Diaspora

Diaspora of cultures spread across many countries can be directly attributed to globalisation through the processes of tourism, migration and movement. The motives too for shifting location can also be attributed to globalisation as these include travel, seeking a new life, or even fleeing to a country of opportunity to escape one originally devastated by poverty, war or depression.

The difference between a home and host country can be few and far between as national boundaries denote different traditions. As cultural dislocation notes, often people can feel misplaced when settling into their new homeland as they are unaware of foreign civilisations and their adopted behaviours having never experiences them before. Furthermore, they may feel intimated by these traditions and inclined to adopt them despite fearing having to lose their own cultural heritage as a result.  

On the contrary, the widespread nature of diasporic cultures can also influence other cultures in a positive manner. In some cases we only have to look as far as the person either side of us in the classroom to realise that people from different nationalities are constantly gathered together to celebrate something interconnected and universal. Globalisation doesn’t necessarily weaken ties of ethnicity, but can be seen to strengthen them as it constantly brings different people together.  

Blogosphere? Twitter Sphere? Public Sphere?

In our contemporary culture technological devices are considered the norm and are used increasingly as social platforms to connect friends, family and everyone in between as Sun (2002, pp. 116) notes ‘the size of the mobile population worldwide is increasing’.

The blogosphere is a virtual space not too dissimilar to the public sphere where people can express thoughts, exchange opinions and information although in a much more informal, often non-intellectual, even illiterate manner. It is also an online, Inter(net) connected community whereby people can construct online identities as a means of personal communication.  

The blogosphere extrapolates on what was once conventional in a previous age and applies it to a society much more technology equipped and engaged. It substitutes the public spaces of coffee shops and day to day talking for the easy and accessible world of typing, texting, instant messaging and video chats. The key similarity between the public sphere and blogosphere is that they each inhabit a space that allows people to connect.

The twitter sphere is similar to the blogosphere in that it encompasses another virtual space where people can openly ‘tweet’ their thoughts to be observed and commented on by others. Although I am not an active user myself, the network allows people to get in touch with people who would usually be considered unreachable to everyday users.

Making Culture

Melbourne boasts a wide variety of cultural diaspora catering for national and international identities who are constantly sharing and exchanging cultural aspects through practices of art, music and food just to name a few. Melbourne is iconic for its attractions and love for the smaller joys of life including coffee, sport and football (arguably a sport but also considered a religion by some).  

In terms of individual identity I believe I engage with some characteristics typically observed in Australian culture whilst disregarding others. I consider myself to be an avid football fan but not enough for me to consider it as my preferred religion.  

In terms of technologies, I would consider myself a relative user but not an overly obsessive abuser of communications. In this respect I am somewhat a conservative instead of a conformist as I try and use these devices as little as possible and outside of social parameters.

As for ‘technological determinism’, which is the assumption that since technologies are readily available they must be used, I don’t feel I am compelled to use them nor do I feel inadequate by not using them (McLuhan, M 1969). However, in saying that I do own and regularly use the basic technology necessities, presuming of course they can even be called that or of they are indeed required for everyday living. These include a mobile phone (not an I-Phone), a classic I-Pod (still not an I-Phone) and a laptop (not a Mac).

Celebrity = "Celebrate Me"

When I was younger, like most naïve and overly-ambitions children, I dreamt of becoming either an astronaut or a celebrity. But couldn’t it be argued that an astronaut can also be a celebrity?

Marshall (2008, pp. 498) defines a celebrity as the ‘complex celebration of the individual’ which in any case can be applied to anyone whose accomplishments become distinguished either amongst or above others. In this sense I think it’s safe to say that Bruce Willis, otherwise his character Harry Stamper in the film Armageddon, justifies my point precisely.   
 

