Reading 2 : What is the relation between culture and globalization ?


  1. Summarize 

Tomlinson dives into the many dimensions of cultural globalization, like its economic, political, and social aspects. He sees it as a continuation of a long history of cultural exchange, but recognizes that today's level of interconnectedness is unprecedented. One important aspect he points out is how Western culture has taken a prominent role in the global stage. Western companies have been remarkably successful in spreading their products worldwide. They made sure to create a way of consuming, to decide a sort of global consumer culture thanks to their domination in globalisation : ”something that people experience or imbibe but do not themselves produce or shape”. It's often criticized for making everything feel the same, but Tomlinson argues that this view might be a bit too simplistic. He brings up how local cultures adapt and put their own spin on these global influences, to leave a little trace of their history. 

Another significant part of cultural globalization is the impact of modern technology on how we communicate. Tomlinson highlights how electronic communication has become a crucial part of our lives, because of their efficiency above anything else. He also raises important concerns about how this emphasis can affect our emotional well-being and the preservation of our cultural traditions. He called this ‘telemediatization’, and according to him, it is shaping our lives and our values. It can affects, in the longer term, our emotions, social relations and cultural values, like the value of patience, especially in young generation. It becomes inked in people’s brains : ”In various ways – through increased travel and mobility, the use of new communications technologies and the experience of a globalized media – people effortlessly integrate local and ‘global’ cultural data in their consciousness.” 

But among these challenges, Tomlinson shows out the bright side. He believes cultural globalization opens doors for individuals and communities to explore new horizons and connect with fresh, new and maybe relevant ideas. Thanks to increased travel, technology and evolutions of mentalities, blending local and global cultures has become more accessible than ever. And it will continue in this way in the futur. This fusion leads to a richer cultural landscape, rewarding creativity and diversity.

To conclude, Tomlinson covered most of the impacts of cultural globalization, explaining both its positive and negative aspects. He emphasized that it is not a unique phenomenon, constructed by one community, but a complex process implicated a lot of actors in the whole world. Now, we can better understand how cultural globalization is reshaping our world and how we could adapt to it, and maybe how we can renforce it.

  1. Interesting 

When Tomlinson talked about the impact and evolution of modern technologies, I found interesting that the notion of ‘immediacy’. Nowadays, thanks to the modern technologies we have been used to the ‘instant culture’. We lost patience for everything, we want to have all we need instantly. In my opinion, it accelerates considerably cultural globalization, because the world is moving faster and faster and it's not planned to stop because of all the efforts put in the way to developing new technological products to gain more time, more efficiency, more and more instantaneity. 

  1. Discussion 

As the technology evolution is only at its beginning, and is planned to evolve a lot, should we stop (or slow down) this process to save our culture from an overflow of immediacy which could be dangerous for our civilisation ? Or, and the other hand, should we continue on this way to maximize the benefits of what modern and futur technology can offer to help globalization to growth ?

Maxime Falconnier

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