Question

The most commercially successful filmmaker of all time, Steven Last Samurai and the Kill Bill movies, Westerners are better at martial Spielberg, is synonymous with U.S. cinema. He has directed and pro arts than Asians are. Nations with deep religious values were offended duced international blockbusters such as Jurassic Park, Transformers, by Brokeback Mountain, which portrayed a homosexual relationship and the Indiana Jones movies. But his movies have been criticized between two cowboys in the United States. Crucial to U.S. dominance because of the values represented in his films, which are often of world cinema is widespread acceptance of the cultural associations viewed as part of the larger trend of the Americanization of global inherent in Hollywood films, an obstacle competitors must overcome. values and beliefs. U.S. stars and Hollywood directors are well established in the interna- Jurassic Park ignited a storm of protest. Film critics and cultural tional movie scene, with worldwide drawing power. ministries around the globe found it to be a brainless film, lacking plot and succeeding wholly through special effects and big-budget Movies and Comparative Advantage bells and whistles. French officials labeled the film a threat to their According to the theory of comparative advantage, countries should national identity specialize in producing what they do best and import the rest. Hollywood movies-for example, Hotel Rwanda and Blood Economists argue this theory applies to films as much as to any in- Diamond-consistently portray Africa as scenically beautiful but dustry. As a former Canadian prime minister remarked, "Movies are terrible in every other way. Other films, for example, Independence culture incarnate. It is mistaken to view culture as a commodity.... Day, depict Africa as a land of backward villagers and tribal warriors. Cultural industries, aside from their economic impact, create prod- The popular movie Lost in Translation came under fire for portraying ucts that are fundamental to the survival of Canada as a society." Japanese people as robotic characters who mix up their Ls and Rs. Thus, some countries attempt to block imports of movies from the The image-conscious Japanese were disappointed by their depiction United States in an effort to protect their own film industries. as comic relief. In a scene in which Bill Murray's character is taking a shower in a five-star hotel, he has to bend and contort to get his A Cultural Dilemma head under the showerhead. Another scene, in which Murray is Despite plenty of arguments on both sides of this ongoing debate, shown towering at least a foot above an elevator full of local busi- many big-budget Hollywood movies these days are fact multina- nessmen, mocks the smaller physique of the Japanese. The film was tional creations. The James Bond thriller Quantum of Solace, with seen to reinforce negative stereotypes about the Japanese. its German-Swiss director and stars hailing from Britain, Ukraine, Today, American studios produce 80 percent of the films viewed and France, was filmed in Britain, Panama, Chile, Italy, and Austria. internationally, after aerospace, Hollywood is often the United Russell Crowe, Charlize Theron, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, and States' largest net export. In contrast, the European film industry Daniel Craig are just a few of the many global stars not from the is now about one-ninth the size it was in 1945, and today, foreign United States. Two of the seven major film companies collectively films hold less than 1 percent of the U.S. market. The copyright known as Hollywood aren't even U.S. firms. Hollywood is not as based industries, which also include software, books, music, and TV, American as it once was. contributed more to the U.S. economy in the 2000s than any single As the lines connecting Hollywood with the United States are manufacturing sector. Although the United States imports few for increasingly blurred, protectionists should not abandon their quest eign films, Hollywood's output remains in high demand worldwide. to save the intellectual and artistic quality of films. In an interview with the New York Times, French director Eric Rohmer stated that his Stereotypes and Religious Values countrymen should fight back with high-quality movies, not protec- Under attack since their origin, Hollywood war films are widely tion. "I am a commercial film maker. I am for free competition and accused of presenting biased accounts of history. According to The am not supported by the state."

Explain how the below key concept are linked to this case (i.e. how the key concepts you have learned in this topic is applied in this case study?)

Culture and Cross-Cultural Risk

Culture is the values, beliefs, customs, arts, and other products of human thought and work that characterize the people of a given society. Cross-cultural risk arises from a situation or event in which a cultural misunderstanding puts some human value at stake. Values and attitudes are shared beliefs or norms that individuals have internalized.

