Lesson 7

• Globalization entails the spread of various cultures
• Spread of cultures


  • Hollywood films shown globally
  • South Korean rapper Psy's "Gangnam Style" song listened to globally
  • Notion of LGBT rights spreading globally
  • Conservative Christian Church spreading globally
• Globalization involves the spread of ideas
• Media


  A means of conveying something, such as a channel of communication
• Types of media


  • Print media (books, magazines, newspapers)
  • Broadcast media (radio, film, television)
  • Digital media (internet, mobile mass communication)
• McLuhan's view: "the medium is the message"


  Media, as a form of technology, reshape societies
• Globalization entails the spread of various cultures
• Spread of cultures


  • Hollywood films shown globally
  • South Korean rapper Psy's "Gangnam Style" song listened to globally
  • Notion of LGBT rights spreading globally
  • Conservative Christian Church spreading globally
• Globalization involves the spread of ideas
• Media


  A means of conveying something, such as a channel of communication
• Types of media


  • Print media (books, magazines, newspapers)
  • Broadcast media (radio, film, television)
  • Digital media (internet, mobile mass communication)
• McLuhan's view: "the medium is the message"


  Media, as a form of technology, reshape societies
• Different media simultaneously extend and amputate human senses
• Global village


  McLuhan's idea that electronic media are turning the world into a "global village" where people perceive the world as contracting
• Early media scholars assumed global media had a tendency to homogenize culture
• Cultural imperialism


  The idea that media globalization coupled with American hegemony would create a form of cultural imperialism whereby American values and culture would overwhelm all others
• Critiques of cultural imperialism thesis emphasize that media messages are not just made by producers, but also consumed and interpreted by active audiences
• Regional cultural trends despite globalization

  • Filipino telenovelas becoming popular in Southeast Asia
  • Japanese media like Pokémon proliferating globally
• Media globalization does not necessarily lead to cultural homogenization, but can also enable the spread of diverse local and regional cultural forms
• Audience studies


  Emphasizes that media consumers are active participants in the meaning-making process, who view media "texts" through their own cultural lenses
• Audience studies


  • Len Ang's study of how different viewers in the Netherlands experienced watching the American soap opera Dallas
  • Elihu Katz and Tamar Liebes' study of how viewers from distinct cultural communities interpreted Dallas
• Viewers put "a lot of emotional energy" into the process and they experienced pleasure based on how the program resonated with them
• Texts are received differently by varied interpretive communities because they derived different meanings and pleasures from these texts
• People from diverse cultural backgrounds had their own ways of understanding the show
• Russians were suspicious of the show's content, believing not only that it was primarily about America, but that it contained American propaganda
• American viewers believed that the show, though set in America, was primarily about the lives of the rich
• Asian culture has proliferated worldwide through the globalization of media
• Asian cultural exports


  • Japanese brands like Hello Kitty, Mario Brothers, Pokémon
  • Korean pop (K-pop)
  • Korean telenovelas
• The most obvious case of globalized Asian cuisine is sushi
• Asian brands like the Philippines' Jollibee have provided stiff competition to McDonald's in Asia
• Globalization is no longer a unidirectional process of foreign cultures overwhelming local ones
• The internet and social media are challenging previous ideas about media and globalization
• "Splinternet" and "cyberbalkanization"


  The phenomenon of people placing themselves in various online bubbles and reading only content that reinforces their existing beliefs
• Social media feeds lead users to read articles, memes, and videos shared by like-minded friends, reinforcing their existing beliefs and opinions
• Social media bubbles can produce a herd mentality that can be exploited by politicians and demagogues
• Exploitation of social media bubbles

  • Russian dictator Vladimir Putin hiring armies of social media "trolls" to manipulate public opinion
  • Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's supporters threatening critics with online mobs
• Fake information can spread easily on social media due to lack of content filters
• Global online propaganda will be the biggest threat as the globalization of media deepens
• Consumers of media must remain vigilant and learn to distinguish fact from falsehood in the global media landscape
• Some sources are more credible than others, such as newspaper stories written by professional journalists and vetted by editors, compared to viral videos produced by individuals