Essay #3 - Jeff Jacobson - Will American Media Wipe Out British Culture?

One concern that gets raised at times about media globalization is that the newly global media will wipe out local cultures, creating a singular global culture. However, recent (and not-so-recent) work has not borne this out. It seems that local cultures shape the way people view the global media they receive. As I continue to look at British media, it becomes apparent that the British style of journalism is very different from America?s. British culture continues to cherish their traditional, more colorful brand of journalism over a more homogenized global style.

Our studies this week have shown that global media do not lead to a global culture. Mike Featherstone (1990) states that rather than instead of a single global culture developing, ?more and more people are now involved with more than one culture? (8). He later states, ?while particular television programmes, sport spectacles, music concerts, advertisements may rapidly transit the globe, this is not to say that the response of those viewing and listening within a variety of cultural contexts and practices will be anything like uniform? (10). A similar sentiment is shared by John Tomlinson (2003). He referred to Ien Ang?s study of the television drama Dallas among Dutch women. While the women (including Ang herself) did not often agree with the ?ideology? of Dallas, but they were able to come to a resolution that still allowed them to enjoy the show (Tomlinson, 123). Tomlinson later offered an explanation for why global media does not create a global culture: the way we understand something from the media ?is constantly influenced and shaped by whatever else is going on in our lives? (130). Thus, the media does not carry one standard interpretation that everyone understands, but everyone understands the media a little (or a lot) differently. With no uniform understanding, it is very difficult for a uniform culture to develop.

If we look to British journalism, we see that it has maintained a very different style from current American journalism. British journalism tends to be much more ?feisty? (Hansen, 2007, 27), willing to take a more adversarial tone to people in power. Gerald Baker, the London Times?s U.S. editor, told Susan Hansen that his fellow colleagues see American reporters as ??incredibly soft? and ?patsy-like?? in their treatment of American authority figures (27). Their print media also allies themselves openly with political parties, unlike the American ideal of neutrality (Hansen, 27). While some people find this refreshing, the British press can of course sometimes go too far in sensationalizing stories. During the airlift of children from Sarajevo in 1993, some badly wounded adults were evacuated as well, which led to an outraged British media railing against ?Muslim duplicity in ?tricking? the Western charities and doctors? (Morley & Robins, 1995, 145). Morley and Robins quote Sylvana Foa, a U.N. representative, from that time as responding to the British media in this way: ?Does this mean Britain only wants to help children? Maybe it only wants children under six, or blond children, or blue-eyed children?? (145). On the other hand, many have praised the British press for doing a much better job than the American press in the lead-up to the Iraq war, by questioning government claims rather than accepting them blindly (Hansen, 26). Regardless of the effect, for our consideration, the important point is that the British have been able to maintain their own unique style of journalism in the face of a globalizing media. In fact, they are thriving and attracting increasing numbers of Americans to their coverage (Hansen, 26).

Thus, the British media are supporting the concept that global media does not lead to a global culture. There are a variety of voices for some things, and a variety of interpretations, meaning there remain a variety of cultures around the world.

References
Featherstone, M. (1990). Global culture: an introduction. In M. Featherstone (Ed.), Global culture: Nationalism, globalization, and modernity (pp. 1?14). London; Newbury Park : Sage.
Hansen, S. (2007, May/June). Superiority complex: Why the Brits think they?re better. Columbia Journalism Review, 46(1), 26?27.
Morley, D., and Robins, K. (1995). Under Western eyes: Media, empire, and otherness. In D. Morley and K. Robbins, Spaces of identity: Global media, electronic landscapes, and cultural boundaries. London: Routledge.
Tomlinson, J. (2003). Media imperialism. In L. Parks and S. Kumar (Eds.), Planet TV: A global television reader (pp. 113?134). New York and London: New York University Press.

