Essay#5-Keitris Weathersbe-New York City: A 'Port' of Settling Cultures

New York City: A ?Port? of Settling Cultures

            Since the discovery of New York City, anthropologists, communication theorists and other scholars have studied the general and cultural makeup of the city.  Why is New York City such a dense topic?  At the turn of the century, New York City was the preeminent American city; ?it represented the ?new metropolis?? (Mayer, 1958, p.472).  Its historical and cultural influences date back to the 1500s (Wikipedia, ?New York City?).   People from all nationalities and ethnic backgrounds are meshed together to form one entity; one city.  From this, we have a globalization of several cultures, meaning the various cultures of New York City influence other areas of the world.  These influences range from technological to mediated to cultural.   The culture flows of New York City are massive and constant.  One example of this constant flow in New York City, as discussed by James Clifford, is the idea that everyone is ?permanently in transit? (1992, p. 109).   In support of this, Clifford also claims that ?we need to conjure with ?cultures,? such as Haiti, that can now be ethnographically studied both in the Caribbean and in Brooklyn,? which is one of the five Burroughs in New York City (1992, p. 109).  Clifford poses the question of ?where are you between??  rather than ?where are you from?? which relates to the many people who visit, tour and settle in New York City.   According to Clifford, this ?intercultural identity question? exists in several major urban areas, where many cultural flows exist (1992, p. 109).

            The economic influences of a city such as New York City are extremely relevant when discussing cultural flows and people in movement.  The markets within the city strongly influence the relations with global markets, i.e., Music Television (MTV) and it branch in New York City.  MTV has become globalized in recent years, with its influence in places like India.  India has embraced the video-making industry, as initiated by MTV.  With MTV being based in New York City, its fan-base in centered on a young, spontaneous and urban audience, which is closely similar to the attitudes of New York City.  Various media audience lead to the discussion of defining a ?local? in regards to New York City.

            As discussed in the Braman and Sreberny-Mohammadi article, there are several theories to what defines a local (1996, p. 19).  In regards to New York City, we could define ?local? as the individuals that inhabit the five boroughs of New York City?its residents?or the space that houses the city of New York.  Any space outside of those boundaries should be of state, national or internationally influence.

References

1.  Sreberny-Mohammadi, Annabelle (1996).  Globalization, Communication and Transnational Civil Society:  Introduction.  In S. Braman and A. Sreberny-Mohammadi (Eds.), Globalization, Communication and Transnational Civil Society, p. 1-19.  Cresskill, NJ.: Hampton Press.  Electronic reserve:  http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/eresdocs/files2/h6049.pdf.

2.  Mayer, Grace (1958).  Once Upon a City.  New York: MacMillan Publishing Company, p. 472.

3.  Clifford, James. (1992).  Traveling Cultures.  In L. Grossberg, C. Nelson, & P. Treichler (eds.), Cultural Studies (p. 96-112).  London and New York: Routledge.

4.  www.wikipedia.com/newyorkcity

5.  http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/papr/nyc.html

Posted at 11:58AM Jun 22, 2007 by WEATHERSBE, KEITRIS in General  |  Comments[2]