Globalization, Modernity and Post-Modernity - Coursework Example

Globalization, Modernity and Post modernity Name: Course: College: Tutor: Date: Article 1: The world News Prism: Global Media in an Era of Terrorism, 6th ed. 2002, Iowa: Blackwell Press by William Hachten and James Scotton. Critical Analysis Definition of Globalization In their book, the authors have focused on various issues associated with globalization. Firstly, they have defined globalization. The authors have defined globalization as “… an inexact expression for a wide array of worldwide changes in politics, communications, business and trade, lifestyles and culture” (Hachten & Scotton 2002: x). In other words, the authors are of the point of view that globalization involves changes in various sectors in the society ranging from politics to economics and culture. Primarily, the authors have worked on summarizing the numerous elements that can be included in the definition of globalization. For example, Becker (2003: 344) defined globalization as increase in the flow of substance from one region to the other, increase in the rate at which the media is investing beyond the home boundaries, and increase in transactions across borders. Evidently, the definition of Becker is closely related to the definition presented by Hachten and Scotton because they both touch on economics and communication. However, the definition presented by Hachten and Scotton is rather detailed because it includes politics, culture and lifestyle which are not evident in the definition of Becker. In the main, the authors of the article have provided an elaborate yet succinct definition of globalization when compared to several definitions of the term. E.g. the definition of globalization given by Flew (2005: 177) depicts globalization as an interrelation of processes. The definition is rather too generalized when compared to that of Hachten and Scotton hence globalization can be defined according to the definition given by the authors. History and Media Apart from defining globalization, the authors have shown the relationship between history and the media. In the book, the authors point out that; the media, immediate and vibrant, makes history faster in a way that it impacts the policy of the government and diplomacy (p. xvi). From this, the authors are showing that through global communication and interaction, a region can be influenced. This is attributed to the reason that, globalization makes it possible for regions to interact rapidly and this facilitates for fast distribution of information that influences the public (Hachten & Scotton 2002: 169). This view is supported by other scholars such as Gorman and McLean (2003, p.183) who suggest that, through the media, information is disseminated fast to the public (e.g. September 11 attacks) and the public is given the opportunity to react to situations. For that reason, it is obvious that the authors are insinuating that; the media plays a crucial role in globalization because it is involved in the transfer of information across borders in real time and the public is given the opportunity to respond to events as they occur. Technology, Media and War The other theme that is evident in the article is the significant technological change in the media in relation to war. Hachten and Scotton (2002: 16) mention that, technological changes have influenced the dispatch of information even on matters of war. The authors give an example of the 11 September attacks whereby; apart from televisions covering the news, the internet was widely used to distribute information to global audience e.g. 162.4 million persons were noted to have viewed the CNN news on the internet after the attacks. This is an illustration of how technological changes have influenced how the media communicates with the audience. Technological changes have made the media collect and communicate information fast and efficiently. Similarly, Seib (2005: 144) assert that, journalists have been able to embrace technological changes for example during the 2003 Iraq War, the war was largely televised but some journalists used new technologies such as; mobile phones, video phones, the internet and email. Therefore, the author have argued that technological changes have enhanced the interaction between the media and war in such that; the media has been able to use the new technologies to gather information about issues that would be perceived as dangerous as war or terrorist attacks. Technological changes have enhanced globalization by enabling the media to report issues to global audiences in real time. Generally, as highlighted by the authors of the book, technological changes has improved how the media accesses and distributes information hence the reason why journalists have been able to communicate news on war to a global audience as the events unfold. Summary For the most part, Hachten and Scotton (2002: xvi) have used the book to explain the background of the current media. The authors draw the picture that, technological changes evident in the 21st century have contributed to the fast rate at which the media is able to collect and distribute information. Technology has been used by the media in the 21st century to offer news to global audience instantly and an improved manner e.g. global audience is able to even view the pictures of the events in the news as soon as they happen. Furthermore, the authors have shown how the media has used technology to influence policy making. The media has used the new technologies to create a platform from which its audience can react to issues and as a result, the reactions of the audience have had an impact on policy making. One of the examples that the authors give to support this argument is the event where the American marine was deployed in Somalia towards the end of 1992 for the purposes of offering assistance to the starving Somalis after the media showed the extent of the suffering in that country. In addition, when American casualties in Somalia were shown on TV news, the troops were withdrawn from the region. By and large, the authors show that, technological changes have led to