"One of globalization's most important consequences is the increasing difficulty in making clear distinctions between what is a local Asian film and what is a global Hollywood film, at both the material and the aesthetic level" (Klein, 2004)
I personally agree on what Klein has mentioned in response of the Hollywoodisation of Asian films in the entertainment industry. There are too many of them out there. Here are a few examples. Although the greatest example (in my opinion) that I could find, is the remake of "Infernal Affairs" a Japanese cat-and-mouse movie into the American blockbuster "The Departed". Martin Scorsese, the director of The Departed, received few negative criticisms from movie reviewers of how he tried to gain profit by remaking an idea that's already been done beforehand. Although the movie did won 4 Academy Awards including Best Director for Scorsese, many fans and reviewers still believed that Scorsese did this in pure intention to benefit himself a higher reputation and profit.
There are many advantages and disadvantages of Hollywood to try and do remakes of Asian cinemas. One of the advantages is to try and gain more viewers globally. As Asian films nowadays do not receive many worldwide recognition, Hollywood can bring that reputation to them. One of the disadvantages is that Hollywood can obtain more profit and fame for something that's not entirely original. It still happen onto this day because Hollywood see this as an easy target to bring more money (to keep their business alive) they see there are no dishonour in doing so.
The image below is also another interpretation of how "The Departed" came so close to re-model "Infernal Affairs". We can see clearly the scene from "Infernal Affairs" where both characters standing on the rooftop and the good guy is trying to kill the bad guy. "The Departed" also did exactly that. Again, I personally think lowly of Hollywood to keep remaking Asian films as there is completely no need for such a thing. But seems like, it will keep going in the future and will never stop. Whether it is for potential market gain or popularity recognition, it is still not an original idea therefore could be described as stealing because they try to remake something that's already been done.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f239/darker_image/ifd.jpg
Photo Source (2):
http://cinematheque.leithermagazine.com/files/2010/03/infernal_departed11.jpg
References:
Klein, Christina 2004, 'Martial arts and globalisation of US and Asian film industries', Comparative America Studies, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 360-384.
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