Posted at 01:11PM Jun 08, 2007 by Jeff Jacobson in General  |  Comments[3]

David Speidel - Essay #3 - Economics of the Gaming World

Economics of the Gaming World

            While online games continue to grow and spread, players find more and more ways with which to experience them.  In many of these interactive games, users build characters that grow and develop with the worlds they live in growing internet economies.  While these worlds are virtual economies and not real, they have the ability to transfer over as players buy and sell in game possessions for real life money.  As the use of real money affects these games, many players in other countries, in particular China, use this to augment their yearly income in the real world.
             The transfer of real life funds for gaming purposes has continued to grow towards extreme levels.  As people continue to play these games at higher and higher rates worldwide, the desire to trade with others has become more apparent.  While playing a game their may be an item: a house, weapon, clothes, or a character itself; which someone else is interested in having.  In some of these games this trade is regulated through the game, and some frown upon it.  As such people will sell characters over internet sites such as EBay or websites designed specifically for the sale of virtual things.  In large games where this transfer is frowned upon such as World of Warcraft or Everquest 2, characters can regularly sell anywhere from $300 to over $1000.  As such, this is a sum of money that can have a strong effect on real income.  
             Perhaps the strongest influence of real life money is in the world of Second Life.  This world not only promotes spending real life money, it is an integral part of the game itself.  People design and create items that they sell to others for virtual money that is bought with money from the real world.  In the last day alone, as of this essay, there were over $1.6 Million worth of transactions.  A small number of these players, roughly 140, are now making over $5000 a month just from selling items in this game to others. (Linden Research Inc., 2007) A huge portion of real life income that could sustain a person in the United States let alone a poorer nation.
              As this phenomenon continues to grow, it can undoubtedly have an effect in a nation such as China.  Their communist government continues to liberalize their stances on capitalism and has not been seen to regulate the income people can build online.  The limitations are, of course, that those people must have the ability to access these games in the first place, which as seen by internet use in my previous article, is not a huge number as of yet.  China still has over 200 million people in poverty just in rural areas alone (Khan, 1998, p. 12).  The income that is evident from these games, even on a small scale, can have a huge impact on these people?s lives.  As stated by Hardt and Negri, goods and money ??move with increasing ease across national boundaries; hence the nation-state has less and less power to regulate these flows and impose its authority over the economy? (2000).  These movements continue to affect these people and can have real influence on the world we live in.
              As the spread of real world economy is evident in these games, their influences on players real lives have grown and could be used to affect poorer nations.  Of course it is difficult to see exactly how other cultures will treat this phenomenon, like Tomlinson said, based on their dependency on capitalism (Tomlinson, 2003).  While it is hard to place exactly how many players actually use these incomes as their sole incomes, it is a strong possibility in a game such as Second Life.  This trend has shown little signs of slowing and will more than likely continue to grow as more virtual communities are created and more people worldwide have access to them.  Perhaps in the future we may see governments regulate or tax this income but, for now, it is a free market with very little limitations for the world.

References:

Hardt, Michael, and Negri, Antonio (2000). ?Preface? (pp.xi-xvii) and Part I (pp. 1-66), Empire. Cambridge, MA, and London, England: Harvard University Press.

Khan, A.R., 1998, ?Poverty in China in the Period of Globalization. New Evidence on Trend and Pattern?, Issues in Development Discussion Paper No.22, ILO: Geneva.

Linden Research Inc., (2007, June 7). Economic Statistics. Retrieved June 7, 2007, from Second Life Web site: http://secondlife.com/whatis/economy_stats.php

Tomlinson, J. (2003). Media imperialism. In L. Parks and S. Kumar (Eds.), Planet TV: A global television reader. Pp. 113-134. New York and London: New York University Press.

Posted at 12:32PM Jun 08, 2007 by SPEIDEL, DAVID in General  |  Comments[3]

Essay 3, Alicia Thomas - Native community responses to 'Empire'

Cultural imperialism in the context of the media inherits a new power when applied to the Native American audience.  The ideological background embedded in the way most view Native cultures is the catalyst for this. Are citizens of the world shaped by common socialization when it concerns Native people? My research would suggest yes.  Tomlinson suggests that media imperialism is happening, but that it is affected by many different channels. This assertion is not analogous to the ?space? that Native communities inhabit in the hermeneutic world of media.

Empire in the context of media still runs rampant and places Native people on the outsides/fringes of the ?nation-state?, denying them access into the universal constructs of globalization. For example, Mark Trahant, a noted Native journalist and historian, pointed out that it is easy to ignore tribal jurisdictions when ?we don't even teach the basics of why tribes are governments in our school system, let alone report them in the news media.? As a result, the concept is ?often framed from an outsider's perspective? with more weight given to the remarks of opposing groups because "their claims are something most readers can understand.? (Lowe, Mella, pg. 103).

