WEBVTT 00:00:09.700 --> 00:00:14.066 A few students asked me to say something about cultural globalization. 00:00:14.066 --> 00:00:18.932 What is cultural globalization and what kind of trends do we see? 00:00:18.933 --> 00:00:23.199 We discussed that culture, and in fact our own perception of reality, 00:00:23.200 --> 00:00:28.366 is both formed and maintained by communication. 00:00:28.366 --> 00:00:31.166 Cultural communication is basically all communication, 00:00:31.166 --> 00:00:35.899 because we always implicitly communicate values and ideas, even when we 00:00:35.900 --> 00:00:41.300 are listening to seemingly meaningless music, or watching an entertaining soap opera, 00:00:41.300 --> 00:00:43.833 or reading a simple comic book: 00:00:43.833 --> 00:00:49.566 they all communicate something about the culture in which they were produced. 00:00:49.566 --> 00:00:57.432 Well, cultural globalization is, simply put, an international reach of cultural ideas and values, 00:00:57.433 --> 00:01:00.533 as a result of a global communication of messages. 00:01:00.533 --> 00:01:06.766 According to most scholars there was always some extent of globalization 00:01:06.766 --> 00:01:08.866 as people travelled throughout history. 00:01:08.866 --> 00:01:16.366 Historical developments, like wars, colonization, increased international trade, 00:01:16.366 --> 00:01:22.899 increased education, increased international tourism. These trends were all reasons for 00:01:22.900 --> 00:01:26.966 a growing interest in international affairs and created the context 00:01:26.966 --> 00:01:31.932 in which an international communication landscape could develop. 00:01:31.933 --> 00:01:36.599 But the rate of globalization has increased with the reach of our mass media 00:01:36.600 --> 00:01:41.633 It started slowly with cultural carriers that travellers took home, 00:01:41.633 --> 00:01:44.699 like little statues, jewelry or coins. 00:01:44.700 --> 00:01:50.233 The globalization pace quickened with the rise of print media. 00:01:50.233 --> 00:01:55.333 Books, pamphlets and newspapers made international travel of cultural messages 00:01:55.333 --> 00:01:57.499 more widespread. 00:01:57.500 --> 00:01:59.866 In the nineteenth century for example, 00:01:59.866 --> 00:02:03.632 English and American newspapers were read throughout the world. 00:02:03.633 --> 00:02:08.333 Perhaps this is also the start of a dominance of an Anglo American culture 00:02:08.333 --> 00:02:11.333 in global communication. 00:02:11.333 --> 00:02:16.199 Movies and television programs were again a new step in the globalization trend. 00:02:16.200 --> 00:02:22.366 A picture can say more than a thousand words. 00:02:22.366 --> 00:02:27.699 Well, these new audio visual media brought pictures and sounds. 00:02:27.700 --> 00:02:33.700 And again, they were mostly Anglo-American TV shows and movies 00:02:33.700 --> 00:02:36.800 that travelled the world. 00:02:36.800 --> 00:02:40.100 These cultural messages did not only travel the world, 00:02:40.100 --> 00:02:44.166 they also influenced the people they encountered. 00:02:44.166 --> 00:02:48.166 People felt culturally connected through movies and television series and such 00:02:48.166 --> 00:02:52.299 with people on the other side of the globe. 00:02:52.300 --> 00:02:56.066 The globalization trend has only increased in recent years, 00:02:56.066 --> 00:02:59.932 mainly due to the rise of digital and mobile media 00:02:59.933 --> 00:03:05.733 that a) give us immediate access to a rich assortment of cultural content 00:03:05.733 --> 00:03:08.333 from basically every country in the world 00:03:08.333 --> 00:03:16.366 and b) allows us to communicate with people in other countries easily and instantly. 00:03:16.366 --> 00:03:20.599 It is quite clear that today we have an international communication landscape 00:03:20.600 --> 00:03:22.766 that exists in a variety of media 00:03:22.766 --> 00:03:30.132 like books, magazines, newspapers, radio, television, cinema and the internet. 00:03:30.133 --> 00:03:36.033 But what exactly is its effect on the formation of culture throughout the world? 00:03:36.033 --> 00:03:39.833 As you know, culture creates a feeling of belonging. 00:03:39.833 --> 00:03:44.666 That cultural messages are now spread internationally is, according to some, 00:03:44.666 --> 00:03:48.532 reason to believe that a ‘global village’ is emerging, 00:03:48.533 --> 00:03:53.966 where people feel connected with each other, regardless of their country of origin. 00:03:53.966 --> 00:03:57.799 The global culture that is communicated through our mass media is the 00:03:57.800 --> 00:04:02.733 binding force of this village. It connects us. 00:04:02.733 --> 00:04:10.666 Optimists believe that all this cultural sharing will lead to 1) greater understanding and 2) 00:04:10.666 --> 00:04:15.599 a lessening of cultural misunderstanding and conflict. 00:04:15.600 --> 00:04:19.766 However, other scholars see a very different trend. 00:04:19.766 --> 00:04:25.166 Yes, people are now forming groups with others from other countries, 00:04:25.166 --> 00:04:31.999 but at the same time, societal cohesion in general is weakening as a result. 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:37.000 Members of these groups feel more connected to the group than to society. 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:42.833 This trend is called tribalism, and in fact means that as smaller groups become 00:04:42.833 --> 00:04:49.033 culturally stronger they become more and more isolated from larger society. 00:04:49.033 --> 00:04:51.699 These groups form modern day tribes. 00:04:51.700 --> 00:04:56.966 Their strong group culture is carried by their own specific channels 00:04:56.966 --> 00:04:59.599 with their own culturally approved content. 00:04:59.600 --> 00:05:06.366 The group identity becomes increasingly different from mainstream society 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 00:05:14.333 --> 00:05:20.733 actually predict more cultural misunderstanding and more conflict as a result of this.