Quality of life through entertainment: international exchange through globalization and localism

Not only the public sphere, but also the private one of every single person has to be considered important for their life quality. Entertainment, in fact, belongs to both of these environments, because individual preferences originate in individuals who are part of the society in which they live. The subject of study is entertainment through tv-shows and fictions shown in national and international television channels. Our aim isn’t to speak about dependence on media, but to analyze a specific pastime that is both national when it’s produced, and international when it’s used. We consider theories like Bandura’s one of modeling or the social expectation theory, which suggests that individual practices mostly results from conformity to the expectations of others, shaped by group models of behavior. Our aim is to find out preferences for fictions in Europe and in U.S.A., considering that these fictions present behaviors that are stereotypical both for the producers and for the users. We examine some of these stereotypes closer and confront them in order to understand what is produced and shared in some countries and what is received and perceived in others. The method we use is to compare frequencies of most internationally viewed fictions. A qualitative analysis is also applied to some Internet discussions among fans of specific tv-shows as to reveal possible differences in their evaluations of a show, derived from the use of specific stereotypes. Different countries like different products: sometimes these are local productions; other times international products are brought to the attention of a specific country and the interest shown for them probably derives from the common perception that these products offer an extensive knowledge on another population and enhance positive stereotypes. According to Derrida and Habermas (2003), not binding elements make sharing simpler. This is why art and culture are so important: they strengthen positive stereotypes and give life a better quality.