Question 6- Exoticism

In brief, the ad shows Conan O'Brien, a white man, traveling through India to create the fabric for his curtain on stage. Many textual elements of the advertisement display what Sanjukta Ghosh wrote about in our readings. Ghosh describes how this "exoticism" portrays foriegn cultures, specifically Indian cultures, as narrow constructions of Indianness (280). Exoticism is an element of globalization that appropriates elements of another culture that makes it seem "cool" but in reality gives a fake vision of the culture.

Conan travels through this exotic area of India, but what stikes me is that throughout the video is that Conan seems to be the "exotic" one. The people seem fascinated with his presence there, one clip even has a woman playing with his hair. Obviously there are many textual elements that present the Indians featured as the exotic ones. But I think the major overriding theme here is globalization in general. Conan is appropriating elements of Indian culture into his curtain he weaves, so his experiences there can literally be shown in the final product of the curtain he makes. This element is not "in your face" clear, but I believe it fits the theme of globalization because cultures of another country somehow find there way into American culture today, as hinted by the curtain.

Conan's exotic nature, combined with the globalization theme creates this hybrid feeling of inter mixed cultures and perspectives.