2nd Blog Assignment: Cultural Globalization

Second Blog Assignment 

Cultural Globalization 

(by John Tomlinsen)

1) Summary of content

The essay "Cultural Globalization", written by John Tomlinson, discusses the nature of cultural globalization with a focus on history and the positive and negative effects of increasing global connectivity.

First paragraph (The relationship between Culture and Globalization):

The author first provides a fundamental knowledge of the two terms "culture" and "globalization" in order to create a general understanding for his following argumentation. Globalization is a multidimensional process that includes the dimensions of economy, politics and technological developments. More importantly, this can be understood as a complex process of global connectivity. Today's society lives in a globally connected world, using communicational technologies, such as smartphones. 

Tomlinsen pays particular attention to the fact that the crucial element of global connectivity is the global capitalistic market. 

Furthermore culture is a dimension that has consequences for other domains. Cultural significance encourages people individually and collectively to influence their choices and actions. 

What the author also highlights is that consumer activity sets the prerequisite for the functioning of the entire complex network of multidimensional culture.

Second paragraph (A Global Culture?):

Tomlinsen first raises the general claim that globalization leads to a “single culture”. However, he is not convinced of this and has the opposite opinion, which he explains further in this paragraph.

Globalization is not quite global, because there are countries, even entire continents (e.g. Africa) that are disadvantaged in this process. Contrary to this fact, there are also areas with a particular focus on the topic of globalization.

The author explains that there is a general fear of cultural domination influencing the entire world. Here he mentions Western culture with its brands such as Disney and Coca Cola as the most important example. Nevertheless, this consumption of the products does not mean that the entire values of Western culture have to be accepted and represented by consumers.

In addition, oppositions such as the "Muslim world" have also formed, which is fundamentally against Western culture and prefers its own values.

In the last part of the paragraph, the author discusses the history of cultural views and shares those of numerous philosophers, such as the Ethnocentric view of Karl Marx.

Third paragraph (Deterritorialization):

In this context, cultural globalization can also be viewed from a different perspective. Tomlinsen points out that one also has to look at the effects in order to understand the overall process.

In this paragraph he mentions two important terms: Deterritorialization and Telemediazation.

Deterritorialization in global culture is the process by which cultural practices and identities become less tied to specific geographical locations due to increasing cultural exchange. This condition is driven by the cross-border flow of ideas, information and media, leading to the mixing of cultures. This results in a homogenization of cultures, which can certainly be viewed as a negative effect.

Furthermore, Telemediazation is understood as the increasing influence of media and communication technologies, such as e.g. Digital media and the Internet. These new technologies simplify the distribution of content (movies, tv series and music) across national borders, worldwide.

Tomlinsen sees these developments as critical because they mean that people in society are less concerned with their own culture but rather get distracted by the wide possibilities that communication technologies offer.

Fourth paragraph (Cosmopolitanism and Cultural Identity):

In the last paragraph, the author addresses two opposing opinions on the topic of “cultural identity”. They can be perceived as modern entities, consisting of self and communal definitions based around differentiations such as gender, sexuality, class, religion, etc.

Cosmopolitanism advocates global exchange in the sense that cultures can be adopted from each other, creating a global community.

Some critics see globalization as a threat to the cultural identity. They are of the opinion that local identities in particular need to be protected.

2) Interesting aspect

In general, I liked the essay Cultural Globalization by the author John Tomlinsen because he particularly addressed the different views on this topic. So to speak, he has reflected various opinions so that the reader can gain a comprehensive insight into the issue of cultural globalization and develop their own ideas and approaches.

What I found most interesting was the section about global culture. There is speculation that the world will develop into a single global culture in the future due to increased interconnectivity. However, Tomlinsen spoke out against this belief and sees this forecast as very unlikely.

In recent years, anti-Westernization has played a major role. People are speaking out against the adoption of Western culture to the rest of the world. They want to keep and defend their own culture.

3) Discussion

Based on this, I asked myself whether there might not be a global culture in the future? What would this look like? Do you have any ideas? Why might it be possible?

I thought about 3 aspects of what a global culture would evoke from: Global Media, Urbanization and Global Challenges.

Global Media: Through various communication channels, such as the internet, information can spread quickly and thus promote cultural exchange and the adoption of individual elements.

Urbanization: There are more and more urban areas in the world where many different cultures come together. It supports cosmopolitanism because the individual elements of each culture merge together.

Global Challenges: Overcoming common global challenges, such as climate change and diseases, connects the individual countries and therefore creates the sharing of common values and a shared global responsibility.