Introduction to Communication Science week 6: 6.7 Globalization: Village vs. Tribes

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.