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A few students asked me to say something [br]about cultural globalization.

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What is cultural globalization and what kind of [br]trends do we see?

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We discussed that culture, and in fact our own [br]perception of reality,

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is both formed and maintained by [br]communication.

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Cultural communication is basically all [br]communication,

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because we always implicitly communicate [br]values and ideas, even when we

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are listening to seemingly meaningless music, [br]or watching an entertaining soap opera,

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or reading a simple comic book:

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they all communicate something about the [br]culture in which they were produced.

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Well, cultural globalization is, simply put, an [br]international reach of cultural ideas and values,

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as a result of a global communication of [br]messages.

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According to most scholars there was always [br]some extent of globalization

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as people travelled throughout history.

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Historical developments, like wars, colonization, [br]increased international trade,

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increased education, increased international [br]tourism. These trends were all reasons for

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a growing interest in international affairs and [br]created the context

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in which an international communication [br]landscape could develop.

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But the rate of globalization has increased with [br]the reach of our mass media

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It started slowly with cultural carriers that [br]travellers took home,

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like little statues, jewelry or coins.

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The globalization pace quickened with the rise of [br]print media.

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Books, pamphlets and newspapers made [br]international travel of cultural messages

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more widespread.

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In the nineteenth century for example,

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English and American newspapers were read [br]throughout the world.

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Perhaps this is also the start of a dominance of [br]an Anglo American culture

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in global communication.

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Movies and television programs were again a [br]new step in the globalization trend.

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A picture can say more than a thousand words.

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Well, these new audio visual media brought [br]pictures and sounds.

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And again, they were mostly Anglo-American TV [br]shows and movies

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that travelled the world.

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These cultural messages did not only travel the [br]world,

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they also influenced the people they [br]encountered.

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People felt culturally connected through movies [br]and television series and such

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with people on the other side of the globe.

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The globalization trend has only increased in [br]recent years,

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mainly due to the rise of digital and mobile [br]media

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that a) give us immediate access to a rich [br]assortment of cultural content

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from basically every country in the world

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and b) allows us to communicate with people in [br]other countries easily and instantly.

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It is quite clear that today we have an [br]international communication landscape

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that exists in a variety of media

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like books, magazines, newspapers, radio, [br]television, cinema and the internet.

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But what exactly is its effect on the formation of [br]culture throughout the world?

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As you know, culture creates a feeling of [br]belonging.

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That cultural messages are now spread [br]internationally is, according to some,

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reason to believe that a ‘global village’ is [br]emerging,

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where people feel connected with each other, [br]regardless of their country of origin.

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The global culture that is communicated through [br]our mass media is the

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binding force of this village. It connects us.

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Optimists believe that all this cultural sharing [br]will lead to 1) greater understanding and 2)

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a lessening of cultural misunderstanding and [br]conflict.

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However, other scholars see a very different [br]trend.

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Yes, people are now forming groups with others [br]from other countries,

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but at the same time, societal cohesion in [br]general is weakening as a result.

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Members of these groups feel more connected [br]to the group than to society.

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This trend is called tribalism, and in fact means [br]that as smaller groups become

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culturally stronger they become more and more [br]isolated from larger society.

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These groups form modern day tribes.

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Their strong group culture is carried by their own [br]specific channels

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with their own culturally approved content.

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The group identity becomes increasingly [br]different from mainstream society

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that it in fact starts to oppose it. Therefore, [br]scholars that believe in this new tribalism trend

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actually predict more cultural misunderstanding [br]and more conflict as a result of this.