improvement in the way the media collects and distributes information thus news is reported instantaneously and vividly to a global audience including provision of images even when the event is a risky one e.g. war or terrorist attack. Article 2: Asia: cultural politics in the global age, 2001, by David Birch, Tony Schirato and Sanjay Srivastava, New York: Palgrave Macmillan Definition of Modernity The first subject that the authors have mentioned in the book is the definition of modernity. According to the authors, modernity involves partially replacing religion with human values such as equality, liberty, egoism and alliance. They also define modernity as scientific development and scientific methods (Birch et al 2001: 29). In the main, the authors have defined modernity as change of culture and scientific development. On the other hand, Kraybill, and Olshan (1994: 187) have defined modernity as “the acceptance of technology and material culture”. From the definitions given, it shows that the authors are in agreement that modernity involves the change of culture and technology/science. Post Colonialism The other ideology that is discussed by the authors is the theme of post colonialism. The authors explain that colonialism leads to transformation in a way that, it replaces and redefines structures in reaction to colonialism. There are some regions that have been influenced by colonialists and they have altered their structures to resemble that of the colonialists while there are some regions that have rejected colonial structures. In Asia, the Asian values have been embraced in various parts of the region and this has caused the some Asians to reject the western culture. Such groups want to maintain their cultures but there are some majority groups that have marginalized the minority. The introduction of the western culture has influenced the social, political and cultural structure of Asia by making marginalization difficult to justify. Therefore, some groups have rejected the western culture because it eliminates the justification to exploit some groups and to have control over them (Birch et al 2001: 28). Jarvie (2006: 179) agrees that, post colonialism has been marked by changes in society, in sports and in culture. Post colonial period showed that colonialists ha brought change to the regions that they colonized. Post colonialism hence; illustrates changes in official power structures and the lasting effects of colonialism. In other word, post colonialism illustrates the structural changes in culture, society and sports and the distribution of power. Interaction The authors have also focused on the theme of interaction. Birch and others (2001: 48) state that, the Bali people have interacted for a long time with the people from the west but in some way, the group has been able to maintain its culture for a long time. However, in the modern world, people are constantly being bombarded with pictures and information from various regions of the world and thus causing people to imitate what they have observed. Consequently, the modern society no longer have societies with stable identities and instead, the rapid changes in the modern world has led to the creation of a global world where there are no distinct identities i.e. people have become rather similar. Birch and others (2001: 80) point out that; accommodation of cultures from other cultures influence the cultures of the colonized communities to an extent that they are bound to abandoned their cultures and adopt what the outside world has brought. The authors have presented the example of cock fighting in Asia. While at some point the non Balinese and Balinese police officers depicted a varied perception towards cock fighting, the eventual influence of the western culture led to the complete ban of the practice in the region. Essentially, Jarvie (2006: 180) suggest that, the interaction in the modern society is unregulated thus culture and people are flowing continuous from one region to the other. Societies have opened up to the outside world and thus leading to the decline in support of various belief systems in a wide range of societies. Jarvie thus supports the argument pointed out by the authors that globalization opens up a community to the outside world and this leads to the development of a global culture. For example; global sports begun with transformations in countries that were colonized by the West and eventually, the sports became global. For that reason, the authors’ argument that post colonial influence has led to cultural change because the natives have accommodated practices from the outside world, is true. In a similar manner, globalization has led to engagement in similar practices across the globe e.g. sports. s Summary Generally, the book describes the theme of post colonial influence. The authors have described how the Balinese government gradually adopted the attitudes and the economics of the western society over time. Because of the increased adoption of western economics, the authors of the book note that, the Balinese society paid more attention to economics more than the people themselves. This was supported by the assertion that; those in power in the Balinese society justified repression of the rights of the individuals with the augment that they are improving the economic well being. As evident in the modern Asia, this argument is common and it has continued to become part of the Asian habit. Therefore, globalization has been presented by the authors as the adoption of new type of culture that erodes the habits of the past hence creating the picture that globalization causes individuals or communities to be flexible to accommodate the outside world. References: Demers, D, 2003, Terrorism, Globalization and Mass Communication, Spokane: Marquette books Flew, T, 2005, New Media: an Introduction 2nd ed. Melbourne: Oxford University Press Jarvie, G, 2006, Sport, culture and society: an introduction, New York: Routledge Kraybill, DB & Olshan, MA, 1994, The Amish struggle with modernity, Hanover: UPNE Seib, P, 2005, Media and Conflict in the 21st Century. New York: Palgrave Macmillan Read More