Cultural Homogenization And Globalization

The rising interest on globalization recently has brought up the topic of cultural homogenization and polarization. These processes have gained importance in recent times as there has been an increased level of interconnectedness between states and cultures.

Because the world is more interconnected now than ever before, there is a growing importance on the processes brought on by globalization and in this paper I am going to determine what these processes are and how they shape and influence cultures.

Globalization

Globalization is a very complex term. It is used very broadly by economists, sociologists and politicians to explain the mechanisms that are leading to a more and more interconnected world.Â

"Globalization refers to all those

This involves the use of mass advertisement to create an image of a superior, high quality culture. This broadcasting of cultural values, norms and behaviours has attracted the attention and popularity of other culture's individuals.

This promotion of a main culture is causing the "homogenization" of cultures. This is to say that many traditionally Western values and behaviours are in the contemporary world more and more imitated by non Western people.Â

When one is looking at the homogenization of culture globally, there are many positive aspects, such as the breaking down of barriers between societies and an increase in freedom. But the peculiarity of current global cultural homogenization is that it is impartially influenced by one area, North America, therefore more than a cultural homogenization, we can describe homogenization as an increase in the extent of one culture over others, this is the Western society influencing the rest.

Therefore homogenization is not a neutral phenomenon. The mechanisms under which globalization runs have a built in character of inequality which is created between wealthy and poor

This process supports the idea of globalization as the imperialistic wants and needs of international actors such as corporations, states and organizations to expand their global reach in order to maximise their profits.

By nothing Ritzer means the spread and divulgence of media and values that are practically empty in context and cultural values. This is a way of homogenization that is more compatible with other cultures, as the empty forms of continent are exported throughout the world, it is much easier for a foreign culture to assimilate empty or little content rather than forms of information and media which are rich in content.

An example of this is the creation of shopping malls around the world, these unlike Westernised brands such as McDonalds are much more empty in content.

An empty shopping mall can for example be filled with local shops and although promoting the homogenization of society, it also contributed to the "Glocalization" of society, this new concept means the co existence of the global and the local resulting in the