It becomes impossible to talk about a common culture in the fuller sense without talking about who is defining it, within which set of interdependencies and power balances, for what purposes and with reference to which outside cultures have to be discarded, rejected or demonified in order to generate the sense of cultural identity.? (Featherstone, pg. 11).

How do Native communities begin to right the wrongs forced upon them by a denial of right of entry and cultural evolvement? Stereotypes and misperceptions still permeate the discourse within which this community is examined and analyzed.  ?Stories about Indians tend to fall into one of four categories: Indians on the Warpath [legal issues involving treaty rights]; Pretty Pow Wow Pictures [safe, romanticized Indians 'keeping tbeir traditions alive']; From Reservation Rags to Riches [the misrepresentation that all Indians are rich because of gaming]: and the Little Indian Who Could [stories highlighting successful Indians 'who have made it' in the white man's world].? (Lowe, Mella, pg. 103). Another example of cultural dominance in media form can be seen ?in mail order catalogues such as Coldwater Creek and others often use images of Indians to sell jewelry, blankets, artwork, and pottery.  While these images may seem harmless, they often ?freeze? the Native American culture in a space and time where they remain eternally subordinated and serve as nothing more than a means of commodification for the dominant culture. (Mare, 1999, pg 4).?

How do we start the process of stripping away the superficial layers of understanding and promote collaboration and mutual understanding after centuries of harmful dissemination? Thankfully, the logic and construction of empire in relation to Indian people is changing for the better.  The power structures are being rejected and rebuilt into new modes of thinking, reacting and transmitting patterns of truth. NVISION, the non-profit organization and grassroots movement that is redefining ?Native America? is a product of this resurgence of sovereignty and autonomy among the Native communities.  The new generation of Indian youth is one of modernity, tradition and leadership, ready to challenge the notion of empire. More radio stations and newspapers are also dotting the horizon in Indian country, and as more Native people redistribute to cities, the opportunities and reorganization efforts will continue to expand.

As Tomlinson notes, ?our lives are lived as representations to ourselves in terms of the representations present in our culture: our biographies are, partly, ?intertextual?. We can make matters less abstract by giving an illustration of each ?moment? in this interplay.

The outlook is positive for the future of discourse in relation to Native communities. The threat of empire can and its eventual removal are possible if these efforts in challenging and defeating the system/status quo are successful.

References:

Featherstone, M. (1990). Global culture: an introduction. In M. Featherstone (Ed.), Global culture: Nationalism, globalization, and modernity. London; Newbury Park: Sage. Electronic reserve: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/eresdocs/files2/h6045.pdf.

Loew, Patty; Mella, Kelly (2005).Black Ink and the New Red Power: Native American Newspapers and Tribal Sovereignty. Journalism & Communication Monographs, Vol. 7 Issue 3, p99-142, 44p

Mare, Lesley Di (1999). Cultural Commodification. World Communication. Vol. 28 Issue 2, p3, 3p

Tomlinson, J. (2003). Media imperialism. In L. Parks and S. Kumar (Eds.), Planet TV: A global television reader. pp. 113-134. New York and London: New York University Press. Electronic reserve: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/eresdocs/files2/b7030.pdf.

www.myspace.com/nvision1 (Retrieved May 31, 2007).

Posted at 12:10PM Jun 08, 2007 by alicia kathryn thomas in General  |  Comments[4]

Walt Disney Conglomerate

Earlier in the week, we discussed and disagreed with Featherstone?s theory of an emerging global culture. Many countries and cultures around the world are rejecting ideas and products from other regions, and particularly from Western cultures. However, that doesn?t seem to be stopping large, western corporations from forming global markets.

            Pieces of the Walt Disney Company can be found in almost every region of the world. Besides the many television, film, internet and cellular phone entities that Disney owns and controls, they?ve also built their Magic Kingdoms in numerous countries around the globe. It is not at all unusual to see children in Hong Kong, Mexico, or India wearing a T-shirt featuring any number of Disney characters ranging from Mickey Mouse to Pocahontas. ?American influence is growing, it's so easy to get access to US culture; there are no barriers. Disney is known worldwide now ( Rice-Oxley, 2004).?  No other cartoon character in the world is as recognizable as the seventy-nine year old mouse in little red shorts and big yellow shoes. Disney has even received awards from various nations around the globe. ?There are dozens of medals, citations, and plaques from appreciative governments attesting the international amity created by Disney?s make-believe characters? (De Roos, p. 48)?

