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

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

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

is both formed and maintained by 
communication.

Cultural communication is basically all 
communication,

because we always implicitly communicate 
values and ideas, even when we

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

or reading a simple comic book:

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

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

as a result of a global communication of 
messages.

According to most scholars there was always 
some extent of globalization

as people travelled throughout history.

Historical developments, like wars, colonization, 
increased international trade,

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

a growing interest in international affairs and 
created the context

in which an international communication 
landscape could develop.

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

It started slowly with cultural carriers that 
travellers took home,

like little statues, jewelry or coins.

The globalization pace quickened with the rise of 
print media.

Books, pamphlets and newspapers made 
international travel of cultural messages

more widespread.

In the nineteenth century for example,

English and American newspapers were read 
throughout the world.

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

in global communication.

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

A picture can say more than a thousand words.

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

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

that travelled the world.

These cultural messages did not only travel the 
world,

they also influenced the people they 
encountered.

People felt culturally connected through movies 
and television series and such

with people on the other side of the globe.

The globalization trend has only increased in 
recent years,

mainly due to the rise of digital and mobile 
media

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

from basically every country in the world

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

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

that exists in a variety of media

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

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

As you know, culture creates a feeling of 
belonging.

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

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

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

The global culture that is communicated through 
our mass media is the

binding force of this village. It connects us.

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

a lessening of cultural misunderstanding and 
conflict.

However, other scholars see a very different 
trend.

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

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

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

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

culturally stronger they become more and more 
isolated from larger society.

These groups form modern day tribes.

Their strong group culture is carried by their own 
specific channels

with their own culturally approved content.

The group identity becomes increasingly 
different from mainstream society

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

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