its Impact in Shaping Minority Youth Identity - Research Proposal Example

 Media and its impact in shaping minority youth identity Introduction: In today’s global world, most Western societies are being multi racial and multi ethnic. Within the UK, there has been an influx of immigrant populations within the last decades and immigrants from the Indian subcontinent and Asia– Indians and Pakistanis form a substantial segment of the immigrant population that has settled down in the UK. On the one hand, globalization appears to be aiding increasing assimilation of Asians into British society, helping them to evolve into typical British youth, thereby lending credence to theories of homogenization caused by globalization. On the other hand however, media theories such as imperialism suggest that such imposition of the dominant society – the English – may not be welcome among the minority populations and there may be an emerging and ever urgent need among the less dominant population to cling to their cultural values in an effort to avoid a complete displacement of their cultural roots, norms and practices. For young British Asians, the struggle to shape and develop identity within a dominant white society is a challenging one. For young second generation Asians, the struggle to reconcile the cultural values and beliefs of their parents with the values of the society they live in and interact with is a Herculean task. This study examines whether the media in particular plays its role in shaping British Asian identity and whether the content of TV programs aid these young ethnic group to assimilate better into British society. The research question: Does the media influence the development of identity among young British Asians? Literature Review: Waters views globalization as a “social process” in which the limitations imposed by geography are receding (Waters, 1995: 3). According to the world theory of globalization, the world is a system that is comprised of “multiple cultural systems” (Wallerstein 1974: 390). According to Waters, these social exchanges of symbols, tastes and values are such that “material exchanges localize; political exchanges internationalize; and symbolic exchanges globalize.” (Waters 1995: 9). Therefore Waters sees a social transformation taking place. Critics of globalization argue that it leads to a homogenization or hybridization of cultures, so that the rich diversity of local culture and traditions may be irretrievably lost. (Nederveen Pieterse 1995; Robertson 1995). The imposition of one dominant culture upon another as a part of the globalization process is the cultural imperialism theory that emerged in the 1960’s - in direct opposition to the Marxist critiques of capitalism (Schiller 1976). The beliefs, values, behavioral patterns and norms of the economically dominant nations are imposed upon the weaker ones (Salwen 1991). Such cultural domination is viewed as a particularly dangerous process because it produces a homogenization of culture in line with dominant countries such as the United States – “the fundamental concepts of a society’s national image are remodeled in the American image” (White, 1983: 120). Studies on ethnicity have examined the role of the media in the formation of diasporic identities. The model of cultural imperialism proposes a one way transmission of culture from the dominant to the subordinate culture, over a period of time and this may be examined through ethnographic studies. For instance, where television viewing in Britain is concerned, the model of imperialism proposes a direct one way transmission of British culture onto the Asian youth. Morley and Silverstone have suggested that in order to effectively analyze TV viewing, it is necessary to investigate the context of the activity and to assess how it impacts upon everyday activities. (Morley and Silverstone, 1991:149). Appadurai (1990) proposes the cultural flows/networks model whereby there is no distinct source from which information flows rather there is a network of interconnectivity through the media, ideas, finances, etc which produces a cultural diffusion that is unstructured and may sometimes result in contradicting flows in two directions (Couldry, 2000, p 96). Thus, the forces of globalization which appear to moot a mass move towards Westernization, primarily through the media, may produce homogeneity and heterogeneity at the same time. Ang and Stratton (1996) have pointed out that the immigrants to Britain are no longer able to retain their identity in exactly same form that it existed in their home land, as a result of which their transplanted positions generate the “possibility of developing a post-imperial British identity” (p 383-84). For example, cultural identity may be conditioned by both place and ethnicity, so that a British Muslim is a global citizen in that he is not circumscribed by the boundaries of his home country, yet retains his ethnic culture in a global framework (Eade 1977). According to Gillespie (1995) cultural consumption through the media plays a vital role in defining and reconstituting ethnic and other “cultural” identities. (p 11). She conducted a study among young Punjabi people in the Southall area in London to examine the impact of a specific television program of Australian origin titled “neighbors” which they watched, on their identities. She found that while some young people tended to react by focusing primarily on the values generated within their own culture, others sought to make translations between the characters in the soap opera and interpose the culture they viewed upon their own cultural values.(Gillespie, 1995: 18-19). The results of her study showed that the youth tended to make comparisons between the values and interactions that were portrayed in the television soap with the relationships existing in their own environment and wishfully hope for interactions in their own environment which would be in line with that they watched on TV, such as the politeness in interactions, for example. This soap formed the basis for discussions among the young people on the problems they experience in their own lives and girls were noticeably more active participants in such discussions as compared to the boys (Gillespie, 1995: 144-6). Gillespie states that the youth therefore use the media in order to negotiate a separate identity for themselves that addresses their dual need to relate to their peers who are of a different ethnicity while simultaneously trying to maintain the value systems of their parents. Gillespie’s study is significant in that she has tried to provide a concept for ethnicity that incorporates a dynamic idea of culture that also takes into account gray areas and individual representations of ethnicity rather than one adopting a purely black and white approach, as being one ethnicity or the other. Her study therefore appears to suggest that the development of ethnicity may not necessarily be limited to one’s parent culture or the culture of the environment, rather it is an evolving concept that integrates both cultures. Gillespie has argued that the modes of engagement and the responses demonstrated by viewers is shaped by their gender, their class and their life experiences. (Gillespie, 2000: 196). Therefore, on this basis, there appears to be some support for the proposition that television viewing shapes viewer perceptions in accordance with the context within which the viewing activity appears, hence the environment plays a role in the reaction of the viewer. Gillespie’s work appears to suggest that viewers are more inclined to integrate the values that are being transmitted in the TV programs into the environmental context they view them in. Methodology: According to Saunders et al (2003), defining the aims and objectives of the research study is important to generate evidence of the “the researcher’s clear sense of purpose and direction.”