Chinese Popular Culture - Literature review Example

28 November Chinese Popular Culture: Discrepancy in Wealth Distribution in PRC Introduction China’s economic growth has been impressive compared to other emergent and developing nations in the globe. In fact, many would describe it as a miracle, for a country with the highest population of people (skilled and unskilled), but less affected by the occurrences of global and regional economic crisis. It has attracted numerous outflow and inflow investments with diverse corporations and governments all over the world. In fact, it has been termed as the driving force of the global economy in the near future. However, internally, China’s economy has to battle with the increasing difference and growth in economic gap between the wealthiest and poorest regions and population. According to Moore, approximately less than 12 percent of China’s wealth is shared by over half of its population, who reside in the rural areas; average annual income in China’s cities is almost thrice that of the countryside, which explains the unhealthy economic development in China (telegraph.co.uk). Its economic growth has been spurred more by the wealthy cities and industrialization in Eastern China than the weaker and poorer western China. Although there has been a transition over the years, there is a high difference and inconsistency of wealth distribution that contributes to slow economic growth in the West, central, and interior than Eastern PRC. The consumption and lifestyle, income gaps, and the occupational skills or professions determine the wealth distribution of China’s social class (Wang 538-539). This affects the social stability of the population, their lifestyle, and access to facilities. How Wealth Distribution affects Individuals’ Way of Living in China The divergence in allocation of resources to the different regions of PRC leads to increased inequality in production and consumption of the residing citizens. The society is forced to live according to their different financial abilities and what they can afford. The massive investment in Eastern regions, urban areas, and cities possess the greatest wealth, which can well accommodate the luxurious lives of the rich society with high paying jobs. In fact, because of the expensive life in such regions, companies looking to expand their profits seek strategies to shift to other cheaper regions, where the wages and costs in operation are cheaper. Education: Children of the rich upper and middle class families in the wealthy urban China have access to high quality education. Because of the economic growth and the able population living in these regions, investors are pooled in to construct and equip learning institutions with quality facilities, to compete with other advanced regions in the world. A lot of resources are used in facilitating education and extra curriculum activities in urban areas than in rural areas. For example, the first uncovered gap measures technological disparities; “approximately 80 percent of the Chinese children living in the cities have/use internet at home, while only 2 percent of those in the countryside have online access” (Gorlick, news.stanford.edu). Although China is known for technology evolution, still, very few primary schools in rural regions have access to computer facilities, least to mention the electricity connections. While young pupils can have access to them both in schools and at homes in the wealthy regions like Hong Kong, such kids come to possess extra knowledge and score higher than counterparts in rural regions. Internet is part of the Chinese popular culture furthering education, knowledge, innovation, creativity, and entertainment for the young, educated, urban residents, especially to the rising middle class and already established wealthy (“New media,” 1). The few upper and middle class families with highly concentrated wealth are willing to spend more for high quality education in developed regions. Housing: China’s cities have the highest housing investment to cater for migrating labor force from Chinas interiors and foreigners. Most of these properties are privately owned by wealthy individuals, corporations, and partnerships. As housing investment and prices shoot up in China’s urban regions, the poor group in the society cannot afford housing within the cities or urban areas. They are forced to look for cheaper ones in the shanties or distanced sub urban areas, but out of cities. Most of the wealthy groups have purchased modern houses built in the cities, while still in possession of the ancestral land in the rural areas. Essentially, “the middle to high income earners share a relatively new experience of home ownership and….benefits of privileged access to real estate market” (Tomba 5). Expensive, larger, and spacious apartments are built for the wealthy society in the urban and suburban areas, while affordable, less spacious housing are constructed for the lower income earners mostly outside the cities (where available within, usually have other higher costs). Housing is quite a large expenditure in China. While an unfurnished 2 bedroom apartment may cost close to 6000 Yuan outside the cities, modern similar size apartments may be worth close to three times (16000 Yuan)in places like Shanghai. Transport: The government of China has done commendable work in investment of infrastructure and transportation systems connecting its cities. China has comprehensive transportation systems suitable for its diverse population. Airports, railways, and multiple layered highways connect its population to different cities and locations. Due to the inconsistent wealth distribution within its population, high income earners can use their private cars but at a high fee within the city (considering the parking space and congestion) and use electric trains and airplane flights to connect them to destined locations within limited time. The rest of the population, who are the majority have to commute using affordable trains and buses. Public means and especially the buses are the means of transport for the middle and lower social class. Uses of bicycles and walking have also become a common trend contributing to the high traffic jams in the urban centres. Contrary to the wealthy group, the bus options and trains to different cities unfortunately get overcrowded, which is a poor state. The buses and minibuses also facilitate movement from the rural to the urban locations for