By Wynn Intharasombat - Thailand
Globalization has created a world in which humanity is undoubtedly more interconnected and interdependent than at any other time in history. However, this greater interconnectedness has led to the debate on whether globalization causes the loss of cultural diversity, or whether it enhances it. While globalization has caused the gaps between cultures to become smaller, many still have managed to retain the core elements of their own.
It is important to define the three most prevalent theories behind the globalization of culture; Homogenization, ethnocentrism, and hybridization. Homogenization refers to the idea that as we are exposed to more cultures, we all eventually will fit into one singular culture, with no unique distinctions to separate us from other cultures. Ethnocentrism, meanwhile, is the idea that we judge other cultures from our own point of view instead as we believe that our culture is superior to another. Essentially, as we often use our culture’s way of thinking as our guide to evaluating others, this can sometimes lead to people becoming more attached to their own values, making them not want to partake in or learn about others as applying our own standards to other forms of culture makes them seem foreign, or strange. Finally, Hybridization poses the idea that cultures are preserved through intercultural exchange (Pieterse, 1996).
The belief that Globalization creates a homogenized “global” society holds some truth to it, as superficial as it may seem. One of the best examples of this theory can be seen in pop culture. Hollywood films, a product of the American cinematic industry, are shown around the world and have almost become synonymous with the idea of cinema - overshadowing national film industries (Cowen,1976). Hollywood illustrates the idea of a “global” culture very well, as it has a massive influence on modern pop culture across the globe. This can be seen in the release of movies such as “Avengers: Endgame”, which set records in 11 countries for highest-grossing film, and currently holds the record of highest opening weekend gross in 53 countries. The movie’s overwhelming success in 53 different countries (Box Mojo Office, 2020). Each country containing many distinct, unique cultures, shows that in some way, globalization has affected our consumer tastes, rendering them somewhat similar - as people from these cultures choose to go watch the same movie and consequently partake in the same cultural experience (Cowen,1976).
Furthermore, this pop culture idea can be seen in children’s toys. In the 1990s, Mattel sold Barbie dolls to around 140 countries by altering their nationalities to fit the regions they were being sold in (Cross & Smits,2005). However, market testing in 2002 suggested that this was unnecessary - children would buy Barbie dolls regardless of their nationality or whether they could identify with them, with a Mattel official exclaiming “Blond Barbie sells just as well in Asia as in the U.S.”(Cross & Smits,2005). This was further shown with the release of their Rapunzel toy, which sold almost half of its stock outside of the U.S. This phenomenon was not unique to American-made Barbie dolls, however - Japanese toys such as Power Rangers and Transformers would become equally prevalent worldwide, going from toys to cartoons, movies and other merchandise that are now permanently ingrained in the minds of children worldwide (Cross & Smits,2005). The advent of globalization has created a world where children are more likely to be aware of more global figures such as Optimus Prime, Barbie and her friends rather than the figures present in their own unique cultures.
Unique cultures are further stripped away in the name of globalization by the erosion of indigenous languages and local, minority cultures. A study performed by Alfred Kik. et al in Papua New Guinea, one of the most linguistically diverse areas in the world, shows that local indigenous languages are declining. In a group of 6190 students and their parents, only 58% of children could speak indigenous languages, while 91% of the parent group could (UConn Today, 2021). Furthermore, knowledge of local plants and traditional medicines declined in parallel with the loss of languages, with the study finding that “only 20% of unique ethnolinguistic groups had any of their plant uses recorded in the literature”(UConn Today, 2021). This loss is a consequence of globalization, as the languages were replaced by English, the language of formal education in Papua New Guinea, or Tok-Pisin, which is an English-based language that has become the official language of the country; 32% of Indigenous languages in Papua New Guinea had become endangered (Kik et al, 2021).
However, there are also other ways that globalization interacts with cultures that go against the homogenization idea. Some prominent experts in the field of Sociology such as Robert Holton have proposed that culture is an important form of self-identity and that globalization leads to ethnocentrism, in which we believe our culture is superior to another through constant exposure to other cultures (Holton, 2000). Similarly, Edward Wadie Said’s work on Orientalism suggests that cultural dichotomies have been constructed between Western and Non-Western cultures, reinforced by stereotypes that paint the ‘Other’ culture as an opponent to our own culture (Said, 1979). To some extent, this can be seen in stereotypes that are held when it comes to discussing other cultures, which often tends to be negative - although they are often wrong, the reason they exist in the first place supports the idea of the ethnocentrism theory, especially in a world of identity politics. However, this theory has some flaws. Satoshi Machida’s 2012’s article “Does Globalization render people more ethnocentric? Globalization and people’s views on culture” utilized statistical analyses of global attitude surveys to find that “social globalization significantly reduces the tendency towards ethnocentrism”. Thus, while we do use culture as a form of self-identification, empirical evidence shows that we tend to be much more tolerant of other cultures than the theory of ethnocentrism suggests. Another flaw of polarization is also that it is too simple of a worldview; with sociologist Robert Holton noting that “One fundamental omission is the presence of multiple cross-cutting identities.” Polarization is an inherently reductionist theory that ignores other aspects of culture, reducing its validity as a theory (Holton, 2000).
Hybridization - where cultures coexist to form a new culture - offers a more complex, nuanced view of globalization’s effects on culture. This theory is in some ways more credible than the other two theories, as there is a wide range of evidence that directly supports it; both historical and contemporary. One of the best examples of Hybridization is the Roman Empire, which inherited much of its culture from the Greeks before them. The Apollo of Roman Mythology is the Apollo of Greek Mythology, and many of Rome’s most distinctive structures feature classical Greek influences - yet Rome is considered its own distinctive, different culture from the Greek culture before it (Li Causi, 2008). Similarly, during the British Empire’s rule of India, cultural exchanges occurred in many places; in politics, sports, cuisine, and even language. Even today, this influence can still be seen. India’s most popular sport is a derivative of a British sport, cricket; while Indian cuisine has become one of the most popular in Britain. Similarly, some modern English words such as Shampoo or Bungalow have their roots in the Hindi language; Although these historical examples of cultural exchange happened under colonization and conquest and not the umbrella of hybridization, they show that to some extent, the concepts and features inherent in Hybridization have existed for a long time (Cappi, 2022). Other contemporary examples of Hybridization include cultural enclaves such as Chinatown, or Little Italy - which preserve elements of their original culture while simultaneously integrating cultural elements from the cities that host them.
Thus, when it comes to assessing globalization’s impact on cultural diversity, neither the theories of homogenization or polarization can accurately explain the effects of globalization. There is empirical evidence to support both theories, but as both are reductionist theories, they cannot be used to explain what is an inherently complex topic with many intertwined factors. Therefore, hybridization provides the most plausible explanation on globalization’s impact, which is that cultural identities are not lost, but instead are integrated into other cultures to form new, unique cultures, maintaining the idea of cultural diversity.
Bibliography
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