Paradox of plenty: Channeling soft power in the 21st century “Information Age”

In his contribution to the ANNALS, “Public Diplomacy and Soft Power,” Joseph Nye presents public diplomacy as a strategic tool in “the arsenal of smart power,” one that is capable of defeating “transnational terrorism[by] . . . . winning hearts and minds” (108).

The use of public diplomacy to promote a positive image of one’s country is not a new practice. As Nye notes: “The soft power of a country rests primarily on three resources: its culture (in places where it is attractive to others), its political values (when it lives up to them at home and abroad), and its foreign policies (when they are seen as legitimate and having moral authority)” (97). These three criteria that support soft power have not changed; however, the global landscape and, to use Nye’s term, “conditions for projecting soft power,” have shifted dramatically since the end of the Cold War (99). In our current “Information Age,” Nye explains, the incredible about of information available at our fingertips has resulted in Simon’s “paradox of plenty,” an explosion of information and scarcity of attention to follow-up.

Therefore, nation-states today must grapple with the challenge of attracting people’s attention while maintaining absolute credibility, Nye argues. The pressure is high, for if a nation is perceived as jingoistic or propagandizing, it won’t be able to supplement its hard power to win hearts and minds.  This is difficult to disagree with. Nye is, after all, the father of soft power.

In light of one particular point Nye makes ("Why pour money into VOA when CNN, MSNBC, or Fox can do the work for free? But such a conclusion is too facile. Market forces portray only the profitable mass dimensions of American culture, thus reinforcing foreign images of a one-dimensional country." Page 205), it would be interesting to see how he would contend with Shashi Tharoor’s arguments that private industries such as MTV, McDonald’s, and Bollywood have powerful and instrumental role in exporting culture and supporting a country’s soft power.

Tuning in to the Boy Band Formula

For the last month, I have been re-exploring Asian pop music, and have stumbled upon one of the most entertaining -- and addictive -- genres: Korean boy bands. Yes, even Korea has a legacy of boy band idols who have come and gone with each generation of tween girls since the 1990s. Such groups as SS501 (music video below), Super Junior, and SHINee can be placed in the same category with groups like One Direction, Backstreet Boys, and N*Sync.

SS501 - "Love Like This" (2009)

Now, for those of you who watched the video and got past the sometimes absurd dance moves and gravity-defying hair, you will notice that it doesn't seem too terribly different from the music videos of the American boy bands we love to hate. There are five guys, all singing in harmony about love, and dancing seemingly non-stop for 3 minutes. To get a visual comparison, let's look at an oldie but a goody -- N*Sync's "I Want You Back" (below). 

N*Sync - "I Want You Back"(1998)

It's a little disconcerting when you realize how similar the format is of the video, the group, even the style of the song. How does this resemblance occur between two boy bands separated by and ocean, differences in cultural context, and the height of their popularity being nearly ten years apart?

Format, or "formula" is the operative word to answer the question. During our week on convergence culture, we read the article by Jade Miller on the formula export of the telenovela ("Ugly Betty Goes Global: Global networks of localized content in the telenovela industry", Global Media and Communication, 6,2 9 (2010): 198-217). Miller focused on the localization of a globally transmitted TV show formula, explaining that certain elements that make the show a telenovela are still identifiable, but that the specific details are adaptable to different cultural contexts. Other articles we have read even mentioned game shows like "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" as participating in this global export of formula entertainment. And from just the two music videos above, can't we argue that music should be included in this phenomenon?

Yes, we can. As Miller stated, "Betty la Fea serves as an example of the way in which a seemingly-domestic product is inherently a global product." Every aspect of popular entertainment -- film, music, television -- can no longer be seen as just produced for domestic audiences. These entertainment media are part of the globalizing world, and to be economically successful, they have had to find ways to be exportable to a wide variety of cultures. What appears to be the most effective method for accomplishing this is finding a formula that is adaptable instead of trying to create content that has wide appeal. Instead, let the localization process take care of it. And this is what popular music formulas, like boy bands, have done.

And so in the 1990s, the boy band formula was able to be proven in the United States entertainment market, and exported around the world for billions of people to enjoy. But why should we even care that popular entertainment is being turned into a math problem with variables to be filled in by different cultures? It could give credit to the idea that globalization is creating "one culture". One culture that is based around a format driven by capitalist markets. Even if you don't prescribe to that theory, it is still undeniable that there are certain types of programming, music, and film that are being consumed the world over. And whether governments tap into this power or it stays within the business of cultural production, everyone in the world will continue to have shared cultural experiences that they don't even realize they are having.

So, when you listen to One Direction on the radio tomorrow, consider how they fit the formula. Think how they were manufactured on the X-Factor (another formula entertainment product) to create an economically viable musical group that be exported globally. And think of the millions of people around the world who hear that same song in one day, and how the formulas of popular entertainment are beginning to build cultural bridges through shared experience.