Indian Idol?

I am no stranger to the international scene. I grew up in England experiencing a different culture most of my childhood. No matter how different the culture seemed to be, my very homesick American mother could always count on the media to keep her up to date with “home.”

The same seems to be the case with international Lindenwood student, Sakshi Bagai. We sat down to talk about the media in India and I was quite shocked to hear that it is not really all that different from the United States.

Adopting popular shows such as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and American Idol is becoming more common in India. This might be because Indians look up to western culture for examples.

“Modern generations are changing the culture,” Sakshi says about the move from traditional music to more contemporary popular music. The younger generation is so influenced by western culture that Rock music and Pop are dominating the radio airwaves.

Bollywood is the Indian equivalent of our Hollywood and ‘news’ about the actors fills as much of our television screens as it does in India. American movies are quite popular as well. Sakshi said, “People line up on Fridays to see the new releases, American cinema is very big in India.”

Having just witnessed Superbowl Sunday in the U. S., Sakshi could relate that back to the game of cricket in India. “It is a very big deal when India plays someone like Australia. You see so many advertisements on the television.”

It seems to all be very alike at this point, until we hit the subject of news. News has its local and national segments, but there is a stronger focus on international news. The news is also raw, sometimes showing things we might never see in the U.S. The topics of news in India are also different. There is more of a concentration on politics and the economy.

With surprising similarities in taste of bad television like The Bachelor, and a ridiculous need to know all the details of a Hollywood or Bollywood actors life, it is interesting to see our connections. But what do they learn about Americans through the media? Coming from a very conservative society in which women are always covered up, they believe American girls reveal too much of their bodies. Sakshi also said that her opinion of Americans before moving here for school was one of openness and being blunt. However, after living here she feels that there is much to learn and not all the assumptions from the movies are correct.