Asian TV comes to Britain: but does it survive the trip?: The re-authoring of The Water Margin

This paper examines the re-authoring The Water Margin underwent for an English speaking audience. Examining globalisation from the perspective of a cultural imperialism model (as proposed by cultural thinkers such as Benjamin Barber, Toby Miller etc) usually advocates viewing Western cultural dominance as consisting of invading local markets and homogenizing film culture (stifling diversity and inhibiting local expression). Yet in this instance rather than producing textual meaning the BBC instilled in the existing and imported product a new meaning that adhered to a British understanding of Asia. Rather than the BBC producing and selling western values, this time the product was bought but a western perspective was applied ex post facto. This raises questions as to whether imposing cultural values on another country is often over-emphasised at the expense of examining the form in which the cultural product reaches that country and the spirit in which it is viewed. The Water Margin was reconfigured for the domestic market, transformed, watched and consumed with little view for any inherent message that the producers wished to instil. This paper questions just whose voice is loudest, that of the media producer or the local media players who know what sells.