Globalisation and local identities

Identity is a hard enough concept to understand in relation to a singular person let alone a whole group of people belonging to one area. The Oxford Dictionary defines 'identity' as “the characteristics determining who or what a person or thing is.” That leaves room for many different ideals, customs and people to create an identity of a place. However, there are 'local identities' and they may be threatened by global media, the effect of diaspora and the global village. Whether it is intentional or not, the small local identities are being combined and shaped into one large identity. From some perspectives it might seem like these changes are happening rapidly. Perhaps some of them are. But as cultural identity is an ever-changing concept, it is hard to say how long these changes have taken and how dramatic the effects are because they are always happening within each other.

Barack Obama speaking about globalisation.



Of course there is the idea that one global media identity will override any local identities and they will all become the same. This assumption is fair enough but Richard Wilk offers the view that "we are not all becoming the same, but we are portraying, dramatizing, and communicating our differences to each other in ways that are more widely intelligible." (Wilk 1995, p. 118). So following this train of thought, it is healthy for us to be exposed to other identities as a way of becoming cultured. Although, it is possible that one of these identities will have the most influence over global media so one identity might have more impact shaping the rest. A post on The Glaring Facts http://www.theglaringfacts.com/communications/local-global/ discusses this impact in relation to the idea of Americanization and a new combination of words that makes up the super word “Glocalization”. The fact that someone has thought it necessary to come up with such a word could be a sign that conjoining ideas has gone far enough.

Here is a video that uses the word 'McDomination':


But Wilk could be right. Global media across all identities is a way to share cultures and ideals with other people. It is a way for us to learn about the rest of the world. It keeps our minds open to other ways of life and ways of communicating. There are many different meanings attached to the word 'culture' as summarised here. Culture doesn't just stay in the one place when we move around. We take our culture with us which is why having the local identities converse with each other through global media seems like an ideal situation in terms of allowing cultures to continue developing. Local identities can still exist like this as long as global media is not favouring one 'identity' over others. Having knowledge of other cultures is a way of promoting tolerance to create a peaceful coexistence. Though this can be done without sacrificing an original identity to welcome another, blended cultures are probably more open to changes in society.

Information, physical and cultural flows link together as a cycle in that they enable each other. As long as these flows continue, local identities as we know them will become fewer. The idea of hybrid cultures is interesting to think about in relation to globalisation. It is a term that could be used as an accurate description of a large area – perhaps whole countries. That may even turn into groups of countries that come together. The use of these kinds of terms is a sign that local identities could become a thing of the past. The focus has now moved to creating and defining identity on a larger scale. This idea is perhaps more frightening to traditionalists than anyone else. Nederveen Pieterse (2004, p. 7) says “globalisation crosses boundaries of government and business, media and social movements, general and academic interest.” Boundaries generally allow traditions to remain as they are, but if boundaries are being crossed to combine cultures then this might mean having to accommodate someone else's traditions. This can lead to all kinds of controversy because it involves various sets of politics. An example of this controversy is the suggestion of banning the burqa in Australia. Virginia Haussegger shared her opinion on this matter with readers of The Age here in 2010. While it is understandable (in some cases) that people can be uneasy about welcoming new lifestyles, widening the gaps between cultures does more harm than good.


You only have to look into the global village to see how global this village really isn't. New technology drives division between developing countries and the rest of the world. Hatchen and Scotton (2002 p. 3) describe technological advances as “a nervous system for our world today.” They go on to acknowledge that “the popular culture of the West... have been increasingly flowing about the world.” There is this idea that Western civilisation is somehow the pinnacle of living and that developing countries can't be at their full potential until they're living just like us. While their lives would certainly be easier if they had the same privileges, this shouldn't mean that they have to adopt a whole new readymade way of life just to catch up. The global village would ideally provide everyone with the chance to communicate on an equal level. Language barrier is one problem. Literacy is another. In theory, technological advances would mean that the global village could grow. More countries and cultures would be connected to each other and communication could happen at the touch of a button. But for this to be able to work, everyone in the global village would have to have the same capabilities. Developing technology even further and then introducing it to countries who were already behind to begin with will only create a greater divide.

It may seem like the typical observation of an idealist to say that the world would work better if we could all feel welcome in new places and have the same opportunities in life. It is idealistic and this scenario is unlikely to eventuate, but there is a difference between globalisation and showing tolerance and acceptance of other cultures. A balance needs to be found here so that local identities don't feel threatened and larger identities don't feel the need to claim others as their own.




References

Hatchen, WA & Scotton, JF 2002, The world news prism: global media in an era of terrorism, 6^th edn, low a State Press, pp. 3-4

Haussegger, V 2010, 'Time To Ban The Burqa', The Age, 21^st May, <http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/the-burqa-is-a-war-on-women-20100520-vnp3.html>
Nederveen Pieterse, J 2004, ‘Globalization: consensus and controversies’, Globalization and culture: global mélange, Rowan & Littlefield, Lanham, Md., pp. 7

"identity", Oxford Dictionary, <http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/identity>


Wilk, R 1995, ‘Learning to be local in Belize: global systems of common difference’, in D Miller (ed.), Worlds apart: modernity through the prism of the local, Routledge, London.

CNN - Obama on globalization 2008, YouTube, retrieved October 4 2012, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7owMXrLu2d8>

World Without Walls - Stop Motion - Globalization 2011, YouTube, retrieved October 4 2012, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As3pWXoq_as>