Globalization and world cinema

By Alex Singleton | 7 May 2005

I watched L'Appartement last night. It is an excellent French film by Gilles Mimouni. I find myself increasingly watching what is commonly described as "world cinema". Sure, I love Holywood films too - I recently watched Without a Paddle which stars the ever funny Seth Green. But I also like films from elsewhere in the world, too.

People complain about globalization imposing "conformity". They point out how as countries get rich they gain many of the same attributes. Like Starbucks and McDonald's. But while diversity is doubtless decreasing between countries, it is increasing within countries. I was in HMV recently (a British music and film retailer) and sought out the world cinema section. There were literally hundreds of titles - even a dedicated section for Bollywood.

Globalization is the great civilizing influence of our time. Not only does it bring humankind together in bonds of peace, it also helps us to grow culturally. It enables us to enjoy a wider variety of styles of content and helps us expand our horizons. Imagine if we could only buy movies produced in our own country? A scary thought.