Asian Media Literacy Tour, June 2000

                                                          by Barry Duncan, 

                                          Association for Media Literacy, Toronto

Before offering some media education perspectives on these countries, let me begin by presenting some pop culture snap shots. While there are subtle differences among them in terms of the influence of American popular culture, the commonalities are ultimately more important. Everyone who has been there knows about Macdonald's, the Coke and Pepsi billboards, the omnipresence in your hotel room television of CNN and the theatres with many of the latest American films. ( I had a great discussion about "American Beauty" with a Japanese university student who could easily articulate the different factors that explained the film's dysfunctional families.).

It seemed that about one-third of the subway ads used Caucasian models and English text, symbolizing the dilemmas of cultural colonization: a part of them wants to be distinctive, and the other is consumed by a fan's obsession with American pop culture and imagery. Knowing that Tom Cruise had just recently completed his Asian tour to hype Mission Impossible: II, I put on my sunglasses and said, "Tom Cruise" and the two communications grad students who picked me up at the Taipei Airport immediately laughed and understood. The young people have opinions on icons such as Michael Jordan, Britney Spears and Jackie Chan. In Japan those I talked to had a strong loyalty to their own singers and were hard pressed to place many western examples on their top ten lists. Finally, an obvious technological observation: the majority of the population has cell phones. It was amazing to ride the noisy subway at rush hour in Hong Kong and witness half of the passengers using their cell phones, many of them equipped to receive E-Mail.

First stop, Hong Kong. The city conjures up tall white condos and office towers against the backdrop of evergreen covered mountains; six million people crowded in this bustling metropolis, most of them clutching a cell phone and one in six cars a Mercedes - a tribute to the seemingly abundant wealth of the last ten years. Most people speak basic English. My first assignment was to address an assembly of 200 teachers, some of them members of the newly formed Hong Kong Association for Media Education. I gave a series of observations and provocations on combining theory and practice, giving an expanded definition of media literacy, and offering some practical advice on promoting the critical need to maintain a grass roots initiative. The presentation elicited some challenging questions and observations, several focusing on one topic: Is media literacy a kind of moral education? That was a toughie to handle in two minutes.

One morning was spent at a meeting in the recently built (1995) Hong Kong Institute of Education located outside the city on a site that had the trappings of a luxurious mountain retreat. Their program in teacher training and research seems very comprehensive and progressive. There were a variety of academic backgrounds around the table: British, American, Hong Kong Chinese and Mainland Chinese. The latter were suspicious of media. From their point of view, they would assert that popular culture is the enemy: the kids aren't speaking Chinese properly because of television and the tabloid press. (Lee Wing On, the Dean of Structures of Foundation in Education was unable to attend but he is apparently very sympathetic to media education). Nonetheless, there was some productive dialogue and meetings like these ultimately gain more followers than detractors.

Finally, I addressed a group of 15 people in Breakthrough Village, a special program in Gatin, outside the city of Hong Kong. Coordinated by Eileen Mok, this interdisciplinary program, which relies heavily on the arts and media to develop leadership skills, included television producers, journalists, teachers, and graduate students studying media and cultural studies. A very creative group, it was a pleasure to discuss their concerns and insights.

Next stop was Taiwan, and, like Hong Kong, a bustling modern metropolis. Traveling from the airport, it seemed that there was a permanent traffic jam, aggravated by the thousands of motorcycles, which madly zip in and out performing what the locals call the 'serpent dance.' The good news about Taiwan is that they have a new government. The new president (since last March) Chen Shui-bian seems really open to change. The monthly tourist magazine available in every hotel room contained his five- page speech to the nation. Sample: "The people of Taiwan have completed a historic alternation of political parties in power. Taiwan has not only set a new model for the Asian experience of democracy, but has added a moving example to the third wave of democracy the world over."

In this auspicious climate, Sophie Wu was optimistic about curriculum changes in Taiwan, which will allow for media education to take place. The officers in the Ministry of education were frantically working 12-hour days attending numerous meetings to address a variety of special needs. The situation had echoes of our own experience in Ontario when we had to be politically astute to forge important alliances with sympathetic groups, such as Home and School Associations. In the past, Taiwan's Cultural Affairs Department had been sympathetic to media education and during one afternoon, my impossible task (especially when the cultural officials were overbooked with meetings) was to make the case for including popular culture in their discussions and policy statements - not just the canonical or elitist culture of ballet, fine art, and Beethoven symphonies. On another day, I attended a meeting with Sun-Lu Fan, the Deputy Minister of Education, and several highly placed officials who seemed sympathetic to media education. Sophie Wu is now working on some important proposals and policy statements incorporating media education.

Last stop, Japan. Driving from the Osaka airport to Kyoto with Ascura, a communication grad, was an exercise in cultural decoding that would include the strange constructions of English. Japan's flirtation with the language is especially fascinating. One finds billboards and signage on stores with what we would describe as unidiomatic English, sometimes referred to as "janglais." For example, a restaurant sign might read: "Coffee and The Dinner."

