This weeks focus was on the globalisation debate within popular culture. According to Held et al (1999: 14-16) ‘Globalisation is the widening, deepening and speeding up of worldwide interconnectedness in all aspects of contemporary life, from the cultural to the criminal, the financial to the spiritual’. Furthermore, according to Baylis & Smith (1997: 7) Globalisation is the ‘process of increasing interconnectedness between societies such that events in one part of the world more and more have effects on peoples and societies far way.’ In turn this shows how popular culture can be connected throughout the globe but also allows us to have individual values and norms within society. An example of globalisation connecting and effecting societies across the globe after an event is the death of George Floyd in May 2020. His death is believed to be a race related murder, committed by an American police officer. As a result of George Floyd’s murder, thousands of people across the UK and in countries across the globe took part in anti-racism protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement (Mohdin et al, 2020.) This is an example of globalisation as this one singular event, in America, which connected and touched the lives of people across the globe.
The Three Dimensions of Globalisation
Dreher (2006) proposes that there are three dimensions of globalisation which illustrate the extremely multifaceted nature of globalisation. Firstly, he suggests that one dimension of globalisation is politics. This involves globalisation working to increase the strength of trans-national political institutions, such as NATO, and to keep sovereign power away from state control to stop tyranny and dictatorship. Furthermore, he discusses that another dimension of globalisation is the economy. This involves globalisation working to increase economic growth and circulate consumer goods globally. This can be seen through the use of trade and marketing between countries, such as the UK importing around £11 million worth of good with quarter 2 of 2020 from China (Office for National Statistics, 2020.) Finally, he suggests that another dimension of globalisation is culture. This involves globalisation working to create a global flow of common meanings. This is done through cultural industries such as movies, music, the internet, food and fashion.
Furthermore, as highlighted by the three dimensions of globalisation, many aspects of globalisation may be positive, negative or indifferent to popular culture around the world. For example, aspects of globalisation have opened societies eyes to several different cultures which may be positive to popular culture around the world as this has increased peoples understanding of one another(UKEssays, 2018, a.) This means that society becomes more accepting and allows difference within society to become normalised. An example of this is British slang and sayings. This would be seen as culturally ‘normal’ with the UK, however, in cultures outside the UK this may seem ‘abnormal’. However, the use of slang in movies and songs has allowed this to be understood by those with other cultural norms. For example, the film ‘The Bucket List’ has normalised the use of this term globally to mean a list of things a person wants to do before they die (Snider, 2014.) Moreover, an aspects of globalisation which may be negative to popular culture around the world is the rise in the spread of western culture and influence at the expense of local culture, especially in developing countries like Africa. Most people now in developing countries cop what people in developed countries do. So, its like they ignore their own culture and practice western culture (UKEssays, 2018, b. ) This is a problem because it means popular culture is being biased by Westernised cultures and understandings.
Overall, popular culture is a system which allows individuals to become connected within society, without even seeing it happen. Moreover, an example of this has been the Corona Virus pandemic and seeing millions of people across the world staying connected virtually when we couldn’t face-to-face. Popular culture has its positives and negatives but it provides us with the messages we live by and creates societal norms which allow us to live alongside one another.
References;
Baylis, J. & Smith, S. (1997)The Globalisation of World Politics: An Introduction to International
Relations. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Dreher, A. (2006) Does Globalization Affect Growth? Evidence from a New Index of Globalization. Applied Economics, 38(10),1091–1110.
Held, D., Anthony, G., Goldblatt, D. & Perraton, G. (1999) Global Transformations: Politics, Economics and Culture. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Mohdin, A., Swann, G. & Bannock, C. (2020) How George Floyd’s Death Sparked a Wave of UK Anti-Racism Protests. The Guardian, 29th July. Available Online: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jul/29/george-floyd-death-fuelled-anti-racism-protests-britain%5BAccessed 30/04/2021.]
Office for National Statistics. (2020) Uk Trading Partners and Trade Relationships: 2020. Available Online: https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/internationaltrade/articles/uktradingpartnersananalysisoftraderelationships/2020#:~:text=China%3A%20The%20UK%20imported%2013.4,of%20UK%20imports%20of%20goods.%5BAccessed 30/04/2021.]
Snider, E. D. (2014) 11 Movie Titles That Became Part of the Lexicon. Mentalfloss, 25th July. Available Online:https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/57860/11-movie-titles-became-part-lexicon [Accessed 30/04/2021.]
UKEssays. (2018) Positive and negative effects of Globalization.. Available Online: https://www.ukessays.com/essays/economics/positive-and-negative-effects-of-globalisation-for-business-economics-essay.php?vref=1 [Accessed 30/04/2021].
Popular Culture 