Globalisation in media

Question 1

“Global village” idea

Answer 1

McLuhan (1962) - the world can interact instantaneously thanks to the media collapsing time and space barriers to communication

Question 2

Globalisation (key term)

Answer 2

The growing interconnectedness of societies across the world

Question 3

Popular culture (key term)

Answer 3

The cultural products liked and enjoyed by the masses of ordinary people. Often associated with mass culture

Question 4

“Dumbing-down” of media content

Answer 4

Curran et al- suggesting that mass culture has led to decreased quality of media, with more tabloidisation

Question 5

High culture (key term)

Answer 5

The cultural products seen to be of lasting artistic/cultural value, usually linked to upper classes and intellectual elites

Question 6

Low culture (key term)

Answer 6

A derogatory term suggesting mass culture is of inferior quality

Question 7

… argues that elements of low culture have now become a part of mass culture so there is now no real distinction between popular and high culture

Answer 7

Strinati (postmodernist)

Question 8

…. suggests that forms of high culture are used to produce mass culture eg TV series of classic novels

Answer 8

Giddings (2010) - postmodernist

Question 9

…. see mass culture as simply mass-produced manafactured products imposed on the masses for financial profit, and as a form of social control, giving the illusion of choice

Answer 9

Frankfurt school (marxist)

Question 10

… suggested that consumption of mass media (emphasis on relaxation and fun) undermines audience’s ability for critical thinking - form of social oppression promoting conformity and undermining potential for revolution

Answer 10

Marcuse (2002) - Marxist

Question 11

…. points out wide variety and choice within popular culture which people actively select and critically respond to

Answer 11

Strinati - postmodernist

Question 12

…. found that viewers and creators of soap operas view them as informative about key societal issues, generating public concern (eg homelessness storylines, DV)

Answer 12

Livingstone (1988)

Question 13

… suggested that the evolution of new media technology like satellite TV has helped lead to the development of a global popular culture

Answer 13

Flew (2002)

Question 14

Global culture (key term)

Answer 14

Refers to the way that cultures of different countries have become more alike

Question 15

Cultural homogenization (key term)

Answer 15

The process whereby separate cultures are blended or lost, forming one uniform culture

Question 16

… suggests that the (largely western) new media spreads a “culture-ideology of consumerism”, enforcing Western capitalist values globally

Answer 16

Sklair (2012)

Question 17

… points out how companies and brands now operate on a global scale, with worldwide braning and promotion

Answer 17

Ritzer (2008)

Question 18

How many countries has Who Wants to be a Millionaire? been distributed to?

Answer 18

120

Question 19

… points out that ‘global’ rarely means ‘universal’ and disguises the domination of Western culture over local cultures

Answer 19

Fenton (1999)

Question 20

Cultural imperialism (key term)

Answer 20

The imposition of (usually western) cultural values on other cultures, and the consequent undermining of local cultures and cultural independence

Question 21

Media imperialism (key term)

Answer 21

The suggestion that the media (particularly new media) has led to the imposition of western values on other cultures

Question 22

All of the top 10 highest grossing films of all time were made in…

Answer 22

USA

Question 23

… argue that there is no such thing as popular or mass culture - there’s such a wide range of cultural choices

Answer 23

Pluralists

Question 24

… argues that global competition is expanding sources of information and entertainment

Answer 24

Compaine (pluralist)

Question 25

Tomlinson (pluralist)

Answer 25

suggests that hybridisation could lead to a loss of local cultures

Question 26

Hybridisation (key term)

Answer 26

The process whereby a new, hybrid culture is created when aspects of 2 or more cultures combine

Question 27

…. argued that global competition has led to “infotainment”, designed to inform and entertain with an emphasis on celebrity culture, crime and excitement rather than actually aiming to inform, and that this promotes a “feelgood factor” which distracts from serious issues

Answer 27

Thussu

Question 28

…. suggested that a minority of western bourgeoisie owned corporations control most of the global mass culture

Answer 28

Bagdikian

Question 29

…. suggested that we now live in a media-saturated society, where media images distort and dominate the way we see the world

Answer 29

Baudrillard - Postmodernist

Question 30

Hyperreality - Baudrillard (key term)

Answer 30

A view of the world which is defined and created by the media, with the image of an event seeming more real than the actual event - eg news from wars which don’t show blood or corpses

Question 31

Simulacra - Baudrillard (key term)

Answer 31

Media images or reproductions which appear to reflect the world but have no basis in reality

Question 32

… suggests that reality TV like I’m A Celeb are blurring the distinction between reality and hyperreality, leaving audiences confused about what is real

Answer 32

Garrod (2004) - Postmodernist

Question 33

… emphasises the importance of media in shaping consumer cultures eg adverts, and also in shaping consumer identities

Answer 33

Strinati (1995) - Postmodernist

Question 34

… suggests we identify more with media images than we do with our own lives - identify more with fictional characters than people we actually now (eg campaign to free wrongfully imprisoned Coronation Street character)

Answer 34

Baudrillard - postmodernist

Question 35

…. believe that consumer choice due to globalisation and new media is a myth

Answer 35

Marxists

Question 36

Commodity Fetishism means that we define social relations and experiences in terms of money, and enjoy things based on their cost - forgetting the exploitation in the production

Answer 36

Frankfurt School (marxist)

Question 37

… suggest that popular culture is the reason for people’s passive satisfaction, preventing the overthrowing of capitalism

Answer 37

Frankfurt school - marxist

Question 38

… argued that capitalism fed people with the products of a ‘culture industry’ to keep them passively satisfied and politically apathetic

Answer 38

Adorno (frankfurt school) - marxist

Question 39

False needs are created by culture industries which can be both created and satisfied by capitalist system

Answer 39

Adorno (frankfurt school) - marxist

Question 40

Popular/mass media products are characterised by standardisation (they’re all pretty much similar) and pseudo-individualism (they give the illusion that they’re different)

Answer 40

Adorno (frankfurt school) - marxist

Question 41

… call mass culture “superficial candyfloss culture”, lacking substance

Answer 41

Barnett and Seymour

Question 42

… points out that most media companies are based in the West

Answer 42

Devereux

Question 43

… suggests that some local cultures resist westernisation

Answer 43

Sreberry-Mohammedi

Question 44

Bhattarcherjee

Answer 44

suggests that globalisation reduces barriers and distinctions between cultures, leading to increased interaction between cultures and the development of a new cultural synthesis between cultures