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Comment by w1ntermute | Hacker News Reader

I don't know how true this is though. It might work in Pakistan, but doesn't seem like it would in the Middle East. For example, the article says that there's a lot of interest in Bollywood in Dubai, but that's because 70% of the population is South Asian[0].

And from another article[1], which has a great analysis of hard vs. soft power and how Bollywood's true influence on its neighbors is actually nonexistent:

> The immense popularity of Bollywood in Pakistan and Afghanistan, for example, has not turned Pakistan into a pro-Indian country, nor does it prevent Afghans (including the educated elite) from spitting on the floor whenever a Hindu idol is shown on TV. The fact is that the Indian entertainment industry has virtually no ability to influence the paradigm of its viewers, and can only bombard them with superficial trash.

0: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Dubai

1: http://defenceforumindia.com/future-indian-power-hard-vs-sof...

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That sort of misses the point though. The movies aren't going to make anyone love their enemies, but they can definitely subvert hardline values.

The idea that they're superficial trash is almost a description of why they work.

The whole point of that article I linked is that things like hardline Islamism can't be combated through the use of movies. From that same article:

> Pakistan’s ideology is based on Islamic ‘nationalism’ where it views itself as part of a greater ‘Ummah’, but is certainly not recognized by the members of the ‘Ummah’ as its leader. In other words, Pakistan does not have native ownership over its own ideology, which inevitably leads to Pakistan associating itself with other, more influential members of the ‘Ummah’ like Saudi Arabia and Iran, at the obvious expense of its own subcontinental origins.

Neither Pakistan nor India wield a significant influence in the Islamic world - that power belongs to the aforementioned Saudi Arabia and Iran. No matter what may or may not happen in Bollywood, its influence in Pakistan/Afghanistan/etc. will always be overshadowed by Saudi & Persian mullahs. The reason why mullahs from those countries have the sort of transnational power they do is because of the unifying nature of Islam, across ethnic, cultural, and linguistic boundaries.

But the further west you go from India, the more the "influence" of Bollywood declines (and it is quite rapid). Regardless of whether the top Bollywood actors are Muslim, India itself is almost 80% Hindu, and that will never be forgotten by those in the Middle East watching Bollywood movies.

Although to those of us in the West, it may be easy to lump India and the Middle East into the same "cultural" category, that couldn't be further from the truth. Shared "conservative" values only go so far, and their respective histories are quite different.

The article you linked merely rejects the potential of pop culture to be soft power, and it does so out of hand. Yes, once it rejects the premise, it finds the premise holds no power.

The whole point of soft power isn't to take on cultural change head on. The meaning of subvert isn't to force change. It's to effect a gradual change, which will be seen over the course of a couple of generations.

Hollywood has immense cultural power over western nations; it can, and definitely has, changed attitudes on a number of topics over just a few generations.

The OP makes some good points that current western media depicts situations too far from the current core islamic nations to carry much weight. The world depicted has to be recognizable, and I'm sure Sex And The City seems completely alien to Karachi (hell, it's still semi-alien to Des Moines). So Hollywood isn't going to carry a lot of weight there.

But the world of Bollywood films are not wholly alien to Pakistan. It doesn't matter if they consciously resist the messages because India is a Hindu nation. That's the whole point of soft power. It works anyway.

Think about this question- did the Mullahs and Imams in faraway lands approve Pakistan opening up to Indian film imports?

"has not turned Pakistan into a pro-Indian country": I would caution against extrapolating the attitude of ordinary folks from the public stand of the govt.

Also, Pakistan is not a homogeneous country. It's got multiple ethnic groups. I'm almost certain that the people of Punjab (largest province afaik), and the descendants of the migrants from India (who live mostly in Karachi), do feel great kinship with Indians. Bollywood does play a role in that. YMMV.

Well from what I recall, aren't the majority of the Indian expats in the 'Gulf' arelargely south Indians.

For them, bollywood isn't as important as tollywood or kollywood.

This might be relevant as a counter-point:

http://world.time.com/2011/08/15/how-a-late-bollywood-icon-s...

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