Essay Sample on De-Westernizing Asian Knowledge: Reclaiming Media Production

Introduction

De-westernizing knowledge is widely advocated for in Asia. For a long time, Asia has been termed a continent that is still developing and needs "help" to grow. The help has come in the form of education and technology but based on the Western. Asia is, however, now ready to build media and production on its own. De-westernisation requires breaking away from euro-centered practice and interrogating Asian-Pacific ideas in academic knowledge (Hack, 2013). Asian scholars in media production are still unknown globally, and their content is yet to be fully incorporated into the teaching curriculum. The available knowledge is mainly applicable to Europe and America, whereas the cultural and sociology of Asia is different. Asia is gradually shifting from imperialism into defending the culture of the continent.

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Continent Asia is generally a preservative continent, with its culture being quite different from the Western. The media plays a significant role in influencing the masses, which explains why mass production is a crucial area to focus on in de-westernization. The original ideas, which were introduced in the curriculum decade ago, cannot be eliminated but must be modified to fit in an Asian context. The contribution of writers such as Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, is still felt in theory and can be adjusted to the cultural expectation of the Asian people (Hack, 2013 ).

One step towards de-westernisation is the provincialisation of originally western theories through critical translation. The initial idea is maintained while thinking about the culture of the learners. Such an approach stimulates creativity, with learners having to link the theory they read in books to their daily lives. It is also an opportunity for non-western regions to show the world that their media can grow on its own, upholding international levels but maintain regional culture. The practice should, however, not be confused for competition between Euro-American theories and Asian-Pacific theories. It is an improvement in production by adjusting to the needs of the target audience (Iwabuchi, 2014).

The Asia-Pacific region is quickly catching up with the rest of the world, which makes it necessary that media production breaks away from western dominance. Many research projects are still euro-centrically biased, with foreign-imposed assumptions and standards that are centered on modernity, without consideration of the Asian culture (Lee, 2016). Asians can also generate valid ideas that can be relevant to the rest of the world. The most renowned scholar in demand for de-westernization in media production is Curran and Park, who in 2000 encouraged a revision of western theories, beliefs, methods, and epistemologies that were taught in no-western settings.

De-westernising Asia, where the British colonization is still felt, with structures and practices still standing after more a hundred years, is not easy. Asia is a culturally rich content, with productive ideas on Hinduism and Buddhism, indigenous religions. An example is the Subaltern Studies which have become common in Asia. Introduced by Ranjit Guha in 1982, it is the best known Indian discourse in media studies. However, western theories have been prioritized, and such original ideas are never propagated in media production. It was a key concept applied to fight for the rights of peasants based on Marx's capitalism theory, but has now been abandoned, even by Asians.

Q3: Pros and Cons of Implementing a British Style Creative Industries Policy within AsiaThe mentality of going to school to study and getting jobs is still dominant in the Asian continent. However, the creative industry has a different perspective. Asians are talented, and the skills can be brought out without having to step in a class to read and write. Creatives create jobs and employ others, providing a solution to one of Asia's biggest problems: unemployment. The running of the creative industry has nevertheless raised concerns about running the British style. Asia is still wrapped in the remains of colonization mentally, still using British structures for its curriculum. While the system has its positives, it has elements that derail the Asian creative industry behind.

The Pros

The British system allows the diverse development of creativity. Asia is currently facing an employment crisis, with its residents moving out of the region to look for jobs elsewhere. The British system is diverse enough to bridge citizens to their dreams, from acting, craft, drawing, photography, among others. The British system also prepares learners for a world-wide market. The system emphasizes on learning language and communication besides the skill, which makes the learner able to sell their skill to diverse populations. The standards of the system also meet international standards, which makes learners' skills applicable to a large area. The Chinese and Korean markets, for instance, have expanded in technology tremendously, an effect of using the British style.

The Cons

The British system does not accommodate native Asian skills. When the British colonized Asia, they did not include traditional art in the curriculum (Nadal, 2018), and such art was left to be practiced by the illiterate. However, it is this art that holds the true Asian and Pacific culture. In running the creative industry, the British way also makes preservation of the Asian culture difficult. The norms, symbols, and beliefs of Britain are different in the two continents. The cultural difference could be a lock to what Asia finds appropriate creative to what the British system approves, especially in the media and filming industry (Iwabuchi, Tsai, and Berry, 2016). For instance, in Britain, dressing in a certain way in a movie will be termed "sexy," whereas, in Asia, it will be seen as "inappropriate." Online content in Britain is also less regulated, and people have more freedom over what they say and share on the internet. In Asia, online content is strictly regulated due to strict Muslim- majority beliefs (Nadal, 2018). The cultural barriers could drain traditional Asian culture, or block ambitious Asians from attaining their goals.

Implementing the British style is not as effective, as the cons surpass the pros in the context of Asia-Pacific regions. In another context, the style would be effective and sell creative to the world, but not in Asia. Adopting it on the continent would limit the development of local culture, which is a practice that scholars are against at the moment. They believe that Asia can be creative and produce ideas that apply to the world by breaking from the Eurocentric way of thinking. The modern-day curriculum is being adjusted to fit into the Asian context, even when using ideas of Western origin. By doing this, education will not be foreign but something that learners can identify with and practice in their daily living.

References

Hack, K., 2013. Defense and Decolonisation in South-East Asia: Britain, Malaya and Singapore 1941-1967. Routledge.

Iwabuchi, K., 2014. De-westernisation, inter-Asian referencing and beyond. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 17(1), pp.44-57. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1367549413501483

Iwabuchi, K., Tsai, E. and Berry, C. eds., 2016. Routledge Handbook of East Asian Popular Culture. Taylor & Francis.

Nadal, K.L., 2018. Colonialism: Societal and Psychological Impacts on Asian Americans and Pacifi c Islanders. In Asian American Psychology (pp. 203-222). Psychology Press.

Wee, C.L., 2016. East Asian pop culture and the trajectory of Asian consumption. Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 17(2), pp.305-315. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304365753_East_Asian_pop_culture_and_the_trajectory_of_Asian_consumption