4.2 - Globalisation and Media

• What is globalisation?


  • the growing interconnections of the world through time and space
• What is the link between globalisation and popular culture?

  • Mcluhan - argues we now have a 'global village' which allows us to communicate globally and as a result, we all have the same media spread across the world
  • this leads to everyone sharing the same popular culture
• What is popular culture?


  • culture enjoyed and shared by ordinary people
• What is high culture?


  • high culture is set apart from everyday life and is something special/distinctive (ballet, Van Gogh)
• What are the global popular culture types?

  • Cultural homogenization - this is the process whereby the separate characteristics of two or more cultures are lost and become blended into one uniform culture
  • Cultural Imperialism - refers to the imposition of western cultural values on the non-western cultures
  • Media Imperialism - media has led to the imposition of western cultural values on non-western cultures
  • Hybridization - the process of a new hybrid culture when aspects of two or more different cultures combine
  • Hybrid culture - a new culture formed from a mix of two or more cultures
• What are the key studies supporting global popular culture?

  • Flew - new media technology has played an important role in global popular culture
  • Kellner - argues that the media has the power to globally produce images of lifestyles, that increasingly become part of everyday life and identities
• Pluralist view on global popular culture -

  • Pluralists argue that there is no such thing as popular or mass culture. The global reach of modern media tech all offer a huge range of media products and gives consumers across the world a wide diversity of cultural choices
  • Tomlinson argues that globalisation does not involve different cultural impositions from the western world but a hybridization of cultures. People pick n mix both global and local cultures into hybrid cultures. New media platforms like youtube and facebook enable consumers to produce and distribute their own media, not passive
• Marxists views on global popular culture -

  • This culture is a great advantage to media owners who gain profits from exporting and advertising products across the globe, along with promoting lifestyles that encourage people to consume them.
  • Thussu - argues the globalisation of TV and competition has led to TV news become more like entertainment - 'global infotainment' - which has an emphasis on celebs, crime and corruption. He argues this diverts people's attention away from more serious issues and audience passively consume
• Marxists view on global popular culture -

  • Suggests the global media is controlled by a few 'lords of global village', who provide standardised mass entertainment, creating a cultural sameness (american gossip) which replaces serious and critical news
• Postmodernist view on the global popular culture -

  • They regard the diversity of globalised media as offering the population more choices in term of their lifestyle, opening up a greater global awareness and diversity of cultures.
  • Baudrillard - we now live in a media saturated society and media images replace reality to such an extent that video reportages have eliminated blood, suffering and corpses in war. The TV news presents a sanitised version of war and it is hard to distinguish if it is reality because of movies and shows
• Postmodernist view on global popular culture -

  • Garrod - shows like 'ImACeleb' and 'Love Island' promote this hyperreality
  • Suggests we identify more with media than our own lives (more concerned about XFactor, GBBO) Shown by coronation street character's story.
• Strinati's views towards global popular culture -


  • emphasises the power of media in shaping consumer choices. Popular culture, such as celebrity culture, media images and messages bombard us daily through books, magazines, TV and adverts which form our sense of reality and dominate our lifestyles
  • This media creates the pressure and desires to consume media-induced trends which become more important that usefulness
  • Films - do not care about how well written the film is, but the big celebrities that star in them
  • Less interest in quality of product, but a famous brand/social media
• Evaluation of postmodernist view -

  • Assume all people approach media without rejecting media trends or stereotypes
  • Media representations reinforce stereotypes of ethnicity and social class
  • Choice is a myth; media conglomerates control all forms of media