With contemporary culture becoming increasingly technology tolerant it was only a matter of time before celebrities and the like took to social media platforms to enhance their own exposure and gossip hype. Audiences are contagiously drawn into the glamourized red carpet world of the spectacular but also the ‘specular’ (Marshall, pp. 498). The ‘twoway mirror of projection on to the screen and the circulation… and interaction with those images and texts into the wider world’ (Marshall, pp. 498). This translates to the world of the celebrity who are consciously aware of their involvement as an actor but also as a perception held amongst the public persona.  

Audiences are now openly invited into the privatised, often intimate world of celebrities who have succumbed to ‘an emerging comfortability with a society of surveillance’ (Marshall, pp. 498). Various social networking sites such as Twitter allow for an informal exchange of ideas and information which creates a new relationship between celebs and fans as instigated through media technologies and new social trends.
 

 

 

 

Now in all honesty, who didn’t just read that captioned photo above in their best Sean Connery accent?

 

References:

Marshall, P.D 2008, ‘The Specular Economy’, Society. Vol. 47, No. 6, pp. 498-502.

Images sourced from Google > Images search engine database, retrieved 6 September 2012, <http://www.google.com.au/imgres?q=celebrity+meme&num=10&hl=en&biw=1366&bih=595&tbm=isch&tbnid=ioNR_HlE7AJPOM:&imgrefurl=http://mustachehunting.com/2011/06/14/sean-connery-meme/&docid=7OAMFtQS2ZjsfM&imgurl=http://bbac02.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/251003_10150616464750023_849185022_18825618_1563149_n.jpg&w=480&h=649&ei=D4NJUIuRMImkiQeS8oH4DA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=274&vpy=109&dur=6584&hovh=261&hovw=193&tx=82&ty=113&sig=110402164007182811584&page=1&tbnh=124&tbnw=90&start=0&ndsp=23&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0,i:76>.

The Olympics as a global affair

The 2012 Olympic Games sees London become the first country in the event’s rich history to host the games for a record breaking third time. To some of you this news may be just as interesting as Channel 9’s broadcast of the games, albeit a little more clearer and without all the repeats.

Another interesting fact lies within an ideological icon of the games themselves – the rings. Each of the five colours represented within the Olympic rings symbolise the five original continents including Africa, America, Asia, Australia and Europe. Furthermore, each color of the five rings is included to encompass one color of every national flag in the world. This in a sense is globalisation.

However with this in mind I think it is appropriate to trace the history of the games, particularly its economic infrastructure. This year’s Olympics are the 30^th event since first commencing in Greece in 1896, some 116 years ago.

It’s not surprising to see that the United States have hosted the game on eight separate occasions cementing their reputation as an economic powerhouse. Amongst the remaining four original contents Europe has hosted the games 28 times, Asia five times and Australia twice (Top End Sports 2012). Even if you weren’t of Australian background I’m sure you could make an educated guess as to which two capitals hosted those games based on the themes relevant to this discussion.

The point here is that Africa, a nation home to 1 billion people and 14% of the entire human population has never hosted what is labelled as a ‘global’ and ‘international’ event. They are even set to be overtaken by South America as Brazil is set to host its first Olympic games in 2016. Now do you think the Olympics are global games?

References

Image sourced from ‘Google > Images’ search engine, retrieved August 10, 2012, http://www.google.com.au/imgres?start=104&num=10&hl=en&biw=1366&bih=622&tbm=isch&tbnid=gMUaeUSQROebyM:&imgrefurl=http://memegenerator.net/instance/24319856&docid=KHmqImHkM5vRJM&imgurl=http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/250x250/24319867.jpg&w=250&h=250&ei=ocMkUMXkIqeviQf68IDIBA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=318&vpy=16&dur=7776&hovh=200&hovw=200&tx=87&ty=100&sig=111687787434019018409&page=5&tbnh=142&tbnw=137&ndsp=25&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:104,i:100

 ‘Olympic Games’, Top End Sports, retrieved August 10^th, 2012 http://www.topendsports.com/events/summer/hosts/list.htm

“He’s got the whole world within his hands”

             I’m sure it’s not hard for people to picture Mr Rupert Murdoch as the little monopolised man clapping and cheering as he passes go to collect his hard earned $200 cash. If you can’t, it would look a little something like this:

