It is a sign of how much the United States influences our lives that large numbers of Indians tuned in to see the first debate between Presidential contenders Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. The debate was shown early in the morning — India time 6 am — but many had arranged to not just get up, but also assemble friends to see it together so that they could discuss it in real time, somewhat like, say, World Cup football.
Of course no numbers are available, but anecdotally and by reading comments on social media, one could see there was sufficient interest and enthusiasm about it.
Indians were tweeting comments about the debate and not necessarily about anything that directly affected us. Barack Obama had once mentioned about jobs going to China and Bangalore and that had made headlines, but this debate did not have any such reference. That didn’t matter — viewers were interested in the candidates rather than every aspect of domestic politics.
Indeed, the entire run up to the elections later this year has been keenly followed here. There are supporters of both, though Clinton gets a bit more of it. Trump too would have some support – some of his ideas, such as keeping out Muslims from the US has won him admirers but fortunately that kind of racist rhetoric, that helped him get initial traction, has somewhat abated. Yet, his exaggerated flourishes, his personal attacks and his embellishments – lies – continue in full form. That gets him even more fans from those who think he is standing up to the power establishment that Clinton represents. If Indians were allowed to vote in the US elections, Trump may well get many votes for his bombastic rhetoric because his prejudices appeal to them.
The interest in the elections is a good example of globalisation, but also demonstrates the reach of American soft power. America now dominates global consciousness in a way that no other country has ever done before.
The India of a couple of generations ago was quite aware of British literature, cinema, heritage and politics. Though the Raj packed up its bags and left in 1947, the residual impact remained for a long time. Even those growing up in the 1970s and the early ‘80s were influenced by British culture—text books were imported from there initially and subsequently television serials as well as literature were all around us. Indian students dreamt of going to Oxford or Cambridge rather than elsewhere.
Today, the numbers of Indian students going to Britain has dwindled, while the corresponding numbers heading to the US is rising every year. Turn on the television and you will see only American shows (and now, also, Hindi versions of American shows.) Indians are as well informed on Hollywood celebrity gossip as anyone else. The Internet brings America even closer to us.
This is not limited to India. American soft power, to use a phrase invented by Joseph Nye, exercises its influence all over the world. In some cases, it has edged out local culture — American block busters play in Korea, France, Australia and everywhere else. Bollywood continues to thrive and survive and has withstood the onslaught of American films, but the big Hollywood films dubbed in local languages are a big hit, sometimes surpassing Hindi films in their collections. Films are made keeping in mind universal appeal and are culturally neutral — a super hero film works for a teenager in any part of the world.
Hollywood sensibilities have also affected, at a more subtle level, our own filmmakers and audiences. Themes, storylines, dialogues and even the look and feel of Hindi films are influenced by Hollywood and American sitcoms. The same is with fashions.
In an interconnected world, this is not such a bad thing. With faster communication, anything happening in other parts of the globe is immediately accessible to us. We feel involved, engaged, with major developments in other countries. Social media tells us the highlights of news breaks in even remote parts.
But it does not get the same weightage, either in the media or in our minds. A shooting incident in a small American town gets more play here than a major disaster elsewhere in a relatively less ‘newsy’ country, or even in a so-called far off Indian state. Conversely, the nuances of politics of the US are more familiar to us than that of say, Russia, which is important to this country. The sheer presence and influence of western news agencies is the reason for this. And of course the fact that the US is the most powerful country in the world. The next President of the US and his/her policies will have an impact on every country, including India. To that extent it is understandable. But a little balance and proportion may help. Else, generations of Indians will grow up knowing a lot about one major country and very little of other parts of the world or indeed their own nation.
