The truth is, I do not know what it exactly is!
When I read MM Lee's speech that was featured in The Straits Times on 25 October, I see for myself a clearer picture of "A Singaporean's mindset". The two articles titled "Only an A-Team will do" and "Cultural Barriers harder to break in Asia" talk about MM Lee's take on the leadership in Singapore and how it is difficult for Singapore to export talents, due to our different culture compared to the dominating countries like the United States.
Upon this comment, I understand why media globalization is deemed unsuccessful in the global market. Here, MM Lee speaks about the idea of culture. But yet, we also know that culture is a contributing factor to the media trade. From MM Lee's observation, I infer that the diversity of culture in Asia has indeed hindered the trading of mass media. Cultures are too diverse that every country stays within it's own culture. Especially for Singapore, where we lead multi-racial lives, I would say people decide to stick within their races to maintain peace (considering us being a high context culture).
"Cultural barriers do not come down easily in Asia, and for this reason, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew believes talent will not flow smoothly across borders any time soon. To illustrate, MM Lee shared his long-time observations of China and India, saying: 'You can take a Chinese or an Indian, bring them to America and, as a minority in the American milieu, he will begin to absorb the American ethos.'But you bring a few Americans to China or India and you think you can spread this ethos into India and China, you're dead wrong.' "
"MM Lee said that the Chinese will never become non-Chinese, and neither will the Indians be non-Indians. The same goes for the Malays, Thais or other groups. But put small groups of them in America, scatter them, and they become like the Americans, he observed."Undeniably, we asians are more easily influenced than influential. This boils down to the very reason why the Americans dominate the media market. America remains as the dominant influence in the mass media as we can see all the exported forms of media present in almost everywhere in the world. Our minds are thus shaped to demand for the American culture.
One example of the American influence would be the movie "High School Musical". High School Musical, being aired previously in Disney channel(an American channel), is now a major motion picture because of its demand worldwide! TV channels like Kids Central in Singapore even mimicked the concept by producing a musical serial "School House Rocks" to attract the audience.
Also, America's influence to the world is so powerful that even within it's society alone, does racial elitism occur- where the whites are considered as superior because of what the media portrays.
Here is something I leave with you- what the media as taught these children about "beauty":