Media, Globalization, and Cultural Imperialism

The article talks about the relationship between media and globalization towards cultural
imperialism. In relation to our previous topics on globalization, it was discussed that it is
difficult to trace the foremost cause or root of globalization or whether it is the media that
started globalization. We cannot deny the fact that in today’s era, we are all somehow
dominated by a common culture and every piece of our lives has been or is influenced by
media and globalization. This is evident, even since our childhood days, when we grew up
watching cartoons and series primarily produced and popularized by the Western culture.

As discussed in the article, cultural imperialism brings about a problem on how dominant
cultures, mostly the Western culture, can easily manipulate the media and impose its own
culture, beliefs, and cultural norms towards others. With this, what happens is that the
dominant Western culture becomes everybody’s culture. In media, the risk that comes with
this is that when a particular message is not given in the proper context, there may be a
misunderstanding which could cause an adverse effect on some cultures. An example of
this would be the case wherein the remake of movies from one culture by another culture
may portray the story differently; where recontextualizing the media may deliver a different
interpretation, contrary or different from that of the original media. In Godzilla the movie,
the American remake only seemed like a movie portraying violent-eating monsters, which is
very superficial as compared to its Japanese origin which had a deeper meaning: the intent
to depict a metaphor of the chaos inflicted upon their nation after the atomic bombing of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

In the beginning, it was established that globalization brings with it a good purpose which is
to overcome transnational boundaries and to unite different cultures through technology,
trade, and communication. However, in the long run, it was found out that it also has
negative effects, and this includes cultural imperialism. The striking point in this article is
that it provoked a sense of realization, that if we were to observe our society’s culture
today, we are perhaps significantly unaware of the fact that we are dominated by a wider
culture. Although it is not really a problem in general, it poses a potential risk of prevailing
too much over one’s own cultural identity.
Cultural imperialism is concrete and seen in the popular trends we see today, where many
people regardless of their culture are aware of, and patronize popular brands such as Nike
shoes, Apple gadgets, Samsung televisions, apps such as Instagram, Netflix and Youtube,
and the like. In choosing TV series and movies, most people tend to look up on Netflix for
the latest releases, and it is a hub of predominantly Western media as well. Latest music
from Western artists and Asian pop genres take over specific age groups and whatever is
popularized can be heard anywhere else in the public or online. These are the most
common observations of our culture in our society today that we tend to overlook or
neglect since most of us too are immersed in it.
My personal take from the article is that, global media and culture both share its good side
and bad side. The good side is that, with global media and culture, there seems to be a
unification of humanity, amongst many people of different cultures, regardless of their
differences and origin. It is a unifying body that binds or attracts different groups of people
together. This can be observed in the inclination of the mass population towards common
interests such as popular music, trends, technological advancements, or latest movies and
tv series from different countries and genres, fashion trends, and many more. Also, it can
be useful in situations where people can share ideas towards a common good. The bad
side of global media and culture is that, because of too much integration of cultures,
people from different countries especially those who are heavily influenced by a dominant
culture are prone to lose their sense of cultural identity.