“Despacito” topped the charts, the Korean pop band BTS is being compared to The Beatles, and foreign filmmaking is on the rise. You may be asking what this has to do with professional writing, or even English. Well, a lot more than you might think. Here, we’ll take a look at how to master the arts of editing and technology, and how universal themes are generated to target mass audiences.
As English enthusiasts, our ultimate goal is to create, contribute to, or study these major climactic points that define our society on a global and historical scale. As professional writers, we can learn from these sources in order to globalize our own projects and passions.
For most of history, Western culture has influenced other regions, but now the tables seem to be turning in a phenomenon called cultural diffusion. How does this relate to professional writing? By conducting three interviews, I was able to learn how to attract massive global audiences through new technology, editing according to universal themes and understanding the power of language.
Through interviews with a non-native English speaker from a country with ever-influencing pop culture, a sociologist and somebody with an indifferent stance on the rise of new influences shaping America, I’ve come a bit closer to identifying the cultural tipping point that many professional writers learn to find in order to draw attention to their own projects.
Interview 1: Jay
The backdrop for any global sensation is technology; it’s crucial to learn how to design, market and broadcast any product. In professional writing, a student does just this. By analyzing font types, color schemes and details that draw in audiences, professional writers hone the same skills used by major companies to attain globalization.
Jay, a UAB student born in South Korea, weighs in on this topic. On the subject of Korean pop music, he tells me that he believes it’s the culture shock that typically attracts foreign audiences. The expressive style choices, technicality and overall extravagance presented in K-pop music videos allow a foreigner to escape into a world that isn’t their own. Jay says that most people don’t know what the actual lyrics to “Despacito” mean, but because of its marketing and appeal, it became a hit to English speakers.
Professional writers learn not only how to relate, but how to present our work in way that will inspire a sense of awe in our audience, and to make them truly interested in what we are presenting. Through classes in editing and design, students in the professional writing program are on their way to creating the same widespread appeal around their own projects.
Interview 2: Dr. Szaflarski
Next, I spoke to Dr. Szaflarski, a sociologist and professor at UAB. She explains how this phenomenon isn’t new, yet the presence of technology has created a platform with the power to reshape our culture.
Our discussion centered less around specific media influences than around widespread theories that prove how our world is changing. According to human ecology theory, technology enables new “tipping points,” or the factor that allows for a product to become successful to a large group of people.
Dr. Szaflarski goes on to discuss contemporary theory, or the idea that language and communication helps spread new innovations. As English speaking creators in a highly technological society, we are part of a global system in which cooperation with other nations and cultures is essential. Professional writers learn valuable skills in dealing with phenomena that’s not only embedded in American society, but modern global society as a whole. This puts analytical professional writers at the forefront of creators who can release culturally sensitive products in the midst of a digital age that makes issues like cultural appropriation more prevalent.
It’s important to note that communication is far more than words, but how those words are printed to attract an audience. Knowing what to use to gain viewership and how to create positive global reactions, professional writers possess a set of skills that are essential to the modern world.
Interview 3: Ashley
Ashley is a UAB student who sheds some light on my final question: how does the English language tie into all of this? Globalization and language are closely correlated, as language is essential to communication, and becoming proficient at analyzing trends is the goal of any writer, editor, marketer or global sensation, whether that be a musical artist, a filmmaker, or a series creator.
English students analyze texts such as novels and poetry with longstanding significance in many of our required classes, and a common denominator are themes that shape generations. This universality of topics can be applied on an even greater scale. Ashley gives a more a more objective opinion on this matter, particularly in the K-Pop genre. She says that themes like love and the universal appeal of certain features being deemed “attractive” allow this type of cultural diffusion to soar.
If you can learn how to analyze longstanding values, themes and cultural norms (as one does in an English class), you can acquire the tools that could make you successful in nearly any field that requires creativity, expression or “selling” an idea.
Conclusion
Globalization and cultural diffusion are very real aspects of our lives in the 21st century. It is important to understand not only what a piece of media is, but how it uses technology, editing according to universal themes and language to attract massive global audiences.
Professional writing encompasses these aspects and more, and is therefore rising in prominence as a viable path of study. So, next time you listen to listen to “Despacito” or watch Pokemon, perhaps you’ll notice how these phenomena appeal to their audiences, and through professional writing, your understanding could grow even deeper.