            Disney has linked itself to countless cultures around the globe, and linking those cultures to each other, at least in that one respect, to form a global Disney culture. Even countries who cannot currently lay claim to their own Disneyland theme park, such as various African nations, are featured in the signature musical ride ?It?s a Small World After All.? However, Disney can also lay a meager claim to bringing world cultures to Americans. The Disney World theme park in Orlando, Florida features an attraction known as the World Showcase. Countries from Mexico to Morocco are represented, and tourists can sample the cultures? cuisine, watch informational videos, buy their imported products, learn their folklore, and interact with citizens of those countries. Every employee in the World Showcase is a citizen of the country they are representing at Disney World.

            By Hardt and Negri?s definition, Disney may not quite have formed a global Empire through their entertainment media conglomerate. Instead, they are more likely to create the type of imperial empire reminiscent of modern European nations. Their theme parks are their colonies. They ship their products to and from their colonies to various part of the globe, and few people in the developed word have not heard of Walt Disney.

           

References

 

Featherstone, M. (1990). Global culture: an introduction. In M. Featherstone (Ed.), Global culture: Nationalism, globalization, and modernity. London; Newbury Park

 

De Roos, R. (1963). The magic worlds of Walt Disney. In E. Smoodin, Disney Discourse: Producing the Magic Kingdom. New York; Routledge

 

Hardt, Michael, and Negri, Antonio (2000). ?Preface? (pp.xi-xvii) and Part I (pp. 1-66), Empire. Cambridge, MA, and London, England: Harvard University Press.

Rice-Oxley, M. (2004). In 2000 years, will the world remember Disney or Plato? Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved June 6, 2007 from http://www.globalpolicy.org/empire/analysis/2004/0115plato.htm

Posted at 12:00PM Jun 08, 2007 by COX, KATIE in General  |  Comments[4]

Essay 3: Tisha Buelto - Lost in Translation?

Tisha Buelto

Essay 3

06.08.07

Posted at 11:23AM Jun 08, 2007 by BUELTO, TISHA in General  |  Comments[1]

Essay# 3 Claire de Lespinois: WSF strikes the Empire back

    The alter-globalization movement headed by associations such as the WSF, is often challenged by the impeding idea of a global empire. In spite of efforts by pro-imperialists to market the philosophy of the empire as being a cultural integration, the reality is far closer to a domination of economic and political structure.

    The idea of an empire according to Hardt and Negri is seen as having a ?sovereign power that governs the world? (2000, paragraph 1). This means there would be a set of global rules that would govern everyone, implemented by an elected head. In strong opposition to this viewpoint, the WSF implements public summits in different locations around the globe, chosen without financial or political prejudice. Annually, a country and location is chosen by the WSF and announced over the internet, where then anyone who is interested is invited to go and partake in the discussion of various problems and views in an open forum. In spite of a nominal fee that is required to fund such exchanges, the number of attendees increases each year. The WSF has been overwhelmed by the interest that alter-globalization has garnered so far. As opposed to the idea of a governing head or governing body of dominant countries, the summits afford the possibility of every voice being heard and individual concerns being addressed. (WSF, 2007). There are no set rules that govern these meetings. The only want is that everyone is given an equal opportunity.

     One of the most potentially compelling factors in the progressing idea of imperialism and globalization is the media. In his exert Media Imperialism, Tomlinson challenges the idea that the media has a sole part to play in the manipulation of cultural and economic integration. Tomlinson believes that there are multiple factors contributing to the culture of our world today, and television should not be solely the blame. (2003, p. 127). While the internet, a form of media, is used at the primary tool for communication by the WSF, the annual forums rely heavily on the experiences of the people. They integrate the culture of various communities around the world, using various realms, not just the effects of the media. At the meetings it is understood that there are multiple factors to blame for certain people?s situations, not just the influences of the media as most western culture would like to believe.

