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Keen to Stream – India’s Cinema in the Digital Age

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Last week I reflected on India’s digital cinema, in relation to recent lockdowns and my online streaming experience. In terms of Asia in the Digital Age, India’s big step from movie cinemas to laptop/phone screens demonstrates that in order to stay connect you need to connect.

The Guardian

Since the majority of the global population lives in Asia, they will soon become the predominant when it comes to digital systems. This notion could be compared to India’s cinema, as they are the world’s largest producer of films, they could hold the majority in the future when it comes to digital cinema.

The perfect conditions have been created for this transition which includes:

  • Affordable mobile broadband
  • Increase in content consumption
  • High smart-phone penetration
  • Investments in Indian originals
  • 40 over-the-top media services operating in India

“Asia in the digital age” demonstrates that conditions such as these allow people to “gain digital access, exercise digital rights and influence the digital agenda”.

With Amazon Prime and Netflix set to invest $340 million in original Indian content, which is 52% of the total investments in 2021. This economic interest will thrust India’s cinema further into the digital domain. This is also prevalent as in my last blog post I noted that the Indian film industry contributes for more than 50% of the Indian economy. With such economical influence I am immediately struck by the rising power Indian cinema will hold.

By stepping onto the digital stage India is not only opening doors for its country, but for the rest of the world. Our younger generation particularly will often turn to the internet to get a better understanding of the world. Our constant consumption of content helps to shape that view, so having access to original content is essential to ensuring our understanding is current, realistic and true. With the increase of Indian original films being uploaded to streaming sites we can access unappropriated content with the touch of a finger.

India is also aware of this influence, as recently sites such as Amazon Prime were forced to issue an apology for content that “hurt religious sentiment“. A digital foot print is one thing, but a digital stampede is another. With the rest of the internet watching across the globe, proper representation is essential. Religion has an incredible influence on Indian society, which is a rich culture that needs to be displayed to the rest of the world. Film is a great medium to present it, and streaming is great way to share it.

Reflecting on India’s Digital Cinema

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Image from: Al Jazeera

In a time of lockdowns and travel bands, the only way many Australians can explore other countries is digital. So while Asia in the digital age has encouraged many economic, political and social changes within, it has also had a flow-on effect to many western countries.

It came as a shock to me to learn that India is the world’s largest producer of films. Not only this, but the contribution the Indian film industry contributes for more than 50% of the Indian economy! This has a huge amount of benefits to local economies, as it boosts the number of tourists and features key Southern Indian languages.

When learning this I couldn’t help but think “how is that possible?!”, especially due to the fact that I am all too familiar with film releases being pushed back or cancelled due to Covid. So to have 50% of the economy relying on this seems, tense.

Image from: Statista

Well the reality is that Indian cinema has been hit hard during Covid and movie theatres are being forced to close at large rates. Yet further research into Indian cinema revealed that India’s “digital cinema” has proven that India is well and truely in the digital age. Streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon and Hotstar each invested in India as one of the fastest-growing web market.

As someone who hasn’t been able to step foot in a cinema in 5 months, yet I have seen many new releases from the comfort of my couch, this move seems like a no-brainer. Although theatrical releases would generate a lot of money in the Bollywood industry, the shift to streaming services still offers unique benefits to Indian film such as:

  • More than half of the Indians films launched on Netflix in the last 12 months had female producers, directors or central character
  • Creativity towards exploring different matters and struggles
  • Access to a large set of customers/viewers

Asia in the Digital Age has demonstrated the global context such technology shifts can make to the connection to the digital economy, through which India is noted to specialise in the “provision of digital labour”. India’s digital cinema “expanded public spheres and public participation”, so streaming services can go beyond the viewing experience and can extend to participation in social media discourse which is open to a more diverse audience.

Exploring the Indian films available on Netflix

By exploring India’s digital cinema, I was surprised by the the huge role it plays in India’s economy. So it was particularly interesting to see how India had to dive into digital streaming to maintain income during the pandemic. Though, this move should not be surprising to me considering the incredible growth of India web market, streaming is just another avenue. By adapting to large streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon, the Indian film market is completely accessible by Australians, so we don’t have to change our viewing habits or platforms in order to access an Indian film.