the lower social class. Employment: Considering that most investments are in the urban China, workers migrate to these regions to seek jobs or higher wages. However, the financial wealth and type of job acquired by these people is determined by their level of skills among others. High investment and privatization has allowed families, corporations, and private and state partnerships to own businesses and employ a large number of people. However, the skilled workforce (highly educated and experienced in business and work practices) occupies the white collar jobs, while the unskilled, less skilled and rural migrant laborers provide labor in manual work and production (“Work in Neoliberal” 1). The skilled force occupies the high ranking positions in managerial, administrative, technical, and clerical works in offices, and is also the large-medium business owners that have higher wages and other employment benefits in developed regions of China. The less skilled group performs repetitive manual jobs in the production line in industries, whose wages are very limited with the quantity of production. They are the majority in farming, retail businesses, factories, and plants in rural and urban regions. Human rights: Considering the social amenities necessary for the citizens, the urban population is more advantaged than the rural China. The people in the urban and coastal regions of China have better living standards, life expectancy, and access to health care systems. Access, cost, and quality of HealthCare in China shows great disparity; as the government struggles to fund the different cities and regions, much investment and technology had been directed to urban medical centres, where high quality doctors or physicians and high paying patients are attracted to, though access and quality remain a problem in the rural areas (Wharton University, knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu). Food access in China affects the low wage population in the urban areas, compared to the rural population who engage in farming and the urban rich group who have the financial ability to purchase. Entrepreneurial Citizenship Naturally, both the rich and the poor are the citizens of PRC, but because of Neo-liberalization, citizenship is calculated in terms of individuals’ economic behavior, where the wealthy population of China leads successfully managed lives than the less advantaged. Since citizenship is associated to various rights and responsibilities in the government, the poor or lower social class’s economic power declines and social struggle reduces their rights, losing them to the wealthy and able group. In such a state, where unequal value, opportunities, rights, and economic power are denied to the people, they fail to be regarded as citizens. How Sexual, Racial and Class Discrimination affect Patterns of Consumption in China When immigrants come into China, or move from rural to urban areas, these people carry their cultures with them in terms of dressing, what they eat, and preferences among others. The type of discrimination that exists in China can be observed in the employment sector, where foreigners may have difficulties in accessing quality jobs. Most of immigrant laborers end up in low paying jobs and may be forced to settle around a particular region than possess some form of their cultures. Foreigners may need to go to fast food joints in places like McDonalds and KFC instead of local food joints. Sexual discrimination may determine the kind of activities one engages in and entertainment. Majority of Chinese are heterosexual, but a few are homosexual. The homosexual group has curved its own niche in the society to exercise some form of freedom in their relationships, with most gay’s gatherings and marriages being conducted in Modern China (Link et al, 267). Because of the discrimination, there are different forms of entertainment preferred by the group, such as gay related clubs and films. Class discrimination in relation to earnings affects the consumption pattern through the purchasing power of individuals. Wealthy people can afford luxuries and expensive high quality products, while the lower social class is forced to seek cheaper products. The market products hence reflect the taste of the majority social class and their economic power. Popular Culture Popular culture is viewed differently, but all have something to do with linking a certain group with the wider world. According to Browne, “it is a system of altitudes, behaviors patterns, customs and tastes that define people of any society,” or taken to represent “entertainments, diversions, icons, rituals and actions that shape a society’s every day world” (3). Popular cultures in china may be furthered by people of same social class, age group, workmates, gender, or groups sharing similar characteristics. It may also be exercised by the larger population in their lifestyles. For example internet, mobile phones, and media access is popular culture for the larger Chinese society, though the quality varies with the purchasing power. When it comes to food, entertainment, and clothing, access, quality, and quantity play major roles in their consumption. Wealth distribution and purchasing power dictates consumption, which tends to follow the trends of the popular culture in China. For example, with the high popular internet browsing among the youths, the purchases of computer and smart phones among the youth group also increases in the Chinese market. Works Cited Browne, R. B. (Ed). Profiles of Popular Culture: A Reader. Madison: Popular press. 2005. Print. Gorlick, A. “Stanford Economist Narrows Chinas Education Gap with Research, Technology and Policy.” News.stanford.edu. 30 March 2012. Web. 28 November 2013  Link, E. P., Madsen, R., and Pickowicz, P. (Eds). Culture in a Globalizing Society. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. 2002. Print. Moore, M. “China’s Wealth Gap the Widest since Economic Reform.” Telegraph.co.uk. March 2010 Web. 28 November 2013. New Media: The Internet and Mobile Media. P.1-5 Tomba, L. Creating an Urban Middle Class: Social Engineering in Beijing. P.1-25. Wang, J. 2005. “Bourgeois Bohemians in China? Neo-Tribes and the Urban Imaginary” P. 532-548 Wharton University. “Ticking Time Bombs’: China’s Health Care System Faces Issues of Access, Quality and Cost.” Knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu. 26 June 2013. Web. 28 November 2013. Work in Neo-Liberal China. P.1-3 Read More