The Complex Process of Cultural Globalization in a Rapidly Changing Society: Television Drama Reception Among the Malays

• Main Author: Ilias, Md Salleh
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English; English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: HM Sociology.
• Online Access: http://etd.uum.edu.my/2721/1/Ilias_Md_Salleh.pdf; http://etd.uum.edu.my/2721/2/1.Ilias_Md_Salleh.pdf; http://etd.uum.edu.my/2721/
• Institution: Universiti Utara Malaysia

The purpose of this study is to understand how the rapid process of cultural globalization affects the Malaysian television industry and the Malays culturally. The privatization of television and the increasing tendency to import foreign dramas as well as its impact on the audience has renewed the interest of researchers in the communication industry at the international level. This study focuses on Malaysia which represents most of the characteristics of the situation in many rapidly changing societies. In light of this, the study will attempt to provide evidence to the cultural globalization debate through the five processes of the “circuit of culture”: production, consumption, identity, representation and regulation (du Gay et al., 1997). These processes were examined for the ways they manifested in the television industry in Malaysia, how cultural globalization is influencing the process, and at the same time how cultural globalization is being produced through the processes. To collect data, two methods used for this study are content analysis and, in-depth interviews. The first, look at the values and life-styles portrayed in local as well as foreign dramas shown on prime-time Malaysian television. The second approach will explore the Malay viewers' consumption of foreign as well as local dramas portrayed on Malaysian television detailing the changing uses of television in different types of families from different social positions. Results of the study showed that with rapid process of cultural globalization, Malaysian prime-time television dramas portrayed more Western values and lifestyles. Amongst the Malays, especially the youngsters, there were also evidences of the adoption of other Western values like individualism and consumerism. Through the circuit of culture, it was also shown that the deregulation and the convergence of telecommunications together with the privatization drive by the government brought about drastic changes to the Malaysian broadcasting scene. Together, this has brought about accusations of cultural globalization through Western television dramas that have also been increasingly accused of having negative influence on the morals of society. However, as shown by the findings of the study, television consumption and the audience perception is indeed a diverse and complex process. Research results showed that there are ambivalences whereby different families studied had surprisingly differing perceptions of the same television content. The study concluded that, any investigation into cultural globalization and the consumption of television within the family could only be understood in the overall context of family life and the circuit of culture.