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What is Cultural Globalization anyways?

In a world where everything moves at such a frenetic pace, Cultural Globalization is attending. It is regarded as the sharing of values, beliefs and behaviours internationally in a way that builds up stronger connections among people worldwide.

How Cultural Globalization is reaching mankind all over?

This day we are all interconnected and closer than ever before. Pop Cultures play an extensive role in sharing information across the world. Therefore, a powerful influence can easily be virally transmitted abroad. Commodification is achieving increased multinational grounds.

Is Cultural Globalization an Anglo-American Global Domination?

Considering all the MNC started from the USA like McDonald's, Walmart, Disney, Coca Cola, Nike, Starbucks alike so many others that are shared globally and even implemented in other cultures as their own, we would think so. Moreover, the English language is spoken everywhere as a second language, Hollywood movies are streamed internationally, American music and brands are too consumed overseas. Each one of these examples mentioned above is evidence that Cultural Globalization is intensely dominated by Americanisation.  

What about Hybridisation and Cultural Appropriation?

The truth is that all cultures experience some sort of influence from outside; some encounter American domination and others face westernized mastery. In the end, lifestyles are commonly affected even though some are less than others.

Unfortunately, people are uninformed. Consequently, the adoption of appropriation between more traditions will end up in western values taking over others due to higher superiority and government control of realizing only information representing their own interest.

Colonial attempts are not welcome!

Let us raise awareness and aim for more cosmopolitan values! The imperialism of the west is historical. We should stay aware and pursue cosmopolitanism for a brighter and kinder future.

This topic which has so many sides. 

Is it helping or does it make the problem worse…?

My first instinct is to say yes, help, those who have the means to share in their wealth should do so. But is it right to provide push ‘your’ ideas of help, or what someone needs onto them? Do the people we want to help so badly understand what this means for them long term? Do you have informed consent? Do you understand what your help will look like long term?

I think these are some questions that should be better ingrained in the philosophy of these NGO’s who organize voluntourism events and activities.

Last week, my dad’s really good friend Michael from elementary school came over for a dinner. He is an amazing guy who has traveled the world to learn about different peoples. He is a devout catholic, but I would truly call him one of the most progressive people I have ever met. In his years traveling he has encountered his fair share of voluntourism, especially through missionary work with fellow church goers. However, he himself does not like to participate in this voluntourism which he has explained to me over the years. He has told me from first-hand experience he can see how donation money is diverted away from the people it is intended for, and how abandoned aid or ‘rehabilitation’ efforts have become abandoned. He has spent a lot of his life living in Mexico, as well as Kenya and other African countries. While living there he learned some of the key factors which make his work different then other types of volunteers. It has never been about him. He helps because he can and because he has the means that he does not need for himself. He will help to empower families to learn sustainable living practices or teach them to maintain their housing which in some cases has been left by other tourists. Another thing that he has done is many years ago while living in Kenya, he met a group of families who had children they were unable to support. Michael began to support these boys and their families sometimes from afar, by sending money which they could use for food, and housing. He also paid for the group of boys to attend proper schooling, a unique experience for many young people in Kenya. One of the key takeaways from this story is that his support never ended when he had to come back to Canada. The support was continuous both financially and emotionally being available to talk whenever they needed help or support. 

Blog Post #1 - A Step in My Shoes

Shoes are truly an essential item to mankind. They protect our feet, add a stylish element to our outfits, and are with us through thick and thin. My favourite pair of shoes that I own are my white Converse, they are comfortable for long days, easy to walk in, and lastly, go with almost every outfit I own. While I love my shoes and wear them almost every day, most of the time I do not even stop to think about who or what made my shoes, where my shoes came from, and how much energy and labour went into creating and shipping those shoes to a place where I can buy them. Still, it’s an unfathomable concept to me, hundreds of products from all different countries that took hundreds of different workers to produce, then all of those goods are shipped to one location where hundreds of workers once again work tirelessly to make thousands of shoes. Finally, those shoes are shipped across borders and it takes another group of people to distribute the export to stores where then those shoes are accessible to us. Glocalization is the practice of a local product/thing that becomes global through exposure and technology, it is a wondrous thing. Glocalization in businesses was truly revolutionized by technological advancements and political agreements that have shaped how and which exports are allowed to come through our borders. And after all this today, I sit here writing this as I stare down at my pair of Converse and ponder about who made MY pair, how my pair was made, where my pair came from, and I am at awe. Converse started as a local brand founded by Marquis Mills Converse, with humble beginnings in 1908 Malden, Massachusetts, U.S.A, and was originally designed for basketball players under the name of “Non-Skids”. Hence why they were assembled locally with little to no need for global interference. Recently, however, in 2003, Nike bought Converse. The entire brand was then innovated to something far bigger, far more global, and it changed the brand ‘Converse’ forever. Converse was no longer a local brand based in The States, instead it was now being produced in Nike factories all over the world, and as a result, the brand was carried over to hundreds of countries overseas making these shoes far more accessible to people around the world. Nike purchasing the Converse brand has allowed Converse to glocalize the shoe, a word used to describe the act of globalizing something that was otherwise known to be local in a particular place in the world. Years later, as a result of these developments, I now also have a pair of Converse that were made overseas, and it just goes to show how much of a factor bigwig corporations like Nike can have on the advancement of globalization in our society. In conclusion, the point is, never take for granted what you have because you never know how much time and effort has gone into making that single thing that you now have. Every step I take, I am also carrying the stories of hundreds of people around the world that have put in hard labour to make these shoes for me, and I am forever grateful.

- Bushra Alimerdan

Sources

Blatter, J. (2019). Glocalization. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/glocalization

Mathew, J. (2019, March 29). Glocalisation- Global Local Approach of Brands. Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/331465

The Idleman (Ed.). (2018, November 13). The History of Converse. Retrieved from https://theidleman.com/blogs/style/history-of-converse

Globalization is the a big part of our everyday lives. It’s a complicated term to define, therefore there isn’t one set definition for globalization. But there is one theme in common in every interpretation on the term globalization, and that is the development of interconnections between nations worldwide. Globalization can come in the form of multi-million dollar companies making business deals between International Companies, the FIFA World Cup and the Global War on Terror, to small everyday things like purchasing a cup of coffee.

By: Danielle Ribeiro, Jeffrey Notenboom and Timea Sarai