Kuch Kuch Hota Hai really got me thinking about how different cultures are referenced and represented in film. In class, we've already discussed things like the use of English slang, the inclusion of basketball, and the 'modern' fashion involved in the film. For me, it was certainly surprising to see all of these American or European elements functioning as an integral part of a Bollywood film's identity and style. It's a distinct example of cosmopolitanism, defined in class as 'culture beyond borders'.
Hollywood's remediation of cultures is much more extensive than Bollywood's, which I think can be seen (or heard) very clearly in a film's music. If a movie is set in Egypt, for example, the scene would definitely be established with any variety of 'exotic' instruments. Regardless of whether or not these instruments actually have a place in Egyptian culture, or are played in a traditional way, they still register with the audience as foreign. Stuff like this doesn't really sit well with me. It's creating music to represent a group of people. Maybe the composer will have done some research, and based their work on traditional music of that culture, but maybe not.
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai has an interesting relationship with this concept. The score is similar to a Hollywood one in its variety and the way it can punctuate the narrative. Plenty of comedic scenes in the film are combined with a goofy sound effect. More romantic or dramatic parts have the emotional strings that we saw work to great effect in Bicycle Thief. The songs also weave together a variety of musical styles and references. It seems more of a reflection of Bollywood's cosmopolitan nature than the stereotyping that we can see in Hollywood films.
I think I'll do some research into South Asian pop music. My impressions of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and its soundtrack might just be a result of a lack of familiarity, I don't know.
I was just watching the British television show "Call the Midwives" and I was shocked to see that they made use of the convention of "Asian" music to signal the inclusion of characters of Asian descent into the plot. I was disappointed because I thought that this convention had died down and this is a very recent show. I think this film is fairly dated in a lot of ways because it was made in the nineties and this is probably one of them. There are many ways the film is both cosmopolitan and not because the film industry like Hollywood remains insular in certain ways.
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