(p 25). My objective was to interview as many British Asians as possible over a period of time and also question their parents about their TV viewing preferences. I had a small questionnaire which I used as a guideline in trying to determine the kind of programs both generations watched and assess the differences, if any and the reasons for such differences. The research question that I posed was: “Does the media influence the development of ethnic identity among British Asians? Kind of programs watched: In answering the research question, I asked the participants – mostly young people in the age range of 18-25 but also some elders, questions about which specific TV programs they watched. The aim of the exercise was to determine whether they preferred the ethnic programs such as “The Kumars of 42nd Street” and films from India or whether they preferred mainstream British programs and British films. I was surprised to find that most of the young British Asians appeared to be very fond of films from their country and I found about 80% of respondents preferred films from Mumbai. However, I did not find such a distinct preference being expressed in so far as purely ethnic TV programs are concerned. It was mostly the older population who appeared to watch only ethnic programs while a majority of the youngsters appeared to prefer both British and Asian programs. The release of Bollywood films in the UK has now exceeded home produced British films. For example, in the year 2005, there were a total of 74 Indian films that were released in the UK, as compared to only 61 British films. (Hastings and Jones, 2006). Moreover, several ethnic programs have been broadcasted by BBC and one among these is titled Nai Zindagi Naya Jeevan which is a program of historical importance, which ran for 15 years on this channel. (Burrell, 2004) Another program that is very successful is the Kumars of 42nd Street. Therefore the results obtained in my study appeared to support the position that young British Asians appear to enjoy ethnic TV programs and reveal a marked preference for ethnic films. Impact upon identity: Another aspect of my study was to determine whether the kind of programs watched played a role in shaping the identity of the young people. As pointed out by William Trochim (2001), every study has a qualitative as well as a quantitative element to it, since even a numerical response may involve several shades of meaning and even purely verbal responses can be counted. Therefore, it is the approach adopted by the researcher and the nature of the conclusions that are sought to be drawn which will dictate the choice of method. In arriving at a determination of whether media watching preferences impacted upon minority identity, I used a purely qualitative approach, since a subjective element was involved in this study, in assessing the responses offered by the participants. I asked them how important those ethnic programs were to them in helping them to feel a link to their motherland. A large majority of the respondents were indifferent to the question of feeling a link with their motherland, rather they were of the view that such programs were important because it helped them to better integrate their ethnic identity with the mainstream population. Therefore the reason propelling their choices appeared to reveal a clear and distinct leaning towards establishing an identity for themselves in a land that was different from that of their origin. This result is similar tot hat which was found in the study by Gillespie, who pointed out that young Asian people used the character sin the TV programs as role models to pull out favorable traits and incorporate them into their own identity in order to help them feel a better sense of belonging. Also, another aspect that is important to note is that most of my viewers also watched British programs, rather than exclusively preferring ethnic programs which appears to further substantiate the conclusion that these programs are important to the young people in establishing a sense of their own identity. Lastly, the differences obtained in the responses of young people and the older generation further reflects this search for identity. While the older generation, comprising mostly first generation Asians, are well settled into their identity and link to their own motherland, it is the younger Asians who appear to feel the need to integrate their identity into the British melting pot. During the course of my discussions with them, many respondents also revealed that they regularly attend nightclubs specifically geared for Asians although other British people are also allowed, and in a similar manner, British viewer ship of Bollywood is also on the rise. This suggests the development of a composite British identity that tries to coordinate their ethnic roots with the values of their British peers. Conclusion: Therefore, in answer to my research question about whether the nature of media viewer ship affects the development of identity in young British Asians, the results of the study appear to substantiate and affirm the question. The choice of young British Asians to watch ethnic TV programs as well as British programs suggests that they are trying to evolve a composite identity comprised of both cultures. Bibliography Ang, Ien and Stratton, Jon, 1996. “On the impossibility of a global cultural studies: “British” cultural studies in an “international” frame.” IN Morley, David and Chen, Kuan-Hsing (edn) Stuart Hall: Critical studies in cultural studies. London: Routledge at pp 361-391. Appadurai, A, 1990. Disjuncture and difference in the global cultural economy Public Culture, 2: 1-24 Burrell, Ian, 2004. “The media Column: terrestrial TV either ignores Asians or casts them in stereotypical roles.” The Independent, August 17, 2004. Couldry, N, 2000. The Place of Media Power: Pilgrims and witnesses of the media age. London: Routledge Eade, John, 1997. (Ed) Living the Global City: Globalisation as Local Process. London, Routledge Gillespie, Marie, 1995. “Television, Ethnicity and Cultural Change” London”: Routledge Gillespie, Marie, 2000. “Transnational communications and diaspora communities.” IN Cottle, S, “Ethnic minorities and the media: Changing cultural boundaries.” Open University Press Hastings, Chris and Jones, Beth, 2006. “Bollywood is more successful in UK than British made Films Nine productions make it into top 10 and three more take more than pounds 1 million at the box office.” Sunday telegraph, August 20, 2006. 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