            While the term monopoly means ‘single seller’, the term ’oligopoly’ is more applicable to someone of Mr. Murdoch’s stature (Steven, P 2003, pp. 41). ‘Oligopoly’ refers to a group of large entities that control an industry practically without opposition. (Steven, P 2003, pp. 41) Such is the case here that I hope to emulate the man’s success. '

As media becomes used and abused to serve the best interest of corporate individuals I thought it would be fitting to put myself in the shoes of such bigotry. If I were entitled to my own media organisation it would have to be within the world of music.

In my own attempts to challenge the conventional phenomena of auto tuned music and the pornographic nature of popular music I would first invest in my own record store as my opening bid to change the music landscape forever. Following months of thriving success of selling vinyls and promoting the talents of local community hardcore, punk and heavy metal bands my company would become vertically, horizontally, and diagonally integrated to dominate all mediums of music output promoting one uniform message. (Steve, P 2003, pp. 44)

Vertical integration would see me gain ownership of all levels of production and distribution from controlling recording studios to opening a chain of music retail outlets. Horizontal and diagonal expansion would see the empire disperse over several other sectors to cater for hosting my own music festivals and even featuring apocalyptic songs embedded within the new Twilight soundtrack.

As my empire establishes new avenues of revenue my assets continue to flourish and my rivals perish. The real money maker however would see me tap into cultural industries to extrapolate to a global audience and thus impose cultural hegemony mwahahahaha (Steve, P 2003, pp. 55).

References

Images sourced from ‘Google > Images’ search engine, retrieved and then edited in Photoshop by Justin Geaney, August 10, 2012.

Steven, P 2003, ‘Political economy: the howling, brawling, global market place’, The no-nonsense guide to the global media, New Internationalist, Oxford, pp. 37–59.

The causes and consequences of globalisation

 

Our global sphere is one often epitomised by innovative ideas and endless flows of instantaneous information. However accessibility contradicts what may initially elude to be a universally interconnected global village. The term globalisation can be interpreted quite literally, accounting for the widespread use of various media communication technologies across the globe. Otherwise, it can be taken seriously… with an open mind.

Too often globalisation is discussed objectively pertaining only to resources. However, what constitutes a “world” is when people, language and experiences are all socially implemented together to construct a reality. By becoming consciously aware of the space that we and others inhabit we are all in some way contributing to globisation.  

A prime example exists amongst the division between first world minorities and third world majorities. By minorities I mean population opposed to consolidated power, otherwise the roles would be reversed.  

The picture above is taken from a 2011 article that details how Apple employees based in China, who work on practically slave wages, were required to sign contracts whereby declaring their intentions not to commit suicide based upon horrendous working conditions. Furthermore, the contract reads that if they are to commit suicide their families should seek only minimum compensation against the company.  

Such is the struggle that globalision poses that it has become increasingly ‘difficult to separate the consequences and causes of globalisation’ (Rantanen, T 2005, pp. 7). However it is more gruelling to justify why millions should suffer as the causalities of consequence far outweigh the benefits if any in my opinion. If globalisation has taught us anything it’s that those in positions of power exercise the capacity to instrumentally enforce empirical rule upon others, although unfortunately ‘dealing with the issue of cultural dominance is not the same as accounting for economic dominance’ (Topic 1. Introduction: The Flows of Globalisation).

References

DAILY MAIL REPORTER 2011, ‘You are NOT allowed to commit suicide: Workers in Chinese iPad factories forced to sign pledges’, DAILY MAIL REPORTER, 1 May, retrieved 25 June 2012, <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1382396/Workers-Chinese-Apple-factories-forced-sign-pledges-commit-suicide.html>

Rantanen, T 2005, ‘Theorizing media globalization’, The media and globalization, Sage, London, pp. 1–18.

‘Topic 1. Introduction: The Flows of Globalisation’, Deakin ALC215 Study Guide.