Monday, 10 March 2014

Reader Response (Final)

In "Globalisation of Culture through the Media", Kraidy (2002) presented the debatable issue that media has been used as a platform to promote globalisation. He provided a few perspectives of globalisation, one of which is cultural imperialism. Some researchers’ expressed their concerns over how the West has unfairly propagated her own culture.  Kriady concluded that hybridisation of various cultures has been further enhanced by media.

Kraidy draws the conclusion that "media is not a process of complete homogenisation, but rather one where cohesion and fragmentation coexist". (Paragraph 15) He mentions media is a main tool used to strengthened culture hybridisation.  I agree with his assertions because I recognise the importance of media in binding the world as one as social groups get increasingly integrated and connected.

Language is an example of cultural hybridisation. Many argued that half of the 7,000 languages spoken worldwide would be extinct by the next century as English gradually becomes the common language around the world. (Moore, 2014) However, I feel that while some native languages will disappear, we should not neglect the new languages that have emerged. For instance, languages such as Hinglish, Chinglish, and Japlish have been introduced and they all stemmed from a mixture of English and their respective native languages. This is also evident in Singapore, where we have our local version known as 'Singlish' - a hybrid of local dialects, Chinese and English. Singaporean prefers to use this language to communicate and it is seen as integral to our identity. (BBC news, 2001)

Kraidy fails to address the reason behind culture imperialism, which is useful in explaining why developing countries are concerned that globalisation of cultures is unjust due to Western dominance. I would elaborate further than him as I think globalisation is not all about Westernisation, it is a process of cultural hybridization in which traditions are retained. Emerging countries such as India are not blindly adopting Western ideas as they seek to modernise their countries. (Modi, 2013) I suggest that developing nations, while aspiring to be like the West economically, they should still preserve their cultural identity.



(346 words)

References
Modi, N.,(2013). We need modernisation, not westernisation. Retrieved from website: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/we-need-modernisation-not-westernisation-narendra-modi-391967


Moore, O. (2014, January 23). Thinking globalisation. The Royal Gazette. Retrieved from http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20140123/ISLAND07/140129896

Singapore attack on 'Singlish'. (2001, April 01). BBC News. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1261986.stm


Modi,

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