Consumption of US television and films in Northeastern Mexico

Abstract

This article explores the consumption patterns of local and foreign film and television content of Mexican audiences living in the Northeast region of the country, a region bordering with the United States. Based on telephone surveys in four of the largest cities in the area (Reynosa, Monterrey, Saltillo and Torreón), the study presents data about television consumption that suggest that cultural proximity factors are stronger in Mexican northerners than their geographical, commercial and historical proximity to the US. The concept of cultural discount seems to apply in this part of Mexico, due to the differences in language, practices and traditions despite the proximity and familiarity with US culture (except in the case of Hollywood films, as in many other countries in the world).

Young people and television fiction. Reception analysis

“…The greater affinity of participants in our research with characters from Spanish fiction, however, suggests the possible existence of some type of 'cultural discount' (Lozano, 2011), derived from the greater difficulty identifying with characters from foreign fiction. The greater involvement of participants with domestic fiction could also explain that characters and stories native to them appear to be more realistic than North American ones.…”

Global media flows: A qualitative review of research methods in audio-visual flow studies

“…Scholars warn against equating U.S. imports to hegemonic, ideological and generally negative, while considering local and national programs as counter-hegemonic, non-ideological and positive (Lozano, 2011: 699), as ‘In ideological terms, commercial contra-flows champion free-market capitalism, supporting a privatized and commodified media system’ (Thussu, 2007: 28). Furthermore, Artz (2017: 99) claims that the concept of contra-flow is only a variant of transnational realignment, rather than a progressive form of national resistance to foreign cultural domination by the West, and that the use of national markers to analyse global media influence is made more difficult by the rise in transnational partnerships, mergers and joint ventures.…”

“…Moreover, through the extensive literature review, it became evident that their cross-border flow is often researched together or through the same methodology. Within the sample, 21 studies discuss TV programmes, while 10 of them discuss film – as one study, Lozano (2011), investigates the consumption of both types of U.S. content in a region in Mexico. In terms of methodology, we have selected both studies based on primary and secondary data, in an attempt to include all types of flow studies conducted in this period, based on which we have formulated the methodological categories (cf.…”

“…Similarly, in single case studies, the aim is to identify the characteristics of certain emerging media markets and the media products that have been successfully exported to other parts of the world (e.g. Attallah, 2002; Cunningham and Jacka, 2002; Lozano, 2011; Pendakur and Subramanyam, 2002).…”