    In response to this impeding threat of a global empire, there has been much resistance, especially by attendees of the WSF?s gatherings. As stated by Arundhati Roy at the closing rally of the WSF in Porto Alegre, Brazil, ?what people can do to stand against the idea of ?the Empire? is to ?continue to build public opinion until it becomes a deafening roar? (2003, p. 1). These means holding meetings and communicating in as many ways possible to make sure that each person?s message is heard.



    The expression of individualism is a direct opposition to the idea of a global empire whether it is through religion, art, speech or emotion. In Aldous Huxley?s ?A Brave New World?, he addresses an extreme form of the idea of an empire; where everyone is best suited to the work and thought process that they have been conditioned for; based on race, sex, and social class. Creativity is forbidden and the only emotion permitted is allocated by the empire. Only in the outside supposedly ?savage? settlements are the pages of Shakespeare still allowed to inspire. (Huxley, 1932). Although the imperialists do not advertise such a bleak reality, the underlying constitution remains the same. Some see alter-globalization as a defense against imperialism, against the empire. Others such as Roy see it as a way to fight back against oppression. He says we should provoke an outcry of rebellion ?With our art, our music, our literature, our stubbornness, our joy, our brilliance, our sheer relentlessness-and our ability to tell our own stories. Stories that are different from the ones we?re being brainwashed to believe. The corporate revolution will collapse.?(2003, p. 1).


Resources:

Arundhati, Roy. (2003). Confronting Empire. Vol. 276 Issue 9, p16-16, 1p, The Nation.

Huxley, Aldous (1932). Brave New World, First Perennial Classics ed., New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

Hardt, Michael, and Negri, Antonio (2000). ?Preface? (pp.xi-xvii) and Part I (pp. 1-66), Empire. Cambridge, MA, and London, England: Harvard University Press.

Tomlinson, J. (2003). Media imperialism. In L. Parks and S. Kumar (Eds.), Planet TV: A global television reader. Pp. 113-134. New York and London: New York University Press.

WSF Common Space. Retrieved June 7, 2007, from the world wide web: http://wsfprocess.net/front-page?set_language=en&cl=en.

Posted at 11:23AM Jun 08, 2007 by DELESPINOIS, CATHERINE in General  |  Comments[2]

Patrick Bedics Apple Culture

Apple Culture

Apple is working to create a culture of its own, as compared to a global one. The company does not find itself caught up in researching what the consumers would be interested in the present, but what they are going to want and even need in the future (Elkin, Kim, & Stanley, 2003, p2). They are trying to build a culture that involves everyone that is willing and able to participate, but only a culture that allows Apple to be the mode of communication.

The means, through which Apple is attempting to achieve this connected culture, resembles that slightly of Empire. This may seem like a stretch to compare Apple to Empire, but there are some overlapping characteristics of both that are apparent. Apple is trying to guess ahead of what people will want, and direct all of their marketing to focus on how they will recognize that fact. Similar to the idea of Empire, because both are ultimately trying to have people?s thoughts on how they should act or what they need to become second nature (Hardt & Negri, 2000, pp31-32). Apple is already successful in this area, and that can be seen in devoted consumers of everything Apple. These people already have it instilled in their head that Apple makes the top products, and they will continually devote themselves and their money into the company as they see fit. This is not to say that Apple is creating zombie customers, but the thought of buying Apple has come all to naturally for them.

The idea of always thinking on a global scale rather than in a domestic state of mind is still placing an edge on how far you can take your company because you are seeing the world in a singular sense (Featherstone, 1990, p2). Apple appears to leap over this idea of broadcasting themselves as a globally driven company by pushing the idea that they are a lifestyle that can be adapted internationally (Elkin, Kim, & Stanley, p1). Consumers do not seem to look at Apple as a huge company as much as they see them as a company that seems to understand what they like and how to manufacture that. Alice Elkin, Tobi Kim, and Hank Stanley make a great point with their quote, "In a tech business where two or three giants have become global dominators, still the underdog Apple resonates with consumers across generations and international boundaries" (2003, p1).

In the International Herald Tribune, an opinion editorial was talking about the company and said, "If Apple succeeds in hooking millions of consumers to the iPod and retains them, then it can be the gatekeeper of global culture" (Tripathi, 2006). This kind of statement perfectly ties together the ideas that Apple is trying to get at. But instead of the idea of a global culture, they are working to establish the Apple Culture.

