GROUP

7
UNIT 2 LESSON 7
MEDIA AND GLOBALIZATION

Presenters:
Kenneth Montoya
Harold Barte
Kayzhel Talavera
Bryan Kevin Perez
The Global Village and
Cultural Imperialism

Critiques of Cultural Imperialism

 HISPANIC-INFLUENCED
MUSIC
RONDALLA MUSIC
The rondalla is traditional string orchestra comprising
two-string, mandolin-type instruments such as the
banduria and laud; a guitar; a double bass; and often a
drum for percussion. The rondalya has its origins in the
Iberian rondalla tradition, and is used to accompany
several Hispanic-influenced song forms and dances.
Critiques of Cultural
Imperialism

Criticism
A number of scholars have claimed that the cultural
imperialists "have shown remarkable provincialism, forgetting
the existence of empires before that of the United States
The British in India and the Middle East, the Germans in
Africa, and the French in Indochina all imposed their own
culture abroad as a powerful tool to strengthen trade,
commerce, and political influence and recruit intellectual
elites for their own purposes
 Critiques of Cultural
Imperialism

• In addition, new studies on U.S. policies in Asia and

Europe have demonstrated that American
policymakers did not hesitate to sacrifice economic
(and ideological) objectives in order to realize
geopolitical interests
• The State Department as well as Congress were often
reluctant to develop a full-fledged policy of cultural
diplomacy
 DEFENSE OF CULTURAL
IMPERIALISM BY RESPONSE
THEORISTS

• Yet by far the most emphatic attacks against the critics of cultural
imperialism came from Tomlinson, Frederick Buell, and others, who
reproached authors such as Schiller for falling into the very trap they
originally wished to avoid
• Schiller and others had assumed an imperialist perspective that
viewed the Third World as made up of fragile and helpless cultures
while at the same time serving the interests of Western modernity
• It was said that the critics of cultural imperialism employed a
theory suffering from a vague language of domination, colonialism,
and imposition
 Critiques of Cultural
Imperialism

• Cultural imperialism, according to John Tomlinson, consists of the

spread of modernity
• There never were groups of conspirators who attempted to
spread any particular culture
• Instead, global technological and economic progress and
integration reduced the importance of national culture
• It is misleading to put the blame for a global development on any
one culture
 Critiques of Cultural
Imperialism

• James Ettema, D. Charles Whitney, and others suggested

in their studies of the media that audiences make conscious
choices concerning what they listen to, read, and watch.
Studies of underground movements in China and Eastern
Europe in 1989 also demonstrate that in many cases,
Western television programs inspired audiences to start a
revolution against their own political leaders
 ISLAMIC SOCIETY’S
OPPOSITION TO W.C

• Another group of scholars concluded that audiences not

only simply accepted the fruits of Western cultural imperialism
but developed a strong resistance to American products and
culture. Scholars of Islamic societies have consistently
emphasized the stark opposition of orthodox Muslims to
Western influences. Individual studies in cinematography,
drama, literature, and cultural studies in Latin America, Asia,
and Africa demonstrate that, notwithstanding the influence of
Western goods, since the mid-1970s local audiences began to
reject individual aspects of Western culture
 French Opposition to U.S
Culture

• French opposition to U.S. culture "was (and is) about both

America and France," because it intensified French fears of
losing their cultural identity
• Kuisel concedes that the French underwent a process of
Americanization
• But at the same time, they succeeded in defending their
"Frenchness."
• French consumers found some American products
appealing but they also continued to cherish and idealize
French national identity, notably the idea of a superior
French high culture
 German Opposition to
U.S culture

• The average German citizen traditionally

tended (and tends) to adhere to a more
exclusive image of culture than his or her
American counterpart
• The arts, music, and performance dependent
on state funding
Social Media and the
Creation of Cyber Ghettoes

World is becoming culturally homogenous.

The internet and social media are providing that the
globalization of culture and ideas can move in
different directions.
Social Media and the
Creation of Cyber Ghettoes
Western Culture remains powerful and media
production is still controlled by a handful of power
Western Corporations
Social Media is beneficial

• The democratic potential of social media was most

evident in 2011 during the wave of uprisings known
as the Arab Spring.
• Traditional broadcast media like TV activists
opposing authoritarian regimes in Tunisia and
Egypt.
• Libya used Twitter to organize and to disseminate
information.
Social Media is beneficial

“Women’s March” against newly

installed US President Donald
Trump began with a tweet from a
Hawaii lawyer and became a
national, even global, movement.
Social Media is beneficial
Social Media have dark side

Early 2000’s, commentators began referring to

the emergence of a “splinternet” and the
phenomenon of “cyberbalkanization” to refer
to the various bubbles people place
themselves in when they are online.
Social Media have dark side
Social Media have dark side
Social Media have dark side
In United States, voters of the Democratic Party
largely read liberal websites, and the voters of
the Republican Party largely read conservative
websites.
Journal Science, has been exacerbated by
the nature of social media feeds, which leads
user to read articles, memes, and videos
shared by like-minded friends.
Social Media have dark side

In Facebook can resemble living in an echo

chamber, which reinforces one’s existing
beliefs and opinions. This echo chamber
precludes users from listening to or reading
opinions and information thus making them
more partisan and closed-minded.
This segmentation people in power who are
aware that social media bubbles can
produced a herd mentality.
Social Media have dark side
Social Media have dark side
Democratic media may be co-opted towards undemocratic means
As consumer of media

Users must remain vigilant and learn how to distinguish

fact from flasehood in a global media landscape that allows
politicians to peddle what President Trump’s senior adviser
now call “alternative facts”.

People must remain critical of mainstream media and

traditional journalism that may also operate based on vested
interest, also insist sources are more credible.

A newspaper story that is written by a professional

journalist and vetted by professional editors is more credible
than a viral video
People must be able to tell the difference