Down in the mall, between the fast-food joint and the bagel shop, a group of young people huddles in a flurry of baggy combat pants, skateboards, and slang. They size up a woman teetering past wearing DKNY, carrying Time magazine in one hand and a latte in the other. She brushes past a guy in a Yankees' baseball cap who is talking on his Motorola cellphone about the Martin Scorsese film he saw last night. It's a standard American scene - only this isn't America, it's Britain. US culture is so pervasive, the scene could be played out in any one of dozens of cities. Budapest or Berlin, if not Bogota or Bordeaux. Even Manila or Moscow.

for the rest of the article click here

Convenience is today one of the key factors that affects our every decision. With only twenty four hours a day, one does not want to have to waste a single second on something could just as easily accomplished in half as much time. It is this speed that has allowed globalization to become so widespread and so entrenched in such a short period of time.

As the article rightly pointed out, it took Plato two thousand years to reach America. But today, the latest pop song or Hollywood movie reaches the four corners of the earth in a matter of days. It is this amazing speed that makes all the difference, that allows American culture to be pervasive. Today, online shopping allows for the homogenization of fashion, clothing being an integral part of culture, everywhere. One barely has to lift a finger, quite literally, to purchase the latest design from Levi's ten days before it's even released half way around the world, where you stay. Before, you'd have to wait four months for the letter from your best friend, with a rough sketch of the design to even hear of it. On top of that, it would take another for months your reply to reach her, and yet another for months for that long awaited garment to reach you- by steam ship no less. The difference is quite stark. People adopt American culture because it is so convenient.

Another prime example would be that of food. McDonald's is so successful simply because it's fast, it's tasty and it's everywhere. Today's pace of life is so fast that one no longer has the time to start baking bread after work. McDonald's and other fast food restaurants solve this problem. But in doing so, they've created a new one. The popularity of traditional food is waning, at best, they are reserved for special occasions. Yet this art might be irrecoverable as traditional culinary skills and recipes are lost through disuse. And so a facet of culture unique to different parts of the world will be replaced by identical restaurant chains and franchises. All in the name of "not wasting time".

In an increasingly globalized world, free trade is heralded but could also result in the emergence of oligopolies or a market condition where the sellers are so few that the actions of anyone of them would have a great impact. Hollywood has been identified as one such dominant market force. Many local film industries struggle to survive as Hollywood churns out movie after movie. Hence, our cinemas are saturate with movies depicting American culture and American points of view instead of celebrating local culture or exploring local issues. This is because global infrastructure and information exchange is so advanced that the same movie can be premiered on the same day all around the world.

Hence, the homogenization of culture is inevitable and irreversible as international communication networks and infrastructure becomes more and more advanced. Soon, information exchange will be instant and then, physical borders will be permanently erased as physical distance will be irrelevant.

Clare the cultural expert!

Labels: cultural globalization

1:24 PM