Secretary of State Clinton in India
Findlay Kember, AFP/Getty Images
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton engaged in public diplomacy with a large group of students and academicians at Delhi University yesterday.
A summary of the event on NPR’s website described a part of her interaction with the students: “…the lightest moment came when the secretary was asked about cultural differences between the two big democracies. She said it is time for Indians and Americans to get over the stereotypes promoted by their movies and television.”
Clinton went on to say “If Hollywood and Bollywood were how we all lived our lives, that would surprise me. And yet it’s often the way our cultures are conveyed, isn’t it? People watching a Bollywood movie in some other part of Asia think everybody in India is beautiful, and they have dramatic lives and happy endings. And if you were to watch American TV and our movies, you think we don’t wear clothes and we spend a lot of time fighting each other.”
This tactic of drawing parallels between the US and other countries is a hallmark of Clinton, and the reference to popular culture was appreciated by her audience (the crowd apparently “roared” after the statement). Cultures overlap in many ways, and this commonality can be a powerful demonstration. Clinton drew her comparison to demonstrate how important cultural awareness is.
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