REFERENCES

Elkin, A., Kim, T., Stanley, H. (2003). Apple transcends as lifestyle brand, Advertising Age, 74(50) 1-2.

Featherstone, M. (1990). Global Culture: An introduction. In M. Featherstone (Ed.),

Global culture: Nationalism, globalization and modernity, 7, 1-14.

Hardt, M. & Negri, A. (2000). "Preface" (pp.x1-xvii) and Part I (pp. 1-66), Empire. Cambridge, MA, and London, England: Harvard University Press.

Tripathi, S. (2006). Taking on the iGoliath, International Herald Tribune. Retrieved on June 6, 2007, from http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/04/07/opinion/edtripathi.php

Posted at 09:34AM Jun 08, 2007 by BEDICS, PATRICK in General  |  Comments[2]

Essay #3 ? Will Long ? Radio Martí: American Media Bringing Democracy to Cuba

Essay #3 ? Will Long ? Radio/TV Martí: American Media Bringing Democracy to Cuba

 

Since Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, Cuban-American relations have been uneasy. Due to the Trading with the Enemy Act, United States? companies are banned from doing business in Cuba.  This has helped the Cuban government slow Americanization, seen by Schiller, Tunstall and others as engulfing the world, despite being located so close to the United States.  Although there are many factors that effect globalization, media has become one of the most important because of their ability to travel with great speed and reach.  The Cuban government has been relatively successful in blocking American media from being accessed by its citizens (Maggs, 2000, p. 1356). CNN does have a bureau in Havana; in fact it is the only American television network with a bureau in Havana. But to many Cuban Americans, who called the network the ?Castro News Network?, CNN is an ?organization that lends legitimacy to a corrupt regime and sneers at the exile community in Miami.? (Miller, 2003, p. 1). According to Miller a report by the Media Research Center concluded, ?CNN has allowed itself to become just another component of Fidel Castro's propaganda machine.? (2003).

 

            In order to ?provide uncensored news to the island and to promote the U.S. goal of a democratic Cuba?, President Ronald Reagan created Radio Martí in 1985. (Maggs, 2000, p. 543). The radio station, since joined by sister television station TV Martí, was strategically named after José Martí, a leader in Cuban independence, and is supported by the U.S. government. The government mainly relies on two of Appadurai?s five dimensions of global flows to reach the people of Cuba. Mediascapes, ?the repertoires of? information, the flows produced and distributed? by media and Ideoscapes, ?flows of images which are associated with? counter-state movement ideologies which are comprised of? images of democracy, freedom? [and] rights,? work together to sway the opinion of the Cuban people (Featherstone, 1990, p.7). The stations are ?meant to beam into Cuba irresistible images of the American way of life.? (Off the Screen, 1993, p. 28). Cuban leaders insist that Radio Martí is ?an ?explicit violation? of a 1987 accord aimed at preventing each nation from interfering with each other's broadcast signals? and consider it as ?propaganda outlets meant to stir dissent against Fidel Castro's government.? (Quill, 1998, p. 7).  While TV Martí is blocked by the Catro government, in 1998 Radio Martí was listened to by three-fourths of Cubans (Maggs, 2000, p. 543).

 

            However by 2001, the number of Cubans listening to Radio Martí dropped significantly to just 8 percent and nine of ten Cubans didn?t know TV Martí existed (Hickey, 2001, p. 13).  Many attribute the loss of listeners to the stations? move to Miami, ?where it fell completely under the influence of activist exiles.? (Hickey, 2001, p. 13). The drop condemns the hypodermic model theory of Shiller and Tunstall that assumes ?media products have direct and necessary cultural ?effects? on those who consume them.? (Morely & Robins, 1995, p.126). The study by Katz and Liebes shows that ?audiences are more active and critical, their responses more complex and reflective, and their cultural values more resistant to manipulation and ?invasion? that many critical theorists have assumed.? (Tomlinson, 2003, p. 125) Cubans seem to be unaffected by the programs that ?even some critics of Fidel Castro have labeled ?pathological propaganda?.? (Walker, 1999, p. 17); they simply turned off their radios. 