•             Dimensions of Culture

Culture is reflected by various dimensions, including our values and attitudes; manners and customs; time and space perceptions; symbolic, material, and creative expressions; education; and social structure. Social structure is characterized by individuals, family, and groups as well as by social stratification and mobility. Monochronic cultures exhibit a rigid orientation to time in which the individual is focused on schedules, punctuality, and time as a resource. Polychronic cultures have a flexible, nonlinear orientation to time in which the individual takes a long-term perspective.

•             Role of Language and Religion in Culture

There are nearly 7000 active languages in the world, of which Mandarin Chinese, Hindi, English, Spanish, and Arabic are among the most common. Language has both verbal and non- verbal characteristics and is conditioned by our environment. Sometimes it is hard to find words to convey the same meaning in different languages. Religion provides meaning and motivation that define people’s ideals and values and affects culture and international business deeply. The four main religions are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.

•             Culture’s Effect in international business

In international business, culture affects management of employees, marketing activities, and interaction with customers and partners. Culture influences the design of products and services. It affects the firm’s internal environment and how managers perceive and deal with business tasks.

•             Models and Explanations of Culture

Culture can be interpreted through cultural metaphors, distinctive traditions or institutions that serve as a guide or map for deciphering attitudes, values, and behavior. An idiom is an expression whose symbolic meaning is different from its literal meaning. Low-context cultures rely on elaborated verbal explanations, putting much emphasis on spoken words. High-context cultures emphasize nonverbal communications and a more holistic approach to communication that promotes harmonious relationships. Hofstede’s typology of cultural dimensions consists of individualism versus collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity versus femininity, long-term versus short-term orientation, and indulgence versus restraint.

•             Managerial implications of Culture

Most corporations exhibit a distinctive set of norms, values, and beliefs that distinguish them from other organizations. Managers can misinterpret the extent to which a counter- part’s behavior is attributable to national, professional, or corporate culture. Ethnocentric orientation refers to using one’s own culture as the standard for judging other cultures. Polycentric orientation refers to a host country mindset that gives the manager greater affinity with the country in which she or he conducts business. Geocentric orientation refers to a global mindset by which the manager can understand a business or market without regard to country boundaries. National culture influences consumer behavior, managerial effectiveness, and the range of value-chain operations such as product and service design and marketing activities. Managers need to develop understanding and skills in dealing with other cultures and should avoid cultural bias and engage in critical incident analysis to avoid the self- reference criterion.

Answer 1

Culture and Cross-culture risks: it is argued in the case that the Hollywood films have harmed and shown misrepresentation of the facts which are in history. Many films like Last Samurai have misrepresented the culture and the cross-culture risk which are sometimes not liked by the audiences who belong to that cultural background. Due to this, there is a high level of dissatisfaction among the people about the subject content of the movies. Movies are for entertainment but somehow the people link their lives to the movies and thus a dissatisfaction is emerged due to some facts which are presented in the fake movies.

Dimensions of Culture: this is also understood as there are some facts which are not true and the makers represent the wrong fact of the history which are not liked by the people. This hams the cultural dimensions of the people.

Role of language and religion in culture: the language and religion have a very vast impact on culture. There are many movies which show the culture. It has also represented the religion and culture of the people as the movies are made in various languages so that people can easily relate to the movies and they can understand the content and learn more about their culture.

Culture’s Effect in international business: Hollywood movies are made on different topics and different cultures which have harmed the development of other country's movie production. That is what some of the countries have banned Hollywood movies to helps their movies to get established and get recognized. Some movies have also affected the sentiments of the people and had not presented the right facts about their culture. Therefore culture affects international business.on the other side, many Hollywood actors are not from American origin but they have a very distinctive role in Hollywood.

Models and Explanation of cultures: Movies are responsible for representing the culture. Thre are various movies that present the true depiction of the culture. They also represent the models and present the explanation of the culture. They also focus on representing the values of the people who are attached to it.

Managerial implications of Culture: Due to cultural differences there may be differences of opinions which hampers the culture of the actors and the managers. This may generate some differences between them which is obvious.