West, East and in between
The session “East+West,” lead by Mexican, Enrique Arroyo Schroeder, was dedicated to the relations between the cultures of the East and West. Different values from the media of the East and West were compared. What was also discussed was the use of new technologies in inter- and intra-cultural dialogue. The introduction to the panel, and a very good base, was a South Korean popular-science program dedicated to the perception of objects and surroundings, which differentiates Asians from Westerners. The viewers criticized the enormous amount of effects, but praised the objectivism and openness to the world shown in the film.
On the other hand, the game show for teenagers titled “Golden Bell Challenge” showed a completely different approach to the idea of confrontation than the Western one. Of 100 female students, only one was to remain. Yes there was no fight, but rather competition. The creators of the program, Sung II Choi and Rak-Sun Lee, claimed that in Korea that rule “the winner takes it all” hasn’t caught on. However, they emphasized that the show is just as popular as the licensed American versions of shows such as “Who wants to be a millionaire?” Also, the program presenters were positively assessed as well as the use of subtitles instead of the classic voiceover.
The second of the presented game shows was very Western. “Canada’s Next Great Prime Minister” showed young people, university students, who wanted to become… the prime minister of Canada. The four finalists answered questions from a jury formed by top Canadian politicians, presented their competence, and demonstrated the attitude of young people towards democracy. The program was prepared heavy reliance on YouTube and based on video clips sent in by young viewers. “A very Canadian program.” claimed the INPUT participants, though they doubted whether it would work in Western Europe. The producer replied that as of now it has been sold to 11 countries, including Bulgaria, India, and Germany. What’s worth noticing is that the episode of CNGPM presented was previously popularized through the Internet. The authors intentionally made it available to the public in p2p.
Finally, an episode of the global magazine “Metropolis” was showed. This Dutch program employed correspondents in many countries to jointly present, let’s say, the concept of beauty and confront the way it is perceived in different cultures.