           

         While still on the air, a debate of whether or not to cancel Radio and TV Martí has been going on for several years. If the United States is outwardly attempting to affect the culture of a country so close, then hypodermic model of media effects would have to be completely rejected. As Katz and Liebes find, the message of media has different meanings in different cultural contexts (Tomlinson, 2003, p. 126). The radio and television created by Cubans in Miami who escaped the oppressive regime of the Cuban government, is not of interest to those Cubans who are still in Cuba.

 

 

Sources:

 

Featherstone, M. (1990). Global Culture: Nationalism, Globalization, and Modernity. London: Newbury Park.

          Hickey, N. (2001). TV Marti: Time To Go? Columbia Journalism Review, 40(1), 13.

Maggs, J. (2005). Air War Over Cuba Escalates. National Journal, 37(8), 543.

Maggs, J. (2000). Weakening Signal From Radio Marti. National Journal, 32(18), 1356.

Miller, J. (2003). The Castro News Network. National Review, 55(10), 19-20.

Morely, D., & Robins, K. (1995). Spaces of Identity: Global Media, Electronic Landscapes, and Cultural Boundaries. London: Routledge.

Off the Screen. (1993). Economist, 328(7818), 28.

TV Marti. (1998). Quill, 86(1), 7.

Walker, J. (1999). Hack Radio. Reason, 31(4), 17.

Posted at 01:14AM Jun 08, 2007 by William Long in General  |  Comments[1]

Essay #3 - Chris Bigelow - $100 Laptops

Cultural Responses to the XO-1

          So, the laptops are coming.  They have been ordered by the government of country "X" and are scheduled to be distributed to every 8-year-old student across the nation.  How will using Negroponte?s $100 toys change this nation?  Obviously, the computers will change the country economically.  Aside from the debt incurred from the initial investment that was made to purchase this technology, country "X" will soon have a new generation of "Xians" who possess knowledge and ideas beyond those of every generation of "Xians" to date.  This new army of tech-savvy countrymen (countrywomen) is now theoretically better equipped to thrive in the marketplace of a global economy.  In short, those 8-year-olds are supposed to make country "X" wealthier than is has been in the past.

          However, in addition to, or perhaps bundled with the economic change that is likely to occur, comes cultural change as well.  It seems to be the general consensus that cultural globalization will occur because of the introduction of this internet technology.  The question that remains to be answered is how and to what degree this will occur.  Many would suggest that "there is little prospect of a unified global culture, rather there are global cultures in the plural" (Featherstone, 1990, p. 10).  On the other hand, many would argue that globalization is inevitable when people have access to global products.  As Tomlinson might argue, with the internet come Coca-Cola and Disney, and with these products come the values of American consumer capitalism (2003, p. 121).  The fact that products like this "contain" ideas about what makes a good life, gives occasion for members of our country "X" to reconcile this mediated idea of reality with what Tomlinson calls "lived experience" (2003, p. 131). 

          According to many critics, something needs to be done to ensure that the $100 laptops are useful and relevant to the cultures in which they are to be used.  However, it is not often that concrete suggestions are offered to make this happen.  There are, of course, exceptions.  In an open letter on the $100 Laptop, leading researchers emphasize the need for this specific technology to "adapt to local needs."  The letter states that, "Some communities may want to develop their own software and teaching materials, others may need tools for communication and collaboration, such as voice conferencing over the internet. Local communities know their needs better than governments" (Global Researcher, 2005).   Suggestions such as this one should be considered further as the XO-1 laptops near completion and especially in the planning stages of future projects like this one.

Works Cited:

Featherstone, M. (1990). Global culture: an introduction. In M. Featherstone (Ed.), Global culture: Nationalism, globalization, and modernity. London; Newbury Park: Sage. Electronic reserve: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/eresdocs/files2/h6045.pdf.

Tomlinson, J. (2003). Media imperialism. In L. Parks and S. Kumar (Eds.), Planet TV: A global television reader. pp. 113-134. New York and London: New York University Press. Electronic reserve: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/eresdocs/files2/b7030.pdf.

Global Researcher and Testbed Network for 1:1 Technology Enhanced Learning. Learning with the $100 Laptop. http://www.g1to1.org/openletter.php.

