Globalisation And The Media Flashcards
What is the term for sociologists who believe a process of globalisation is occurring?
Globalists
Globalists can be further divided into hyperglobalists and pessimistic globalists.
How do hyperglobalists view globalisation?
As an overwhelmingly positive feature of contemporary society.
What do pessimistic globalists think about globalisation?
They see it as a damaging and dangerous process.
What is the term for sociologists who question the reality of globalisation?
Sceptics.
Who talks about the role of mass media in globalisation?
Strinati
According to Strinati, what role does mass media play in globalisation?
It is a global industry that promotes other global industries.
What concept did McLuhan introduce regarding global communications?
Global village.
Through global communications (new media), we have neighbours around the world, can hear aboiut foreign news instantly and from the source
What does McLuhan mean by ‘all-at-once-ness’?
Time has ceased and space has vanished, leading to instantaneous and continuous information flow.
As soon as info is acquired, its replaced by newer information.
Who talks about the internet and its impact on development?
Flew
According to Flew, what impact did the internet have on development?
Norms and values are global rather than national.
News offers a global outlook rather than a national focus.
Who argued that globalisation of media led to cultural imperialism?
Fenton
What is cultural imperialism?
The Western world dominating the rest of the world through media and marketing of it’s own cultural products.
What are global conglomerates?
Companies that combine various business interests and operate internationally.
EG: Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp
Many media companies own businesses across different countries - large companies can dominate media markets in other countries
True or False: Big media conglomerates need to own local businesses to dominate local markets.
False.
Media companies like Fox make films and programmes that are shown all around the world
- aggresively marketed and distrubuted, made with big budgets and stars
- allowing said companies to dominate media production around the world
Who talks about demands for West?
McBride (1990)
What does McBride suggest about demands for west?
Deluge of Western-created media changes the culture and values of countries elsewhere in the world
One impact of said cultural shift is to stoke demand for western products
How has the internet affected advertising?
Revolutionised how products are marketed around the world.
Through new media such as Google, companies who can pay for expensive marketing packages dominate what people see and read everyday all over the world.
What does the term ‘cocacolanisation’ refer to?
The spread of American hegemony through media alongside the sale of Coca-Cola.
Amerian moves and music fueled the sale of Coca Cola around the world
Who developed the concept of ‘McDonaldisation’?
George Ritzer.
Conceptual impact of globalisation
World becoming more and more like McDonald: standardised and low-skilled
Fill in the blank: Cultural _______ is the idea that local cultures are killed off by globalisation.
homogenisation.
Expressed by Klein (2000)
Globalisation of media and culture is ‘Americanisation’
What is the view of postmodernists regarding cultural flows?
Culture moves in multidirectional flows, not just from West to East.
EG: Bollywood films - popular in many countries outside India - influencing western culture
- Hollywood films incorporating Bollywood-style features and some Bollywood stars crossing over into Western culture
Who further evidences the multicultural flow of culture?
Sreberny-Mohammadi (1996) points out that, as well as India, South America has a strong media industry
What is hybridity in the context of culture?
The mixing of local cultures, global cultures, and alternative cultures.
Sometimes creating a hybrid culture or cultural diversity
What is the impact of hybridisation according to optimistic hyperglobalists?
It enriches culture rather than displaces it by adding to our cultural options.
How can Ritzer’s McDonaldisation be critiqued?
McDonald’s adapts its menu to local cultures.
Doesnt actually export american menu
Hyperglobalists point to Mcdonalds as an example of a global brand responding to local culture rather than obliterating it
What is cultural hybridisation suggested as by some sociologists?
Halfway between cultural divergence (1) and cultural convergence (2)
1 - ‘a clash of civilisations - solidifying of distinct regional cultures that are fundamentaly different from eachother and cannot coexist harmoniously’ (Huntington)
2 - cultural homogenisation - whole world becomes the same
What role does resistance play in cultural divergence?
It involves rejecting Western media and promoting local culture, may use new media tech to spread their message and organise their campaigns.
Cultural divergence - criticism to cultural homogenisation
What do some sociologists argue about economic inequality in relation to global culture?
The West dominates global culture due to its economic power.
Postmodernist, pluralists and hyperglobalists ignore economic inequality
Western consumers like to buy the exotic so features of local cultures that can be marketed as exotic will be used
What is high culture?
Culture of lasting artistic value, often found in galleries and aimed at upper-class audiences.
How does globalisation affect high culture according to some sociologists?
It leads to westernisation, a decline in high culture and a rise in pop culture.
What do pluralists argue?
No such thing as popular culture, intro of new media (digital TV etc) = increase in consumer choice
Tomlinson: globalisation involves hybridisation of cultures whereby individuals can ‘pick and mix’ and draw upon their own local culture AND western/global culture
What is popular culture often associated with?
Passive and unchallenging entertainment designed to be sold to large numbers of people.
Designed to demand little critical thought and rarely provide any challenge to existing dominant cultural ideas
What does Sklair argue about the media?
It blurs differences between entertainment, information, and product promotion.
sell across the world ideas, values and products associated with whats presented as an idealised western lifestyle
According to Ritzer, what is the impact of global brands like Apple and Google on local cultures?
They promote a global culture along a consumerist lifestyle and weaken local cultures.
Use the transnational media to promote their products on a global stage and their logos are now global brands
