Lost in Translation

The article by Youna Kim Experiencing Globalization –Global TV Reflexivity and the Lives of Young Korean Women explores the consumption of global images and television by this group of women. In the article Kim asks the question “In what ways does the existence of globalization alter the very texture of the lives of young Korean women?” To address this question, Kim specifically conducts ethnographic research of the young working class and middle class Korean women in their 20’s. Kim details the ways in which globalization of television influences and becomes a part of the way these young women make sense of their lives. Based on Kim’s research, by consuming global television images Korean women are able to identify with and imagine possibilities for their own lives through reflective self analysis. The article looks at how Korean women establish ideas of their lives and experiences relative to the lives of Western women. In some cases the women idealized the images of Western women and in other cases the Korean women seem to look more critically at how the images are not necessarily realistic or relevant to the experiences of Korean young women.

The discussion of globalization regarding media images and reflexivity is also relevant to images of women portrayed in popular reality television. Specifically, it is interesting to view how the role of “wife” is reflected in the “Real Housewives” series on the Bravo cable network. The “Real Housewives” series features women from six cities across the United States of a certain social class and affluence focused on the “problems” of maintaining their lives. Watching these shows provides an image of “housewife” constructed by lavish homes, expensive clothes, friends, parties and money. The shows seem to create a narrative of shallow materialism that is often stereotypically associated with western society and with wealth in general. By using the term “real” the show’s creators imply that these are genuine stories of American housewives, as opposed to highly edited sensationalized scenes of women behaving badly simply created to generate ratings. The fact that the Real Housewives series has expanded to international markets and several of these “wives” types shows appear on a number of cable networks is a clear indication of popularity. It is difficult to understand why so many women tune in, but the ideas of reflexivity that Kim presents regarding Korean women, may also be relevant to American women and other women consuming this reality show genre as well. Since many women who serve as housewives are actually managing their homes and the lives of their families, these shows may represent some type of fantasy for women. These shows also play into women’s yearning for freedom, social mobility and individualization that Kim refers to when speaking about the Korean women’s reaction to the perceived freedom of the western women they watch on television.

On the Real Housewives series, everyday occurrences such as a wedding or birth of a child are more about “over-the-top” opulence than the way that these events actually occur in the context of being a wife or a housewife. In these shows the women are rarely actually raising children or supporting their husbands in any way.





In some ways, the actual image and role of a housewife has been marginalized by their representation in these types of shows. Interestingly enough, the Real Housewives series began in 2006 during the meltdown in the global economy, yet they have thrived and expanded despite messages of extreme excess. The series has been so successful the participants have become celebrity and the format has been replicated in 6 cities across the United States with 4 international installments (Israel, Vancouver, Athens, Brazil) with several more in the works. Last year producers of the show decided to take this model of the overspending and opulent housewife to Athens, Greece during the worst financial crisis in the history of that country. With seemingly no regard for the environment in which the show would be broadcast, “Housewives” producers launched the show in March, 2011 and it was quickly cancelled after just six episodes. The show was ultimately removed from the air because of the images portrayed and the disregard for the environment in Greece. Perhaps, as with the Korean women who found images on Friends and other US syndicated television to be unrealistic, the Real Housewives message of greed and excess did not resonate with Greek audiences. The series is currently casting in several international locations including France.


The Real Housewives Invade France!


Selling American Mass Culture

In the essay Why I Hate Abercrombie & Fitch, McBride details ways in which this iconic American brand employs policies and practices that promote racism and discrimination. He believes that the image portrayed by the company is constructed in a calculated way that specifically aligns itself with White America. Although I don’t necessarily agree with the severity of the accusations in McBride’s piece, my visit to The Abercrombie & Fitch Store in Paris confirmed several of the ideas presented in the article. I think the store’s marketing strategy and practices seemed to be attempting to convey a uniquely white washed American brand.
The idea of typifying “whiteness” is evident throughout the store and specifically in the overwhelmingly large mural that spans the entire height of the store. The A&F mural includes images of men in various poses and forms in varying degrees of nudity. There is variety in sports that are depicted in the mural, however, there is not any variety in the race of the men represented—they are all white. Additionally, the sports represented are typically sports of privilege with more integrated sports of football and basketball conspicuously absent.
Although there was a Black male “go-go” dancer at the front door who was Black, the Abercrombie & Fitch “look” is clearly white, thin and young. The employees were very similarly dressed in A&F clothes and they would all espouse a typical American salutation “Hey, how’s it going?” Although once I tried to engage them in conversation beyond that phrase, no one seemed to have a grasp of English.
As an American woman in Paris checking out Abercrombie & Fitch I was struck by the way in which the French customers shopping in the Paris store seemed to be mesmerized by the space, the clothes and the “look.” Their fascination with the clothes , the A&F label and the “American” lifestyle that represents an exotic “other” may provide insight as to why French customers were willing to pay $75 for a cotton t-shirt. Maybe, it’s not about the clothes at all, but about the buying and selling of American mass culture.