What is globalisation and how does it affect culture?

Globalisation

How societies across the globe have become increasingly interconnected and been exposed to the same cultural products across the world

Advantages of globalisation

• spread of fabrics, arts

• Allows ideas, news, behaviours to spread

• Technology! Contact internationally

• Increased consumer choice

Disadvantages of globalisation

• spread of disease is much easier e.g COVID-19

• Eliminating jobs through tech

• Exploitation and labour, widens gap between the rich and the poor

Key thinker and term?

• McLuhan (1962)

• Global village- people can now interact immediately on a global scale due to electronic media like the internet

• This shrinks the world making it more like on village or community

notes on the global village theory

• one world interconnected by an electronic nervous system, rapidly interesting the planet

• Examples- Olympic Games in Athens 1896 now all countries from all around the world can compete

• July 1969→ Apollo eleven launched, and more than half a billion watched

• World Cup- now it’s every 4 years

What else did McLuhan say?

The internet has collapsed space and time barriers in human communication

(It helps us to interact quicker)

Examples of globalisation in action!

• Bollywood movies predominantly in South Asia are now on Netflix and all over the internet

• Kpop, afrobeats, brazillain funk is now heard all around the world

What’s pop culture?

• culture liked and enjoyed by ordinary people

• Mass culture or low culture

• Highly commercialised

• Mass produced

• Not having artistic value, not a lot of intellectualism, passive, unchallenging, simple

Examples of pop culture!

• Social media- twitter, tiktok, instagram

• Singers and celebrities- Beyonce, Kim Kadasharian, Sabrina Carpenter, K-pop (!!) Afrobeats

• TV Shows- Love Island, Love is Blind

What’s high culture?

• Cultural products seen to be of artistic/ literary value, particularly admired by intellectuals, elites

• Set apart from everyday life, treated with reverence

Examples of high culture

• Ballet, museums galleries

• Polo, classical music, opera

What’s been happening with pop and high culture?

• Distinction between high culture and pop culture is weakening due to globalisation- Strinati (1995)

• Online accessibility, financially accessible, anyone can go to an art gallery or museum, you can listen to classical music on different streaming platforms/apps

Example of this..!!

• The Last of Us (!!!)

• Giddings (2010) hogh culture used in pop culture

• TLOU considered as high culture, blurring the line between pop and high culture, piece of art

• Achieved cultural significance, shows how games can tackle complex themes with maturity and nuance

Other examples of Giddings statement

• Pop music sampling classical music

• Films, tv shows referring to classical literature

• High culture is being used in pop culture!!