1 00:00:09,700 --> 00:00:14,066 A few students asked me to say something about cultural globalization. 2 00:00:14,066 --> 00:00:18,932 What is cultural globalization and what kind of trends do we see? 3 00:00:18,933 --> 00:00:23,199 We discussed that culture, and in fact our own perception of reality, 4 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:28,366 is both formed and maintained by communication. 5 00:00:28,366 --> 00:00:31,166 Cultural communication is basically all communication, 6 00:00:31,166 --> 00:00:35,899 because we always implicitly communicate values and ideas, even when we 7 00:00:35,900 --> 00:00:41,300 are listening to seemingly meaningless music, or watching an entertaining soap opera, 8 00:00:41,300 --> 00:00:43,833 or reading a simple comic book: 9 00:00:43,833 --> 00:00:49,566 they all communicate something about the culture in which they were produced. 10 00:00:49,566 --> 00:00:57,432 Well, cultural globalization is, simply put, an international reach of cultural ideas and values, 11 00:00:57,433 --> 00:01:00,533 as a result of a global communication of messages. 12 00:01:00,533 --> 00:01:06,766 According to most scholars there was always some extent of globalization 13 00:01:06,766 --> 00:01:08,866 as people travelled throughout history. 14 00:01:08,866 --> 00:01:16,366 Historical developments, like wars, colonization, increased international trade, 15 00:01:16,366 --> 00:01:22,899 increased education, increased international tourism. These trends were all reasons for 16 00:01:22,900 --> 00:01:26,966 a growing interest in international affairs and created the context 17 00:01:26,966 --> 00:01:31,932 in which an international communication landscape could develop. 18 00:01:31,933 --> 00:01:36,599 But the rate of globalization has increased with the reach of our mass media 19 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:41,633 It started slowly with cultural carriers that travellers took home, 20 00:01:41,633 --> 00:01:44,699 like little statues, jewelry or coins. 21 00:01:44,700 --> 00:01:50,233 The globalization pace quickened with the rise of print media. 22 00:01:50,233 --> 00:01:55,333 Books, pamphlets and newspapers made international travel of cultural messages 23 00:01:55,333 --> 00:01:57,499 more widespread. 24 00:01:57,500 --> 00:01:59,866 In the nineteenth century for example, 25 00:01:59,866 --> 00:02:03,632 English and American newspapers were read throughout the world. 26 00:02:03,633 --> 00:02:08,333 Perhaps this is also the start of a dominance of an Anglo American culture 27 00:02:08,333 --> 00:02:11,333 in global communication. 28 00:02:11,333 --> 00:02:16,199 Movies and television programs were again a new step in the globalization trend. 29 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:22,366 A picture can say more than a thousand words. 30 00:02:22,366 --> 00:02:27,699 Well, these new audio visual media brought pictures and sounds. 31 00:02:27,700 --> 00:02:33,700 And again, they were mostly Anglo-American TV shows and movies 32 00:02:33,700 --> 00:02:36,800 that travelled the world. 33 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:40,100 These cultural messages did not only travel the world, 34 00:02:40,100 --> 00:02:44,166 they also influenced the people they encountered. 35 00:02:44,166 --> 00:02:48,166 People felt culturally connected through movies and television series and such 36 00:02:48,166 --> 00:02:52,299 with people on the other side of the globe. 37 00:02:52,300 --> 00:02:56,066 The globalization trend has only increased in recent years, 38 00:02:56,066 --> 00:02:59,932 mainly due to the rise of digital and mobile media 39 00:02:59,933 --> 00:03:05,733 that a) give us immediate access to a rich assortment of cultural content 40 00:03:05,733 --> 00:03:08,333 from basically every country in the world 41 00:03:08,333 --> 00:03:16,366 and b) allows us to communicate with people in other countries easily and instantly. 42 00:03:16,366 --> 00:03:20,599 It is quite clear that today we have an international communication landscape 43 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:22,766 that exists in a variety of media 44 00:03:22,766 --> 00:03:30,132 like books, magazines, newspapers, radio, television, cinema and the internet. 45 00:03:30,133 --> 00:03:36,033 But what exactly is its effect on the formation of culture throughout the world? 46 00:03:36,033 --> 00:03:39,833 As you know, culture creates a feeling of belonging. 47 00:03:39,833 --> 00:03:44,666 That cultural messages are now spread internationally is, according to some, 48 00:03:44,666 --> 00:03:48,532 reason to believe that a ‘global village’ is emerging, 49 00:03:48,533 --> 00:03:53,966 where people feel connected with each other, regardless of their country of origin. 50 00:03:53,966 --> 00:03:57,799 The global culture that is communicated through our mass media is the 51 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:02,733 binding force of this village. It connects us. 52 00:04:02,733 --> 00:04:10,666 Optimists believe that all this cultural sharing will lead to 1) greater understanding and 2) 53 00:04:10,666 --> 00:04:15,599 a lessening of cultural misunderstanding and conflict. 54 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:19,766 However, other scholars see a very different trend. 55 00:04:19,766 --> 00:04:25,166 Yes, people are now forming groups with others from other countries, 56 00:04:25,166 --> 00:04:31,999 but at the same time, societal cohesion in general is weakening as a result. 57 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:37,000 Members of these groups feel more connected to the group than to society. 58 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:42,833 This trend is called tribalism, and in fact means that as smaller groups become 59 00:04:42,833 --> 00:04:49,033 culturally stronger they become more and more isolated from larger society. 60 00:04:49,033 --> 00:04:51,699 These groups form modern day tribes. 61 00:04:51,700 --> 00:04:56,966 Their strong group culture is carried by their own specific channels 62 00:04:56,966 --> 00:04:59,599 with their own culturally approved content. 63 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:06,366 The group identity becomes increasingly different from mainstream society 64 00:05:06,366 --> 00:05:14,332 that it in fact starts to oppose it. Therefore, scholars that believe in this new tribalism trend 65 00:05:14,333 --> 00:05:20,733 actually predict more cultural misunderstanding and more conflict as a result of this.