Can Media Platforms Support both Commercial and Politically Engaged Pop Culture in East Asia? (Essay Sample)

Name: Professor: Class Course: Date of Submission Can Media Platforms Support both Commercial and Politically Engaged Pop Culture in East Asia? Media platforms can support both commercial and politically engaged pop culture in both East Asia and the rest of the world. As a matter of fact, the power of the media in perpetuating popular culture cannot be gainsaid. Whether through propagation of entertainment content or through informative programs, the media has the power to infuse certain mores and social protocols within a people. It is therefore only logical that the answer to the above question should be in the affirmative. However, while the foregoing is true, there needs to be a caveat to the response. It should be noted that the term ‘media platforms' connotes a rather simplistic and false homogeneity of the fourth estate, as it were. It implies a unified structure that follows the same set of rules and serves the same set of interests. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that media platforms are as diverse as they can get. There are pro-establishment platforms as well as anti-establishment platforms. In addition, some platforms can be considered neutral to a certain extent. Moreover, the agendas of these platforms would most likely be shaped by either commercial or political interests. In many instances, it is a combination of both, since business and politics are somewhat inseparable. The role of the media in perpetuating or supporting popular culture in East Asia should therefore be evaluated within this wider context, if an accurate analysis is to be obtained. It is important to highlight that in East Asia, just as in the rest of the modern world, globalization is a force to reckon with. With globalization comes new business, political and cultural developments that could create a significant wave within the host nation or region. Such a wave can have three effects on the popular culture of the nation or region. The first effect is that it can complement and enrich the pre-existing popular culture by adding value to it. An example of this would be where global media access by a people leads them to discard certain harmful practices such as female genital mutilation and early marriages. The second effect can be negative, whereby the adoption of new lifestyles leads to the eradication of existing positive cultural practices and morals. For instance, entertainment content that fosters the gratification of the drug culture could be ultimately detrimental to any society. Finally, a neutral effect co...