The Algorithm of Human Intuition – AlphaGo

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Quanta Magazine

The number of possible board configurations in the game Go is more than the number of atoms in the universe, so who better to take the game on than artificial intelligence?

This sort of incredible computing power seems like what you would only see in science fiction. Sure it’s not threatening to overrule the world, but it is digital processes that are so complex that they could change the way we operate as a society, yet it can be classified as Esports. This discussion became the focus during my live tweeting of AlphaGo (2017) – what does this mean and where will it lead us?

In Anthique’s discussion of the “Infrastructural Turn” the technical level of infrastructure includes financial systems, data centres, supercomputers, mobile infrastructure, GPS and manufacturing, with only a small amount of Asian economies have the ability to develop a “full suite of infrastructure”.

Internet of Business

Seeing such phenomenal technology in “AlphaGo” makes me focus in on its ability to improve manufacturing and labor infrastructure in Asia. With 28% of the world’s manufacturing output taking place in China this sort of computing power could completely alter the future of labor. While it could help to overcome the many dangerous or abusive situations created by this industry, it will also displace 56% of Asian manufacturing jobs through the rise of automation. This could have detrimental effects on workers and citizens, in order to achieve cheaper manufacturing and labor costs through the Trans-Pacific partnership.

“AlphaGo” also encourages important discussion about what jobs and tasks technology can replace. While many workers would agree that AI could not do what they do, maybe we shouldn’t be too confident… A quote that stood out to me in AlphaGo (2017) was “we have to come up with some kind of clever algorithm to mimic what people do with their intuition.” Intuition. The ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning. Human intuition was something we once thought was untouchable by machines.

With the ability for technology to improve itself to become stronger through learning, AlphaGo played against itself to accumulate “thousands of years of human knowledge“. This ability could be crucial to replicating tasks previously only carried out by humans. How important is the human touch when you have AI created with an algorithm based on our intuition.

The infrastructural turn involves many competing discussions, to which we need to consider the future possibilities of technology such as AlphaGo and what is means for citizens and their jobs.

Show me HOW MUCH you care – People’s Republic of Desire

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In a time of influencers squeezing money from their fans, live streamers put them to shame. After the live screening of “People’s Republic of Desire” (2018) I’ve realised that maybe I’m in the minority as a fan…

Original Image SXSW

Right off the bat I was taken back by the interaction that take place on the social network YY.com, although technically it is not that different from Twitch. Through virtual tip jars fans can donate to their favourite streamer, earning China’s live-stream market at least $3 billion in 2016.

Yet “People’s Republic of Desire” proved the lengths fan’s were willing to go to just demonstrate their loyalty and feel noticed. Fan’s that were pictured in the documentary could be earning around $400 a month, working low-paying jobs and sleeping in a room with 6 other people, yet they were still happy to donate what little they did earn to their idols.

This made me question, was I the only one who had never “donated” to an online personality? Yet many of my class mates shared the same experience.

Each and every encounter mediated by the digital carries with it a functional exchange, certainly, yet at the same time, each transaction implies certain ‘relations of participation’ that remediate social relationships for the digital age.

Athique 2013
Original Image from @hilakleinh3, co-host of the H3 Podcast and CEO of Teddy Fresh

While buying merchandise is still participating in the ‘age of transactions’, I am only able to justify an online transaction if I feel the exchange is of value to me. For instance receiving clothing, exclusive content or tickets to events seems worth my money, but personally trying to buy the attention of an idol who may simply look the other way I cannot justify.

Don’t get me wrong, donating to streamers is not exclusive to Asia. Popular streamers like Ninja can earn $423,000 per month just from twitch subscriber donations, so clearly I could be apart of the minority who do not donate.

It’s common for Instagram influencers to push products down their fans throat, simply because they are being sponsored by a brand or have an affiliation link, and no one bats an eye. So by allowing fans to donate directly to their idols they’re skipping the middle man, scams and anything that makes them disingenuous or deceptive.

Monetizing these interactions is the new normal in the age of transactions, and if you love watching a streamer’s content then what better way to show your appreciation then through a monetary exchange. “People’s Republic of Desire” is proof of the age of transactions, fans feel a sense of loyalty and dedication not only to their idol but also the audience they attract, so they treat it as a commodity.