“Serial for Breakfast”
Dir/Prod/Edited by Aashish Kumar and Abha Adhiya
Narrated by Ramu Damodaran
Part 1: 25 mins Part II: 22 mins

[Editor’s note: The following is information on a recently completed documentary that complements this issue’s article “Localizing the Global in India: New Imperatives for International Communication Scholarship in the Satellite Era” by Aashish Kumar]

In 1991, CNN's broadcast of the Gulf War was relayed across the world. The war was over in seven days. The potential of transborder satellite transmission had been showcased.

India was one of the Asian countries where state-controlled electronic media fought dispiritedly the "invading" signals from neighboring Hong Kong and Singapore.

However, as the local industry picked up the cue, the debate took a different shade.

This two-part documentary explores the impact of global satellite television broadcasts on the Indian electronic mediascape. The documentary argues that oversimplistic characterization of the Indian satellite TV scenario as "cultural invasion/imperialism" cannot explain the complex changes that have taken place in the '90s.

The interest expressed by multinational media conglomerates (Murdoch's News Corp-owned STAR-TV) in the liberalizing economies of South Asia provides the backdrop to the video. Interviews with key domestic and foreign broadcasters, media advocates, media analysts, and journalists are used to set up an intriguing tale of the local response to the satellite challenge. It points out that in the dust raised over the issue of "foreign invasion," the democratizing influence of new technology, the deregulation of broadcast news, and its impact on future media policy in India are ignored.

In the second part, the documentary takes a deeper look at the "boom" industry and the cultural and socio-economic resonances struck by the so-called "information age." It reports a mixed bag--along with the shifting consumption patterns ("here and now" hedonism), there is greater articulation by hitherto unexpressed voices such as women and youth. Though marketed as formulaic pop culture brands, this articulation opens the way for future opportunities.

Finally, the documentary reports on emerging media policy in the form of the recently approved legislation granting autonomy to All India Radio and Doordarshan, and the pending Broadcasting Bill. The debate over use of the "airwaves," the documentary contends, has been triggered largely by the interaction between global and local forces.

The documentary argues for the cultural resilience displayed by the Indian viewer in the face of large-scale dumping of recycled programming from the West. As such, it argues that the future of "globalization" is tied with issues such as "local content," information needs of the growing economies in the developing world, and a bilateral effort to create appropriate content.

Respondents featured:

Prannoy Roy, Anchor and Managing Director, NDTV
Arrow Sinha Roy, STAR TV
Akhila Sivadas, Media Advocacy Group
Kiran Karnik, Discovery Channel
Pratik Basu, Buena Vista Television India (Disney)
Jules Fuller, Channel V
Shashank Ghosh, Channel V
Niren Hiro, MTV India
Raghav Bahl, TV 18
Zarina Mehta, UTV
Rita Manchanda, Journalist and Consultant, Plus Channel
Amrita Shah, Editor, Elle Magazine, India

For information on purchasing copies of "Serial for Breakfast" contact:

Kate Spohr University of California Extension
Center for Media and Independent Learning
2000 Center Street, Fourth Floor
Berkeley, CA 94704
510-643-2788 Fax 510-643-9271
kspohr@uclink4.berkeley.edu
http://www-cmil.unex.berkeley.edu/media/

Aashish Kumar is an assistant professor of Communication at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Connecticut. He has over eight years experience in documentary production, live television, and production pedagogy. His research interests are in the area of international communication with a focus on global satellite broadcasting and its interaction with South Asian culture. His previous publication on the subject can be found in the 1997 Almanac of the International Council of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Abha Adhiya is an assistant professor of communication at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Connecticut. She has over twelve years experience in commercial and documentary television production. She specializes in production management, corporate video, and her research interests are in women's issues in media.