Sunday, May 6, 2007
Disappearing Cultural Diversity VS Globalisation of Culture
With globalisation, national borders disappear as a world economy and a global culture emerges. The beauty of globalization is that it has the ability to free people from the tyrannic limits of geography. Just because someone were to be born in China does not necessarily mean that he or she is constrained to simply speaking Chinese, or eating Chinese food or reading Chinese books. Instead, they can choose to eat a Mcdonalds hamburger for dinner (see above), drink CocaCola or watch a Hollywood blockbuster in a nearby cinema. It is globalisation that enables people around the world to experience different cultures, without actually having to leave the comfort of their own country. Through experiencing different cultures, we can enrich our lives immeasureably and enjoy everything that the world has to offer.
However, globalisation of culture occurs at the expense of cultural diversity. National cultures, traditions, customs and myths that determine a country's cultural identity are taking the blow of globalisation. Foreign goods have invaded most countries, and these products are usually from the United States. Many are afraid that when globalisation would soon standardize the world, and it would also annhilate any form of rich culture in a nation during the process. Cultural identities of countries are on the verge of being lost to a global culture as people are already beginning to follow cultural norms of a new imperialism. It would not be long before we all become 21st century zombies, with no sense of identity and soul.
Culture is often understood as the order of life in which people construct meaning through practices of symbolic representation. Language, religion, political and legal system, social customs are the most important components of cultural identity. These also make up a person's identity. Thus a threat to one's culture also becomes a threat to one's core of identity. The global scene is very connected and slowly transforming the world into a single social and cultural setting as different cultures intergrate and merge. Hence, it is feared that the peoples' culture and identity would likely be reduced to uniformity. However, it may not necessarily be the case, as stated in the quote below.
"As a result of increasing cultural contact a number of traditional practices disappear. But at the same time the globalization of culture leads to emergence of new cultural forms" . Pointing this out, everywhere the cultural diffusion creates new practices, worldviews, expressions. In the shadow of this, new transnational communities come into being. "They are more bound together by common interest, social and cultural similarities than by geographical closeness" (J.Breidenbach/I.Zukrigl).
Some countries are desperately trying to keep their cultural identity intact, and one good example would be the government campaign in France. A country that was long famous for its fashion, art, language, dining, and in all domains of the spirit—is now threatened by the invasion McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken, rock, rap, Hollywood movies, bluejeans, sneakers, and T-shirts. This fear has resulted in massive French subsidies for the local film industry and demands for quotas requiring theaters to show a certain number of national films and limit the importation of movies from the United States.
It is true that globalisation causes many forms of traditional cultures disappear. But at the same time, it opens opportunities and windows to the different cultures of the world. Culture is ever-changing, and it is inevitable for cultures to disappear in the face of globalisation. It is only a question of whether we are willing to pay the price of our forgotten culture and identity.
Culturally yours,
Cultural Expert- Gwyneth liew
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comments:I agree that globalization causes many forms of traditional cultures disappear. Sometimes the foreign cultures are so attractive and the youth are chasing after them but leaving their own traditional culture behind. Globalization allows us to watch Japanese Cartoons, Korea TV series and American movies. But what had been forgotten might be our own culture. For example, I have seen some young Han Chinese showing strong interest in Kimono but do not even now about Hanfu, which is their traditional custom. And in fact, some Chinese think that western stuffs are always better, so as their culture. They see this as a sign of "modernized". However, there is no good or bad in culture. Do we want our unique culture, which is passed down by many generations to disappear? At least I do not want. What makes us different from others? It is the culture. Living in a world with globalizing culture, our own culture will be the sign to identify our uniqueness.[[your political expert Liu Sha]]
; i'm lovin' it
