Significance of Cinema in Shaping Cultural Values of Young Consumers

Abstract

With technological advancement in the digital realm and ever-increasing accessibility to variety of media, innumerable forces are shaping the cultural mind set of present day consumer. Cinema is one such powerful media vehicle widely considered as a microcosm of social, political, economic, and cultural life of a nation. India’s Hindi language movie industry called ‘Bollywood’ is the world’s most prolific factory of cinema. The ever-increasing popularity of Bollywood suggests the need to explore the messages that are being conveyed through this medium of entertainment. This empirical research paper attempts to study the influence of Bollywood movies on selected contemporary Indian cultural values. Primary data is collected through a survey of 202 post-graduate students in the city of Ahmedabad in India. Response towards the cultural values is measured using structured questionnaire and relevant statistical testes are performed for data analysis. The findings of the study suggest a definite impact of Bollywood movies on urban Indian youth’s orientation towards contemporary cultural values. The practical implications suggest adopting Indian cultural cues in designing brand communication as well as combining a unique mix of Indian cultural values to a particular product. Since consumption decisions made in the market are closely related to cultural orientation and allegiance of the consumers, Bollywood has a huge potential of being a brand shaper for marketers.