Das Fernsehereignis Big Brother: Analyse und Vergleich der drei ...

Global Media
between
Localization and De-Localization
Lothar Mikos
University of Film and Television
Erich Pommer Institut
Media Across Borders, Roehampton, 2012/06/09

Introduction
• Global media market
• USA leading exporter of TV fiction
and films
• Latin America leading exporter of
telenovelas
• Great Britain, USA and Netherlands
leading exporter of non-fictional
formats
• Spain, France and Germany leading
importer of all kinds of formats
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Format Import and Export
Formatimport Formatexport
Germany Great Britain
France Netherlands
Italy USA
Spain Australia
Australia Sweden
Poland France
Great Britain Norway
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Years 2002-2004

Format Import and Export
Formatimport Formatexport
Spain Great Britain
France USA
Germany Netherlands
Italy Argentinia
USA Sweden
Netherlands Germany
Norway Spain
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Years 2006-2008; Source FRAPA

TV Formats and Films
Four types of commercial exploitation:
• Game- and Reality-Shows for local
adaptations / format trade
• Series or serial for local adaptations
• License of a serial or series
• Global distribution of blockbusters
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TV Formats and Films
Localization:
• Local adaptations of entertainment
shows
• Local adaptations of series or serials
• Dubbing or subtitling as cultural
translation of a licensed serial or
series and of global distributed
blockbusters
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TV Formats and Films
Localization:
• Local adaptations
De-Localization:
• Format structure and look
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TV Formats
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Local Adaptation of Game and Reality Shows:

TV Formats
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Local Adaptation of Game and Reality Shows:

TV Formats
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Local Adaptation of Game and Reality Shows:

TV Formats and Films
Localization:
• Highlighting of local areas in series
De-Localization:
• Building artificial worlds
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Licensed TV Formats
Localised:
• Wire (Baltimore)
• CSI (Las Vegas, Miami, New York)
• Boardwalk Empire (Atlantic City)
• Sex & the City (New York)
• The Bridge (Malmö / Copenhagn)
• 24 (Los Angeles)
• Grey‘s Anatomy (Seattle)
• Sherlock (London)
• Dexter (Miami)
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Licensed TV Formats
De-Localised:
• Heroes
• Touch
• X-Files
• Desperate Housewives
• Weeds
• Sons of Anarchy
• Simpsons
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TV Formats
Series for local adaptation:
• The Restless Years / AUS
(Germany / Netherlands)
• Sons and Daughters / AUS
(Germany)
• Yo soy Betty, la fea / COL (several
adaptations)
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Example Ugly Betty
• Original: Yo soy Betty, la fea (Colombia,
RCN 1999-2001
• India: Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin (2002)
• Russia: Ne Rodis‘ Krasivoy (2005)
• Germany: Verliebt in Berlin (2005-2007)
• Spain: Yo soy Bea (2006)
• USA: Ugly Betty (2006)
• China: Chou Nü Wu Di (2008)
• Belgium, Netherlands, Greece, Israel,
Mexico, Slovenia/Croatia, Turkey, Poland,
Portugal, Brazil, Vietnam, Georgia
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Distribution
Adaptations:
� RCN (Columbia, China, Czech Republic,
Turkey, Vietnam)
� Sony International (India and Russia)
� Televisa (Mexico, Brazil, China,
Philippines)
� Fremantle bought the adaptation rights in
2005 (adaptations in Belgium, Germany
(Hungary), Greece, Netherlands, Spain,
Bosnia/Croatia/Serbia (Poland), Italy)
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Distribution
� NBC and Sony Pictures tried to do an
US-adaptation in 2001, but failed
� ABC, Reveille Prod., Ventanarosa and
Touchstone Television (US-adapation in
2006)
� Remakes in Mexico and Venezuela
� Remakes of the Mexican remake in Israel
and Portugal
� Remake as a mix of the Mexican and
Venezuelan one in Malaysia
� Variety of length (22 to 48 minutes)
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Example Ugly Betty
Colombia Germany Russia Spain U.S.A.
Yo soy Betty,
la fea
Verliebt in
Berlin
Ne Rodis
Krasivoy
Yo soy Bea Ugly Betty
Beatriz Lisa Katya Bea Betty
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Example Ugly Betty
• Leticia (Mexico)
• Jasmeed (India)
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Example Ugly Betty
• Maria (Greece)
• Lotte (Netherlands)
• Sara (Belgium)
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Example Ugly Betty
• Esti (Israel)
• Nina (Slovenia/Croatia)
• Katka (Czech Rep.)
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Example Ugly Betty
• Ula (Poland)
• Gönül (Turkey)
• Wu Di (China)
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Example Ugly Betty
• Bela (Brazil)
• Huyên Diêu (Vietnam)
• Alice (Portugal)
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Example Ugly Betty
• Tamuna (Georgia)
• Beatriz (Philipinnes)
• Emilda (Malaysia)
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Characters and conflicts
Colombia Germany Russia Spain U.S.A.
Yo soy
Betty, la
fea
Verliebt
in Berlin
Ne Rodis
Krasivoy
Yo soy
Bea
Ugly
Betty
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A general
character’s
schema is
roughly
followed
in all the
adaptations
considered.
Colombia Germany Russia Spain U.S.A.
Yo soy
Betty, la
fea
Verliebt
in Berlin
Ne Rodis
Krasivoy
Yo soy
Bea
Ugly
Betty
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Some narrative
functions may shift
from one character
to another or may
be summed up, but
this just happens
for the
second-line roles.

A general
character’s
schema is
roughly
followed
in all the
adaptations
considered.
Colombia Germany Russia Spain U.S.A.
Yo soy
Betty, la
fea
Verliebt
in Berlin
Ne Rodis
Krasivoy
Yo soy
Bea
Ugly
Betty
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Some narrative
functions may shift
from one character
to another or may
be summed up, but
this just happens
for the
second-line roles.

Example Ugly Betty
Same, same, but different
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Blockbuster
� SFX and VFX scenes aim at crafting
convincing artificial worlds, in which
cultural authenticity is not notable
Lord of the Rings
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Blockbuster
� SFX and VFX scenes aim at crafting
convincing artificial worlds, in which
cultural authenticity is not notable
Star Wars
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Blockbuster
� Within the crafted worlds different specific
identities have to form part of a sort of
multicultural society
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Pirates of the Caribbean

Conclusions
� Special and digital visual effects furthermore
aim at crafting a convincing diegetic,
artificial world
� These artificial worlds possess the
special power of being able to awaken
landscapes in which cultural authenticity is
not notable and in which different
specific cultural stereotypes are part of a
multicultural society
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Conclusions
Local adaptations of Yo soy Betty, la fea
� reflect local culture and local aesthetics in
respect to local media history
� and use international well known narrative
conventions and genre styles at the same
time
� in order to produce a hybrid format
� that is worth to be licensed globally
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Conclusions
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� Local adaptations have to be aware of the
complexities of flows and contra-flows in the
traveling of formats
� Global flow of TV formats and blockbusters
� Local adaptations and cultural translations
� Contradictory tendencies of localization and
de-localization at the same time

The End
Many thanks for
your attention
Contact:
l.mikos@hff-potsdam.de
mikos@epi-medieninstitut.de
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