Bridging the Divide

What does it take to bring two groups of people together?  Do we need more integration of the communities? Or maybe just better education for everyone in schools?  Although there are many factors that could help bring more people together, one thing we know for sure is that there is a great disparity between classes and ethic groups when it comes to being able to connect to the internet.

The Great Divide.

According to a study performed by Pew Internet & American Life Project, 17% of cell phone owners do most of their internet browsing on their cellular device rather then a computer.   Although this number may not seem significant, it is important to point out that roughly two-thirds of African-American and Latino cell phone owners go online mainly using their cell phone. This is a vital piece of information because this means that most are able to connect to the world even though they may not have either a computer in their home or they can’t afford having the internet hooked up in their house.  This makes sense because it would more cost effective to have internet on just one device instead of others.  This is great for communities to come together and be able to connect with each other because they can go on Facebook or be able to send and receive emails.   Being able to connect with their friends and families will now be easier then before for these minorities. 

The Gap that is now a Crack.

With this progress for minorities with better connectivity to the world, I could see within 3-5 years that communities of different races and backgrounds to come together and work with each other in order to create better environments for their kids.  Although a lot of progress still needs to be made for these communities to come together, I believe that soon enough a child from a lower social-economical class will have just as many advantages as another kid from a higher class.  Because of these advancements in technology, the divide that separates different classes and ethnic groups will become smaller and eventually become so minuscular that nobody will be able to notice it.

Technology is on the Move.

There are some great technology that we now have that we couldn't have possibly dreamed of a couple of decades ago, however with new advances everyday in the world of technology, anything is possible.  When it comes to the mobile arena, cell phones, tablets, and other portable devices are getting smaller, faster, and more affordable.  Because of this, more and more people will be able to get a mobile device and be able to connect to the internet.  What I believe people should be prepared for is to realize that the next great thing is always right around the corner and that you have to keep up with technology if you want to stay in with the crowd.  Nobody always knows what new device is going to out next, but you need to stay informed in order to take full advantage of every technology.

The Uprising of Bollywood

Here in the United States we have enormous amounts of coverage on the latest tv shows and movies and can constantly be updated by the latest gossip of celebrities and their latest move.  We are so focused on our own entertainment industry that we forget what is happening with the world's entertainment.  Even more surprising is that India's entertainment is quickly growing and yet we have very little coverage on it.  This industry is called Bollywood, and it is becoming a giant in the entertainment industry.

How Bollywood is taking over the global entertainment industry

Bollywood has a very simple business model. Do as the Americans do.  Ever since it's first films, it has constantly mimicked how the American film industry raised the bar for the quality and quantity of their movies.  The bigger the bang and the cooler the shots, brought in more money and saw better ratings for the movie.  This gave the audience always wanting more and gave the production companies always try to outdo their competitor.

It takes a lot of money to finance these big budget movies though and it takes a lot of coordination between several different organizations to ensure a movie is financed.  When Bollywood first started getting popular, the government put a ban on banks being able to loan out money.  This allowed for private distributors and big movie studios to capitalize on Bollywood's success.  However the government recently lifted the ban allowing for smaller studios to increase their budget for movies.  This allows for a boost in higher quality movies being put out in the market, but there are some consequences to the raise of this ban as well.  Illegitimate sources of money were now allowed to control their movies they financed which allowed for different terrorist groups to promote their organization.

American influences on the Indian entertainment industry.

The name Bollywood is very easily recognized to be derived from Hollywood, American's giant movie industry.  However, the name isn't the only influence America has had on Bollywood.  Throughout the 1920s and 50s, American musicals were the hit, however Indian filmmakers took a different spin on it.  As Hollywood focused on having their musicals in their own little world, Bollywood used musicals to enhance their movies in their natural setting to perserve their cultural and heritage.  This allowed for Bollywood to start having their own trends that were popular in the western cultural.

Although Bollywood has had success in it's country, it has yet to transcend to American soil.  This is evident because one of the most popular movies in 2011 was called "Singham" yet it didn't make an news stories in America papers.  This just shows how closed off American is to global industries that will eventually influence our cultural.