Posted at 12:37AM Jun 08, 2007 by BIGELOW, CHRISTOPHER in General  |  Comments[2]

Essay #3- Danielle Tibbetts- Privatization and the Failing Empire Logic

            Within Sub-Sahara Africa and one of the main areas of concern for the United Nations? MDGs plan, a dilemma has arisen.  Since the mid 80?s until now various African country officials, backed and persuaded by United Nation-based multinational groups, such a as the World Bank, have pushed the idea of privatization and deregulation as the most effective ?road? to reaching one of the main goals of the MDGs, ensuring environmental sustainability such as having safe drinking water and electricity. From the outside looking in, major capitalist societies would see this as a sure way of instilling strong competition, which would foster the best development of infrastructure and sustainability, yet for these various African countries this has yet to happen, and in fact the deregulation and privatization of utilities has actually done the exact opposite of what was predicted, it has caused those countries to worsen in these areas.

            The main reason behind the failure of privatization in these developing countries is that investors are not willing to invest in these areas where they see no profitable return (Bayliss, Mckinley, 2007, p. 26). Yet, U.N. supported groups such as the World Bank consistently defend the idea of privatization as the best way, and only push harder for stronger, more stable plans of privatization. ?Privatization and Alternative Public Sector Reform in sub-Saharan Africa confirm?despite years of trying to privatize utilities, public utilities remain?the dominant providers of water and electricity? (Bayliss, Mckinley, 2007, p.28). Even with this constant reminder that public control has consistently proven more effective, donors such as U.N. multinational groups, who provide the finances behind the plans, increased support of private investors from ?US $45 million to US $687 million, while decreasing their support of public infrastructure investment by 50%, within the time-span of 1990 to 2001 (Bayliss, Mckinley, 2007, p.26).  As Featherstone explained it, ?the Western Enlightenment world-view-images of democracy, freedom?? (1990, p.7) seem to be the ?fairyland? that many of the U.N. officials imagine when they constantly push a program that repeatedly shows no improvement in such a must-have necessity, and because of the drastic switch in capital, African countries virtually lost all support from both U.N. led donors and investors who are receiving the support to invest but have no interest in it.

                        Ironically many of the developed countries pushing for privatization and support of it in developing countries, have the opposite strategy for their own countries, in which their basic utilities are regulated through government agencies (Zaza, 2002, p.1). Of course African countries have had an unstable foundation. Since many of them became independent states their governments have been in the hands of militant power hungry leaders who ruled with corruption, but just as government can be corrupt, private contractors can also be; and this has been the case in many areas of Sub-Sahara Africa. Zaza points this out when he states, ?In particular, it?s common for private contractors to bid low to get the business, then push their prices up once the government force has been disbanded.? (2002, p.2), which creates an impossible barrier for the poorest and most in need of these basic utilities.

            In this simple example we see the ideological issues of empire and cultural imperialism at work, to what scale of each only research can point out. Obviously western views on capitalism and newly acclaimed privatization of all once government regulated areas is the new bandwagon that many believe will save the day, yet this western capitalistic view can not fit into all areas of the world as seen here. The U.N.?s steadfastness of a plan that does not seem to work shows us how the empire logic is at work, and as  Hardt and Negri stated, ? the capitalist project to bring together economic power and political power, to realize, in other words, a properly capitalist order? (2000, p.17), which seems to be one of pillars that the U.N. is holding on to.

 

References:

Bayliss, Kate; McKinley,Terry. Providing basic utilities in sub Saharan Africa: why has privatization failed? Environment, Vol. 49, 3, 2007, p.1-8.

Featherstone, M. (1990). Global culture: an introduction. In M. Featherstone (Ed.), Global culture: Nationalism, globalization, and modernity. London; Newbury Park: Sage.

Hardt, Micheal, and Negri, Antonio (2000). ?Preface? (pp.xi-xvii) and Part 1 (pp. 1-66), Empire. Cambridge, Ma, and London, England: Harvard University Press.

ZaZa, J. Yanqui. Privatization and deregulation, or no aid: poor countries dilemma. The Perspective, GA, 2002. http://www.theperspective.org/deregulation.html

 

 

 

 

 

Posted at 12:15AM Jun 08, 2007 by TIBBETTS, DANIELLE in General  |  Comments[2]