Essay on "Globalizing Cultures"

Essay 8 pages (2453 words) Sources: 8 Style: Harvard

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Globalizing Cultures

Globalization is one of the most discussed issues in the present, with people from around the world being both supportive towards it and criticizing the concept. Those supporting it normally claim that it should be accepted mainly for the fact that it is an inevitable process, and, moreover, because of the fact that it brings people together, eventually even offering a solution to problems that are several millennia old. Rejecting globalization is something that relates to nationalism and to individuals wanting to refute the idea of having to live alongside of others coming from different environments. One of the greatest fears that people have when conferring about globalization is that it virtually kills cultural identity, having the generations to come confused when attempting to relate to their background. However, the evolution of globalization during the last decades has proved that cultural values are actually being kept by nations, as they want the rest of the world to become acquainted with their history.

When thinking about globalization, one might also relate to imperialism, which is basically at the roots of globalization. A great number of nations suffered as a result of the Imperial Era, with the world super powers taking over territories with no regard to the effects that their actions had on the people inhabiting the lands. It is imperialism that prevents globalization seem as if it were beneficial for the world's people. Some tend to believe that globalization is nothing else but an attempt from influential people to get control over all nations. Nationalism has made it possible for countries such as North Korea to prevent globalization from affecting it. However, the effects that the ideology has had on its people are devastating, as they basically remained isolated from the world.

India is but one of the countries that had fallen victims to the imperialism frenzy. In spite of the clear divergences between its people and the colonizing parties, it eventually came under the command of the British East India Company. Unlike the Native Americans, the Indians had been more evolved and more capable of keeping foreign concepts out of their society. The British took advantage of the political instability in the country to gain control of most of it, turning it into a British colony. India's first war of independence had also played a major role in the country's suppression, with its people being confused, at the mercy of anyone that had been ready to take control over them.

Unlike globalization that does not interfere within people's lives, imperialism turned people into subjects, preventing them from freely expressing themselves. In the present, people are not being denied the rights of keeping their culture and traditions, with the worldwide public having nothing against it.

The British encountered serious resistance in India because of its ancient history and because of the fact that it had had a rather stable society at the time, with its people being deeply devoted to maintaining unity. Even though the British have imposed their theories over the Indians, the latter had carefully chosen what to accept and what not to accept from the former. In spite of the fact that the western world had been inclined to consider India as being an impoverished third-world country, the Indians and their neighbors do quite the opposite. Indians consider their country as being equally powerful as any world superpower, regardless of how it is seen by the rest of the world. The national pride that is found in all Indians had been a strong factor to influence the country in keeping its national identity, without permitting it to be totally controlled by the British.

While most people condemned the actions performed by the British colonists in Asia, there have also been people believing that the colonists have actually brought benefits to the respective countries. Even Karl Marx considered Britain to have been inspired when choosing to colonize parts of Asia. Apparently, he believed that the British had made it possible for Asia to evolve along with the rest of the world. (Tomlinson, John 2006)

The British colonization of India has actually worked in favor of the colony, with its people becoming acquainted with the English language. Taking into consideration its popularity around the world, English is presently one of the best known languages. Globalization currently owes a great deal of its success to English, as it is responsible for having made connections between a great deal of people, with no regard to their ethnicity or to their skin coloring.

Without directly intending to, the British had brought technological advancements and solid knowledge relating to democracy and to a law system. The largest disadvantage when concerning the British colonization of India is the fact that the colonizers had exploited the country's resources and its people. Even with that, India is still considered to have prospered from the episode. Besides the English language, one of the only remnants in India to relate to the British colonists is cricket. The Indians have apparently appreciated the game and decided to incorporate it into their culture.

The fast food industry is one of the largest to connect to globalization, with companies such as McDonald's and KFC having expanded their sphere of influence around the globe. When concerning the success that McDonald's has had in India however, one can conclude that the Indians are not exactly the company's fans. People in India are known to avoid eating beef and pork, and, as a result, it would only be natural for them to avoid having to eat from McDonald's. Even with the fact that the country has more than one billion citizens, little of them have expressed their interest in supporting the stay of a fast-food company selling beef and pork within the borders of their country.

It is not necessarily the outside world that forced India into globalization, as the country and its people appear to favor the process. Globalization seems to come from the interior also because of the large number of individuals wanting the Indian culture and industry to become recognized worldwide.

In spite of having benefited from globalization, India is also considered to have been harmed by the development. Television has been one of the key factors influencing globalization during the last few decades. Consequent to the end of the twentieth century, the Indians had not been familiar with the traditions in the Western World, since the Indian government had attempted to dominate the country by being the only broadcaster. Along with the coming of satellite TV, however, Indians were amazed to witness the great difference between them and the presumably civilized world. Almost anything ranging from dressing styles to behavior had been changed at the people on TV. (Shurmer-Smith, Pamela 2000)

Even though a large array of programs gave unlimited freedom to the Indians, it had been extremely difficult for them to select only what had been good from TV. Programs like MTV triggered a nationwide madness and people had changed their living styles because they considered that what they saw on TV had been correct. A large number of Indians have suffered as a result of the presence of satellite TV. Abortion rates and pre-marital sex rates have largely increased because of people being confused, influenced by TV to engage in various controversial activities to which they had not been familiar in the past. (Lukose, Ritty 2005)

Young people are generally considered as being the main assistants of the globalizing process. It is people under twenty that generally embrace elements relating to globalization. Also, the people from the respective age range on average relate globalization to Americanization. Elements from the American culture are gradually being absorbed by the foreign public. Apparently, the Indian public has had less to suffer from a century of British colonizing than from a few years of globalization through the media.

Standing as the main consumers of globalization, young people can also be disposed to challenge the process and everything about it. They have a tendency to express their identity and to be in support of anything that characterizes them as something separate from the worldwide public.

Women have a special role in Indian culture, and moreover, Indian traditions consider them as being consecrated and only fit for losing their virginity within the purity of marriage. However, along with the entering of western culture in the Indian society, disorder had risen, with people being uncertain if it had been moral to perform the activities that they saw at their western counterparts.

When referring to young people being consumers, it does not necessarily mean that they consume physical objects, such as items from McDonald's. Young people are very powerful consumers of information, and depending on their capacity to distinguish between right and wrong, they take in large amounts of information. Considering fashion to be a key element in the global society, Indian men and women had taken in information relating to how they should dress and to how they should behave. Indian traditional clothes… READ MORE

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