Midterm

Kawika Kakugawa
Film 301/314
Prof. Greene
10, October 09
Global Idol
We are all familiar with the “American Idol” where we watch people compete in a singing talent search in order to win the grand prize of a record deal. This successful franchise serves as a template for countries across the globe. Three shows will be presented. Ethiopian Idol which is a singing and general talent game show, where the contestants compete to become the next Ethiopian Idol. Ethiopian Idol is produced by ETV and broadcast in Ethiopia as well as online by JumpTV.com. Pinoy Idol, which just completed its first season, last year, is a new singing game show to the Philippines. It is produced by GMA and broadcast to the Philippines and online at iGMA.TV. The last show which can be seen as the first show is American Idol, the template for the idol shows, is going into its ninth season. It’s produced and broadcast in the United States by Fox broadcasting company. From these three shows using the same franchised structure we can see the homogeneity that is created; as well as, how it creates a sense of fragmentation among nations.
The homogeneity comes from how the show is presented and the engines used to motivate the viewer to participate in the show, because in the recent period audiences don’t just watch shows they watch real people on shows as they attempt to play a game or compete for a prize (Keane, Moran, p.155-169). The engine that Keane and Moran identify for the idol franchises is the engine of the viewer being able to vote would be pop-stars into the ranks of celebrity(Keane,. These similar structure and engines is what creates a sense of homogeneity.
These Idol shows while creating a sense of similarity among these countries also create a sense that the world is still fragmented, by making it a regional competition with regional judges and contestants. This is because the judges and contestants don’t have the same star value and recognition (Tay, Karen). One example can be seen comparing the star value of the winner of Ethiopian Idol to the winner of American Idol. Also the titles of these shows are named after the country that is holding the contest limiting those outside of citizenship of the country from competing. By limiting those outside of citizenship from competing the show creates a national identity for the winners and watchers of the show; however, this creation of national identity is what creates the sense of fragmentation.
So through using the same show structure there is some sort of homogeneity. The show is set up to help reinforce a national identity, which in turn fragments this homogeneity. This is shown by the shows difference in star power on the shows both from the judges and from the contestants.







Works Cited
Keane, Michael and Moran, Albert. “Television’s New Engines.”
Television and New Media.9.2 (2008): 155-169.
Tay, Karen. "IDOL vice." EBSCO. 17 May 2009. Web. 22 Oct. 2009. .

Nation Project

Kawika Kakugawa

Film 301

Professor Green

September 23, 2009

Blank Nation

The concept of a nation is abstract and difficult to understand. The traditional definition, of a nation, is a stable political and geographical entity that creates an imagined community. This community has a shared language, culture, ethnicity, and history. The interpretation of Santiago Sierra’s photography display of “Palabra Tapada” (Covered Word) challenges the concept of nation by taking away the definition, in which a nation identifies itself with. A nation’s definition fail, both political and geographical, for it doesn’t have a symbol to represent its definition, or the imagined community that it produced. This is shown by the artwork in the way it makes the covered word undefined.

In order to better understand how “Palabra Tapada” undermines the traditional definition of a nation the artwork must be described in further in detail. It is composed of four photos. The photos are all of Pavilions. Three of the pavilions have the name of Spain over them, but the fourth pavilion has the name Spain covered by black plastic and masking tape.

Covering up the sign on the fourth pavilion the artwork challenges the traditional definition of a nation by covering up the social fact of what the sign shows. “Social facts are when the imagination has become a collective” (Appadurai, 5). The collective understands the social fact that Spain is a nation. The artwork takes away the meaning to the word Spain. The artwork takes away the word and doing so takes away the sign of the ideology of what Spain represents.

This can be supported by the cultural systems that preceded the idea of the nation. One of these cultural systems was religion, which had worked primarily sacred language and script (Anderson, 13). Because these people could identify with other people of the same religion they could imagine people in there community that they never have met (Anderson, 18).

So by covering up the sign you cover up its sacred language. Taking away the linking force between people and imagined communities, for neither of them have a set of signs to identify similar ideologies. This means that they can’t imagine anyone outside the people they meet, because there is no title to give these imagined community members.

Covering up the sign also covers up its borders, because when the title of the demarked territory is taken, it becomes unmarked, which takes away the border marks that outlined the territory. “In modern conception, state sovereignty is fully, flatly, and evenly operative over each square centimeter of a legally demarked” (Anderson, 19).

Santiago Sierra’s “Palabra Tapada” successfully challenges the traditional definition of a nation. Covering up Spain’s name, which covers up the definition of what the word represents, imagined community, demarked territory, and a sacred language. Some key qualities that make up our traditional definition of a nation.

Works Cited

Anderson, Bennidict. “Cultural Roots.”

Imagined Communities: Reflections on the origins and spread of nationalism. Revised Edition. London and New York: verso, 2006

Appadurai, Ajurn. Modernity at large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization.1996. Public

Worlds Series. Eds. Dilip Gaonkar and Benjamin Lee. Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press, 2008.