(2009) Globalisation, Homogeneity and Cultural Diversity

Wood-Wallace, D (2009) ‘Globalisation, Homogeneity and Cultural Diversity’ Unpublished Media Coursework (Undergraduate). Nottingham Trent University. Globalisation, Homogeneity and Cultural Diversity. The multidimensional process of globalisation accounts for the conglomerate linkages and internal connections intermediating countries around the world. It is the orthographic name given to the process “by which events, decisions and activities in one part of the world can come to have significant consequences for individuals and communities in quite distant parts of the globe” McGrew (1992:23). Continued controversy define globalisation in varied ways and altercate whether the process is favourable or defective, including binary contention of spreading wealth to subjacent countries or increasing global inequality. This essay will examine the cultural dimension of globalisation; inclusive of cultural imperialism embedded in homogeneity, diversity, as well as effects; and resisting globalisation. The study and theory of globalisation only emerged as key to the media study in the 1980’s; nevertheless the practice which it represents has gone on for hundreds of years uncommented upon. It is only now, with this recognised global culture, that theorists “ponder the desirability and, in some accounts, the claimed ‘reality’ of global governance, a world political system and an emergent postnational cosmopolis” Hay and Marsh (2000: 2). Demystifying the understanding of globalisation can be reduced to the notion that globalisation disembeds local forms of culture reconstituting it with diversity. Abeyance of seasonal foods such as strawberries and root vegetables combined with the escalation of non-native foods allows all countries to experience the same culture and taste, leading to a loss of country individualism and a rise in world generalism. The exchange of trade gives corporations “strategic flexibility in a turbulent environment insofar as it widens the repertoire of legitimate actions and alliances” Hay and Marsh (2002: 106). Geo-economic and geo-political are two other dimensions associated with the cultural scope of globalisation. The entwined trio allows marketing diaspora to be linked systematically through all three genres, creating one entity clasping all. With economic growth comes political control, and with political sovereignty comes cultural jurisdiction. The fiscal affluence amalgamated with companies such as Tesco has to incorporate political power to sanction planning permission and the monopolization of smaller local businesses. The proliferations of such commerce provoke occupation vacancies and, in turn, help breed consumerisation. According to the Top 100 Graduate Employers 2008; Britain’s most successful retailer, Tesco, has recorded a jump of six places to reach the top twenty (The Times, 2008: 13). Increasingly, healthy nations impose their culture on other nations giving them sameness or alikeness; making all nations similar. A less disparagement term for this is uniformity; where the aim is to get all societies on a balanced level. Homogeneity breeds uniformity as a homogeneous world is one composed of elements that are all of the same kind or essentially alike. From this frame of reference; it could be argued that the increasingly uniformed global culture is just another form of Wood-Wallace, D (2009) ‘Globalisation, Homogeneity and Cultural Diversity’ Unpublished Media Coursework (Undergraduate). Nottingham Trent University. widespread cultural imperialism. “Imperialism tries to explain the structure of the modern world in terms of the struggles between the major powers to find new markets, sources of raw materials, investment opportunities, and to extend their political and cultural influence” Sklair (2002: 30). At this hand the supportive would be that globalisation gives inferior countries idealism. It allows the countries into the free market so they can trade and actively be involved in world economics; granting them the chance to better themselves. On the other hand, the deficiency is that globalisation makes lesser countries parodies of healthier nations; indirectly making the healthier nations benefit off the pseudo uniformity and culture. The homogenising power of global brands is celebrated and endorsed but the genuine advantage traces back to the dominant influence or country of origin. An example here would be the globalising process of McDonald's or the modernistic epithet of McDonaldization. The cultural imperialism associated with the globalisation of McDonald's lead to the impact that the establishment “has not only revolutionized the restaurant business, but also American society, and ultimately, the world” Ritzer (2000: xi). The cardinal victor through the method of McDonaldization is the American society; origin of the product. Commodities made for the global market tend to have indistinct characteristics associated with them, enabling utmost success when merchandised. Iwabuchi describes this as being ‘culturally odorless’; meaning that countries downplay the ‘fragrance’ of their products so it is more difficult to tell where it has been produced; suspending any preconception, favouritism, prejudice or cultural xenophobia and maximising potential target audience. Many media corporations suppress culture as they believe a lack in “cultural odor is imperative if they are to make inroads into international markets” Iwabuchi (2002:94). The increase of world uniformity permits local diversity as we become more accustomed to; and tolerant of other cultures. We now unnoticeably and readily accept produce from external cultures and embed it as our own, without giving it a second thought. The fostering of this diversity evokes boundary blurring as we become less territorial about the intrinsic value of our identity culture and more open to sharing and experiencing supplementary enlightenments. To a large extent of