As technology continues to advance through time, the concept of globalisation becomes increasing evident. Globalisation “refers to an international community influenced by technological development and economic, political and military interests” (O’Shaughnessy 2012 p. 458). Basically, it is the increasing interactivity between the different nations of the world which is becoming simpler due to the ease in which people can contact anyone, anywhere at any time. The video below provides a useful explanation of the concept.
Appadurai (1949) breaks the cultural flows of globalisation into 5 areas;
Ethnoscapes refers to the flow of people throughout different countries, resulting in more multiculturalism.
Mediascapes refers to the flow of media content throughout the world. This is easier than ever today with the internet.
Technoscapes refers to the advancements of technology which are being shared throughout the world, resulting in more and more connectivity.
Financescapes refers to the inter connectivity of finances and the flow of this throughout the world. Thing such as being able to purchase shares in a foreign company within seconds.
Ideoscapes refers to the movement of ideologies throughout the world, which can vary from thing such as political ideology to economic ideology.
However while there are these positives, there are also negative aspects. O’Shaughnessy (2012) argues that globalisation has led to the westernisation of many cultures, which has seen many of their traditions fall by the wayside for western values such as consumerism. The importation of western films has also seen a change in the way many of these cultures speak, as well as their taste in media. This concept is known as cultural imperialism
Globalisation has brought about many positives that were previously though unattainable, however we also have to be careful that this doesn’t result in the loss of tradition and cultures.
Sources:
O’Shaughnessy, M 2012, “’Globalisation’, in Media and Society”
Appadurai, A 1949, “Modernity at large: cultural dimensions of globalization”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPD477FuqtY
Hayden Skates 