Asia's booming 'DVD Phenomenon'

Asia's booming 'DVD Phenomenon'

Eric Teo Chu Cheow, Singapore

The "DVD phenomenon" in Asia is of strategic importance to
governments and a psychological value to consumers, despite the
copyright infringement issue; in fact, the DVD is fast replacing
the VCD as the best-selling item on the consumer market in Asia
today.

Even the poorer consumers in Asia's least developing countries
are beginning to have access to the DVD. From China and Indonesia
to Thailand and Laos, the DVD is ironically fast becoming
symbolic of Asia's rise and well-being; it also helps maintain
stability and a sense of regional integration.

China's DVD explosion is undoubtedly reaching out to the
masses; priced at about RMB8 in Beijing (or US$1), the DVD brings
back to China the "film phenomenon", especially of Western
movies, from which China was virtually shut off for years.

The simultaneous launch of the latest Star Wars episode,
including in Beijing, was meant to fight piracy; but just two
days after the launch, pirated copies had reportedly popped up in
DVD shops and in the back lanes of the Chinese capital.

Undoubtedly, the "DVD phenomenon" in China is one of a "catch-
up" for lost time on the cinema, when just only a trickle of
Western films a year were allowed to be screened in China; this
phenomenon is also synonymous with China's "opening up", as the
Chinese public discovers Western cinema and through it, the world
at large.

But more interestingly, the whole of Asia seems to be caught
up in a DVD frenzy as well. Three important trends of this "DVD
Phenomenon" could be observed throughout Asia, a facet that needs
to be better analyzed than just the issues of piracy and
copyrights alone.

First, cheap DVDs sold to the masses are giving Asians the
feeling of a sound economic well-being; Asia's economic emergence
and its indomitable rise of consumer power could in fact be
hinged on this "DVD phenomenon". The massive sale of DVDs (though
for the most part of it, pirated ones) in the lower Asian classes
has injected a "feel good" sentiment into Asian consumerism,
which in turn could propel economic growth further.

In a way, the "DVD phenomenon" (both in terms of sales of DVD
machines and disks) provides the Asian consumer with a sense of
growing wealth and well-being. In the Central Market in downtown
Vientiane, Laos, the "explosion" of VCD and DVD machines is
phenomenal, costing each between $20 to $30, and all made in
Guangdong in Southern China; in these same stores, DVDs and VCDs
cost less than half a $1 each.

Similarly, in downtown Jakarta's Chinatown, pirated disks
could be found at less than $1 too, just like an array of cheap
and affordable DVD machines could also be found in the alleys,
mostly imported from China.

Second, the "DVD phenomenon" is clearly to Asian governments'
delight, as it helps maintain political and social stability.
Cheap DVDs keep Asian consumers at home watching them, especially
those Korean series that take 40 to 60 hours to complete the
whole sequel.

Protests and social discontent could thus be kept off the
streets, as nothing could be more politically potent than idle
minds, with nothing to do after work; Vientiane's, Jakarta's and
Beijing's current policies of "allowing" the development of
pirated DVDs could surely be linked to this overall "stability
pact", which DVDs offer. The DVD phenomenon is thus also a social
and political one, which has apparently helped guarantee Asia's
mid-term stability.

Moreover, it provides a sense of social re-distribution,
whereby the poorer classes could feel that they could now have
the means to consume (even though they buy cheaper pirated
versions of dubious quality), thus keeping social instability in
check. If DVDs are priced at $12-15 a piece (as in the developed
world), then the Asian poor would never have any hopes of
accessing this consumerism facet.

In fact, Malaysia has tried to lower the "official" prices of
DVDs to a median between the prices of authentic and pirated
versions, so as to fight piracy, but has failed thus far, given
the "hard line" taken by local importers not to compromise on
copyrights or more egoistically, reduce their own profit margins.
But downtown Bangkok's night markets are doing brisk trade in the
Silom and Sukhumvit areas, peddling Asian and international
pirated DVDs to both locals and Asian tourists, alike at $3 to $4
a piece.

Thirdly, the "DVD phenomenon" is also of integrative value, as
the DVD may contribute to greater Asian understanding in far
subtler ways than one could imagine. The production and
distribution of Asian movies and cinema (via pirated DVD) and
China's massive sales (if not, thanks to dumping) of cheap and
affordable machines are in fact "pooling" Asia together
psychologically.

Although Asians are by and large still attracted to American
movies, ranging from Star Wars and Harry Potter to Batman, Asian
serial dramas and contemporaries are now circulating widely
throughout Asia, ranging from Taiwanese, South Korean and
Japanese soaps to the new genre of Chinese, Hongkong and Thai
movies.

Soon enough, the feeling of "Asian-ness" would pervade in a
region, which remains more fractured than ever on the official
60th anniversary of the end of the Pacific War this August. The
"DVD phenomenon" could thus prove to be the spectacular tool,
like the mobile phone, to unite a disparate Asia of rich but
diverse cultures.

Cultural dissemination could then promote better understanding
amongst Asians, which in turn could provide the basis for future
Asian regionalism; China remains the center piece of this
"cultural web" and there are no doubts that the DVD could even
serve Beijing's future interests in "uniting" this region
culturally, economically and then, perhaps, politically (vis-a-
vis the West).

The "DVD phenomenon" is therefore providing Asia with a sense
of economic well-being of rising consumerism, social and
political stability, as well as a feeling of cross-cultural
fertilization and people-to-people understanding, which could
undoubtedly help build the Asia of tomorrow.

This phenomenon cannot be discounted as a powerful trend,
which goes beyond the condemnable issues of piracy and copyrights
for Asia, its economy, its governments and its society.

Eric Teo Chu Cheow, a business consultant and strategist, is
Council Member of the Singapore Institute for International
Affairs (SIIA).