the time we do this unconsciously as we are more than familiar with the global culture to the point that it becomes normal. According to CiAO Shopping Intelligence, the Hellmann's worldwide brand family is the largest dressing business around the globe (CiAO Shopping Intelligence, 2008: 1):- undeniably Tesco's perpetual stocking of Hellmann's Mayonnaise demonstrates that our everyday consumption is caught in global networks of production. Italian rice and all year round strawberries grants us the annual choice of variety as more food is available than ever before. We can consume authentic products from elsewhere as cultures become disembedded from their locality, allowing new, emergent and disparate couplings to be generated; resulting in heterogeneity and diverseness. Confusion of how globalisation can bring juxtaposing notions of homogeneity and heterogeneity simultaneously is understood by the fact that whilst global commodities might be Wood-Wallace, D (2009) ‘Globalisation, Homogeneity and Cultural Diversity’ Unpublished Media Coursework (Undergraduate). Nottingham Trent University. standardized in presence, ways in which people procure them alters all over the globe. Alternate cultural identities forming globally generates a mixture of people's self awareness as “These networks of identity ... are likely to inform collective and individual forms of self understanding” Stevenson (1999: 12) therefore differing the ways in which people receive uniformed universal products. Also uniformed global products are received differently in terms of regional variations as world wide trading has to accompany regional tastes and appetence. “An inter-regional comparison clearly suggests that all regions have met the global challenge in their own specific way” Hay and Marsh (2002: 127) allowing the homogenising culture of the example McDonalds to also be heterogenising in taste. Effects of globalisation can be distributed and received in a multiplicity of ways. The third world forms the basis of most globalised products. The health of the third world shapes globalisation as a process enormously as many of the useful global products of healthy nations are “dependent upon a global division of labour which often work to the detriment of the health of the populations in the third world” Warde (1997: 161). The basis of profit making in more affluent countries is done by leaning on lesser countries to provide the goods. Another effect of globalisation would be our carbon footprint. With nations importing and exporting goods on a capacious level, the imprint we are leaving on earth deepens and becomes more severe. However there have been attempts of counteracting or at least reducing our carbon footprint including: going ‘green’; working out new, less consequential ways of dealing with mass products and production; and using alternate energy sources. Green Guys Global believe that our planet has been ruined by “pollution from transportation, rape of the planet’s resources and the devastating effect of unregulated industrialization” (Green Guys Global, 2009:1) and that half of these problems could have been avoided if we were not so occupied with consumerist culture. Here, it could be argued that globalisation strips the world of naturality, having the effect of being forged and unnatural, and of being an enemy to ourselves as humanity. Another effect of globalisation is cultural hybridity. Cultural hybridity is formed when mutual intermingling is apparent. This is very much often the case with globalisation. Transculturalism stands for the correlation between cultures and the dynamic awareness of relations among cultures. As globalisation allocates culture exchange it is inevitable that we accept certain divergent cultures as our own. Thus a mix of cultures and ways of life becomes the hybrid, or glocalisation, of one culture and way of life. To be simplified, the diverseness of collective cultures can become uniformed to one culture. Resisting globalisation is almost insurmountable when it promises to be all encompassing, aggregate nations on the grounds of improving them and be the solution to poverty stricken areas. Most paucity areas filled with famine went into the global market having “underestimated what the opening of the economy would mean for their internal markets. Now that goods from the whole world Wood-Wallace, D (2009) ‘Globalisation, Homogeneity and Cultural Diversity’ Unpublished Media Coursework (Undergraduate). Nottingham Trent University. can be imported... cheap overseas products are well and truly in the race” Martin and Schumann (1997: 142). Imports often do not balance exports, or they cannot afford to match the economics of the more wealthy nations so it is not long before the country sinks into red. Ethical forms such as fair-trade have been introduced in an attempt to be conscientious and moral but globalisation appears more of an encumbrance than amelioration. Whether or not globalisation can be resisted in open to interpretation. To conclude, this essay explored whether globalisation has lead to increasing cultural diversity and what factors feed into the process. The analysis explored the homogenising culture that globalisation brings and the effects it has globally and locally. We found that most uniformity springs from cultural imperialism and that commodities made for the global market tend to be universal in appearance to attract maximum target audience. Additionally, the discourse obtained that global uniformity permits local diversity as people receive global products individually and have alternate meanings for them. The effects of globalisation, such a increasing our carbon footprint and the forming cultural hybridity, and resisting globalisation were also examined by the text. From this essay it could be argued that globalisation is both homogenising and heterogenising and the process allows global uniformity yet local differences simultaneously so does increase cultural diversity.