Kyoto is arguably the most beautiful city in Japan and the only one not bombed in World War II. There are dozens of temples throughout, some of them such as the magnificent Kinkaku- Ji, with its gold lame roof beside a pond with small pine clad islands are especially memorable.

Midori Suzuki's non-profit group in Japan, the FCT - The Forum for Citizens' Television and Media - was founded in 1977. It is a broad - based organization whose mandate includes "sponsoring forums; carrying out a series of media surveys; making proposals to the media industry and confirming the rights of the public to have access to the media; publishing
regular periodicals and reports of our research and establishing a global network." My presentation to 75 participants was well received, most of them diligently taking notes. Because of the necessity of a translator, I had to speak in two-minute sound bites. My greatest satisfaction was chatting about mutual concerns with professors, graduate students and media professionals when we met afterwards at the stand-up pub and restaurant. (While autographing copies of my textbook "Mass Media and Popular Culture," I thought to myself: This is the closest I will get to have 15 minutes of celebrity treatment.)

A few sightseeing highlights. I specialized in visiting some of the numerous Buddhist temples in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan, especially those in Kyoto and Nara, an important historic city south of Kyoto. Every temple was different and had its own special charm. The one I visited in Taipei had two small shrines, which were part of the site, one where you could pray for help in studying for an exam, and another that would fulfill a woman's wish to become pregnant. You can also pay to read about your fortune and if you don't like it you can join dozens of other fellow travelers and pin your little fortune paper on a pine tree. The idea: with some prayers, your bad fortune may be redeemed.

In Hong Kong, Alice Lee and I visited a large temple and monastic complex, called the Chi Lin Nunnery with its commanding view of the surrounding region. It was recently reconstructed and, because of a fire, completely restored to its ancient form. In the city of Nara, one temple contained the largest artistic representation of a Buddha in the world, approximately 100 feet tall. Then, Midori Suzuki took me to Japanese temple that had an on - site Zen vegetarian restaurant which served an exquisite lunch. Incidentally, as a Zen enthusiast for many years I had seen pictures of Zen gardens but was never particularly engaged by what seemed to be a kind of elusive concept until I visited the Zen gardens and Ryogen-In temple in Kyoto. I think I now have an intuitive grasp (even the makings of a nascent sartori) of what they are all about.

In Hong Kong I went with Alice Lee and several of her colleagues to one of the islands, Cheung Chau, in what is described as the Northern Territories, a 40 - minute ride on a Hovercraft. The picturesque village, a refreshing contrast to the frenzied pace of the city of Hong Kong, had dozens of small fishing boats in the harbor and offered some fantastic seafood. In Taiwan, two graduate students took me to the large square where there is a building containing a huge and formidable statute to Chiang, Kai-shek, the hero and saviour of their country. We arrived in time to see the ceremony of the changing of the guard, a performance of measured military steps, heel clicking, and elaborate choreographed gestures with rifles, including throwing them in the air.

These Asian countries have gained much from us but it is apparent how much we can and should learn from them. Their traditions are rich and pervasive, and they seem able to reconcile their spiritual pursuits with new media technology and popular culture thus creating a middle ground that could offer some important lessons for the western world. This fits nicely with one of the guiding principles of The Hong Kong Institute of Education: "flexibility of mind combined with access to the wisdom of the world's diverse cultures."

Key media education leaders from those countries sponsored the whirlwind Asian tour- Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan. I have never been treated so well in my life. The itineraries were well planned - a great mix of presentations, consultations and sight seeing. That there was always a guide or several colleagues to make the sightseeing worthwhile was an unexpected bonus. And all that Chinese and Japanese food offered a superb dining experience and a cultural immersion in itself.

I was especially excited to see real progress in media literacy and I congratulate these educators for their pioneering efforts. Their endeavor reminds me of the early days of The Association for Media Literacy when we felt marginalized, were forced to lobby education bureaucrats and were always grateful for any concessions from the authorities. Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan have all made some propitious beginnings in overcoming the limitations of their rigid, traditional curriculum. We should look forward to following their progress.

Fortunately, all of my key contacts had already established connections with key media educators in a variety of countries, and they had attended major media education conferences and were especially energized by Summit 2000 in Toronto. Alice Lee, a Hong Kong media educator and professor at Hong Kong Baptist University, wrote her doctoral thesis several years ago on the socio-political origins of the Ontario - based Association for Media Literacy. Sophia Wu, from Taiwan, is a professor and director of media literacy at National Chengechi University. She had attended the media education conference in St. Paul, Minnesota last year and as well, Summit 2000. Midori Suzuki from Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan visited Ontario a year ago and in the last ten years had attended several international conferences. In 1992, she translated our Ontario Media Literacy Resource Guide into Japanese.