Curtin says that "globalization happens as the result of economic and cultural practices which do not, of themselves, aim at global integration, but which nonetheless produce it" (111). While a Netflix may simply aim at market domination, we are seeing the company localize in order to dominate. For Curtin, globalization is now far from questions of "reactions among and between nations." He says that we should instead explore the ways in which media industries based in the various major centers of production are "participating in the reshaping of cultural and spacial relations worldwide" (111).
I am curious to see how things will unfold with Netflix which has recently been opening local production offices to created localized "originals" all over the globe. As much as I'd like to speak to other regions, Im not so sure what has been he reality outside of France. Paris now boasts brand new Netflix production offices. For France, I believe this is a new development compared to what, for example, Disney has already done in the past in creating local offices for distribution, dubbing or for reality-based programming -- it was never a matter of leading top quality new content creation on the ground for France and Europe. This mode of integration is by-passsing even the French institutions' tough bulwark against international content that could threaten the local industry, flavor, and cultural interests. I'm interested to see how things evolve!
It is interesting to hear how Netflix localization takes place in France. I have been very interested in local Netflix originals in Turkey and Middle East: since 2018, Netflix created its first originals in Turkish and Arabic and there are more to come. In both contexts, they follow the same formula of finding local IP and getting it produced by local talent, but it is fascinating to see how they are still unable to align with local flavors and cultural interests. Both in Turkish and Arabic, first originals were science fiction/fantasy, which are the absolute least watched genres both in Turkey and Arabic speaking Middle East. And they were both based on the ancient histories of these regions and featured historical landscapes/monuments as crucial parts of the story. The first original was so bad that it was cringe worthy for me to watch, yet they produced another season. I will definitely pay attention to the reimagination of the region from Western eyes through speculative stories taking place in “exotic” landscapes of the past.
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