India’s vast film industry has generated relatively little cultural power for the country over the decades: its productions have tended to be formulaic and simplistic, and have found only limited audiences beyond South Asia and its diasporas.
That may begin to change. Buoyed by India’s rising wealth, Bollywood is gaining resources, professionalizing, and linking to the global entertainment industry, reports indicate. Indian films are starting to attract global talent, and movies are taking on more diverse and serious subjects, while simultaneously becoming more accessible to non-Indian audiences.
The result may be that India’s values and views will be shared with the world more broadly and more convincingly, the hallmark of a great power.
Despite vigorous efforts to increase Venezuela’s “soft power,” Hugo Chavez does not appear to be succeeding, according to data released by Pew this week.
In 5 of 6 major Latin American nations, majorities have little or no confidence in Chavez as a leader. In Brazil and Peru, majorities have “no confidence at all” in him. Only in Argentina is opinion divided, with 40% of the population feeling somewhat positive about Chavez.
In short, the prospects for Chavez’s “Bolivaran Revolution” transforming the politics of Latin America remain poor.
Earlier this month Lee Kuan Yew, who effectively created the nation of Singapore based on his personal vision, suggested to the New York Times that the United States–unlike China–was not effectively preparing for the future in Asia:
One of his concerns now, Mr. Lee said, is that the United States has become so preoccupied with the Middle East that it is failing to look ahead and plan in this part of the world. “I think it’s a real drag slowing down adjusting to the new situation,” he said, describing what he called a lapse that worries Southeast Asian countries that count on Washington to balance the rising economic and diplomatic power of China. “Without this draining of energy, attention and resources for Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, there would have been deep thinking about the long-term trends — working out possible options that the U.S. could exercise to change the direction of long-term trends more in its favor,” Mr. Lee said. As the United States focuses on the Middle East, Mr. Lee said, the Chinese are busy refining their policies and building the foundations of more cooperative long-term relationships in Asia. “They are making strategic decisions on their relations with the region,” he said.
Mr. Lee also notes a pattern that suggests Singaporean cultural power vastly disproportionate to its small size: China’s ministers meet with Singapore’s twice a year “to learn from their experience,” and “50 mayors of Chinese cities visit every three months for courses in city management.”