User Experience for a Better World

Does one size fit all?

Does it? I mean, for such a long time we have all been looking at how cultures are different and evangelizing the need to look at cultural requirements as part of our design solutions. BUT, I have been wondering for a while, whether we should in fact flip the question and ask whether there is any possibility of a set of values that truly exist/appeal across ALL cultures in the same way? And what exactly do I mean by values? For example, values such as the 36 values in the Rokeach Value System (ambitious, broadminded, capable, cheerful, etc.) And so, imagine my joy when I realized that I have, right in front of me, a ‘product’ that I can experiment with, to understand the existence of universal values. And this product is none other than the movie Avatar.

Yes! Avatar has taken the No 1 spot in the list of all-time worldwide box office hits. Interestingly, the number 2 spot is currently occupied by Titanic, also by the same director!
This is what the Hollywood Recorder had to say:

“On Inflation-Adjusted Chart,Avatar has just beaten Titanic’s worldwide box-office record in inflation-adjusted Us-dollar terms. As per the Us Bureau of Labor Statistics’ inflation calculator, Titanic would have grossed $2.450 billion in 2010 Us dollars, or about $16
million less than Avatar, a blockbuster that continues to break box-office records overseas on its 10th week.”

And even in India:

“James Cameron’s magnum opus ‘Avatar’ is smashing all box-office records one after the other!

The epic action adventure has raked in a whopping INR 220 million in its opening weekend which not only makes it the highest ever weekend collection for any Hollywood film in India beating the opening collections of ‘2012’, ‘Titanic’ and ‘Spiderman 3’, but it has also left behind top Bollywood
films of 2009 like ‘All The Best’ and ‘Kaminey’ in their weekend collections! The film that released in 2D as well as 3D has, in fact, has beaten the openings of recent high profile Hindi films like ‘Rocket Singh- Salesman Of The Year’ and ‘Paa’.

Released on December 18 across India in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, ‘Avatar’ earned a record INR 10 million through its paid previews across India; the highest for any Hollywood film in India. The film then created a record by grossing INR 67.5 million on opening day itself, making it the biggest ever Friday opening for any Hollywood film in India.

Like in English, the dubbed versions have also been attracting huge crowds. Collections from single screens were also exceptional, with theatres in Bihar, Lucknow, Kanpur, Bhopal, Allahabad, Varanasi, Jalandhar, Jammu sporting ‘Houseful’ boards across the weekend”.

As I looked up box office statistics per country, this is what I found:

South Korea Top 10 Movies February 2010

by watchtopmovieson Feb.20, 2010, under Charts

Australia Top 10 Movies February 2010

by watchtopmovieson Feb.20, 2010, under Charts

US Top 10 Movies February 2010

by watchtopmovieson Feb.19, 2010, under Charts

New Zealand Top 10 Movies January 2010

by watchtopmovieson Feb.02, 2010, under Charts

Russia Top 10 Movies January 2010

by watchtopmovieson Jan.30, 2010, under Charts

Much is being said, written and blogged about Avatar.There are strong opinions about whether it 'perpetuates the racist and sexist hegemony by making Jake Sully, the white male heterosexual savior', why the Na'vis are blue, about the 'crucial links between Avatar's conflicts and world conflicts', whether the character of Jake Sully is actually an ethnographer and that the film is interesting for being a cinematic representation of anthropology and that it is hard not to see this as a commentary on HTS, and finally... how Carl Jung's "collective unconscious" phenomenon is explored in the movie, the incredible production values, the effect of 3D, etc.

I have some theories of my own about the universal popularity of Avatar and what one can distil from that, in terms of universal values. However, before i present my
theories, I would like to hear from you.

What did you think of Avatar? Why?

If there were any specific values that Avatar propagated …what were these?

Please do write in with your thoughts…who knows…maybe we will hit upon the magic combination of values that works across all cultures!

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Comment by Vikram Singh Chauhan on April 22, 2010 at 7:07am: Hi Apala,

I feel it is the "Hundredth Monkey Effect" combined with "Persuasion by Social Proof".

As you would know, unidentified scientists were conducting a study of macaques monkeys on the Japanese island of Koshima in 1952. These scientists purportedly observed that some of these monkeys learned to wash sweet potatoes, and gradually this new behavior spread through the younger generation of monkeys—in the usual fashion, through observation and repetition.

It was then claimed that the researchers observed that once a critical number of monkeys was reached—the so-called hundredth monkey—this previously learned behavior instantly spread across the water to monkeys on nearby islands. In today's world this spread of behavior is instantenous via the Internet.

In the case of Avtaar what happened was that the critical number was reached in the U.S.. Soon it began spreading worldwide due to a combination of the 100th Monkey Effect and social proof ("You haven't seen Avtaar yet?!!")

I think I just make a monkey of myself. :)

- Vikram Singh Chauhan