The World Cup is an exception. Fun is more fragmented than ever
A local content boom is rewriting the rules of entertainment – and of soft power.
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Taylor Swift is among the American elite of megastars with a global fanbase, but entertainment below the top rank is increasingly fragmented into local niches.
PHOTO : REUTERS
The Economist
With lyrics in English, French, Spanish, Italian and Japanese, the theme tune of the men’s World Cup, performed at its opening ceremony on June 11, exemplifies the contest’s claim to foster global unity. Nearly half the world is expected to tune in over the coming weeks as the tournament moves towards its final on the outskirts of New York. A viewer might come away with two conclusions. First, that entertainment culture is more globalised than ever. Second, that America remains the soft-power superpower at the centre of it all.
Both assumptions would be wrong. Mega-events like the World Cup still seize global attention. But the bigger picture is that entertainment is fragmenting.
