The Processes of Globalization and Culture in Cape Town - Essay Example

The Processes of Globalization and Culture in Cape Town The high level of interconnectedness among nations, countries and cultures is referred to as globalization. The technological advancement has made the world a small place with almost every thing accessible to mankind (Globalization101, n.p). This high interaction and interdependence causes cultural mix up or cultural hybridization. Some people take consider this as a positive outcome of globalization. According to Rathkopf, globalization is the only way to a better and a more stable world. It is true, that globalization not only reduces cultural barriers but removes the negative aspects of any culture (Rathkopf, n.p). Many other people take globalization as a bargain to their culture and heritage, which is not acceptable to them. These people say that globalization is destroying their roots and their identity i.e. culture (Barlow, n.p). The globalization of products and commodities is considered to be a good thing; however this also has its own negative points. It not only declines the sales of locally made products but also disrupts the local economy. Hence it can be noted that globalization has both positive and negative outcomes. This report will discuss the processes and effects of globalization in Cape Town, South Africa. The first part of the report will discuss the culture of the place and how it is organized. Moreover, how the place runs, will also be discussed. In the second part the effect of globalization on the culture of the place will be discussed. The conclusion will give an overview of what the future holds for the people in Cape Town. Cape Town is the provincial capital of the Western Cape and is probably one of the most beautiful cities of the world. Due to its beautiful beaches and scenery it attracts more tourists than any other place in South Africa. The total population of the city is almost 3.5 million (Statistics of South Africa, n.p). Even though this is a big number, but due to a larger area, the population density of the city is still low. Almost 80% of the households in Cape Town use electricity. Cape Town consists of almost 31% local black Africans. The rest are whites and Asians. This demography clearly states that there are more people from other nations, and hence they have their cultural influence in the area. Moreover, female population in the city is more than male population. Almost 58% of the native blacks are unemployed (Statistics of South Africa, n.p; City of Cape Town, 3-7). Almost 41% of the people in Cape Town speak Afrikaans. The rest speak Xhosa and English. Majority of the population is Christian with almost 10% having no religion at all. Cape Town can be called as the oldest city of South Africa, and it really is. Its oldest building Posthuys is oldest in whole of South Africa. If you want to see the real culture of Cape Town, you can visit Nyanga, Langa or Gugulethu. Its rich culture can be noticed in various kiosks alongside the road. Sangoma or a healer can heal all your illnesses and worries and the visits in these cultural places can relax a person. Cape Town has the most beautiful beaches of the World and this attracts a lot of tourists. The tourism and hotel industry contributes a lot to its economy. The oldest community of Cape Town is Bo-Kaap. People of this community are Muslims. Their colorful cottages and mosques, with the muezzin sound echoing in Bo-Kaaps streets is a new thing for people visiting the place (Safari Now, n.p). Since 1980, Cape Town had an above average growth rate of Gross Domestic Product. This average is even higher then the entire nations average. The main reason for this is the fact hat Cape Town has competitive advantage in many areas. In electronic, electrical and certain manufacturing areas, Cape Town is considered to be one of the best. The Annual GDP growth of Cape Town is almost 2.6%, whereas of Durban it is 0.4% and Johannesburg it is 2.0%. After 1999 there was a small dip in the growth of Cape Towns GDP. This was due to the slow growth of local firms. This was also due to the fact that the Asian crisis in 1998 had negative affects on Cape Town. Though the wide use of internet in Cape Town is reflecting the globalization effect, the anti globalization groups are trying to save their cultural identity. All over the world this is a common phenomenon. One group is always in favor of globalization, giving details of its positive affects on the society, culture and economy. The other party thinks that this is a sign of cultural imperialism, whereby other cultures are imposed on a certain culture eventually making it similar to their own (Obiora, n.p). As telecommunications has advanced so much, there is TV in every household; all students have access to the internet, the culture in Cape Town has also transformed like other nation's cultures. Globalization has impact on various things, but probably has the biggest impact on the culture of a place. For example one can hear the loud advertisements of sodas and soft drinks in various small streets and other areas, where drinking water is not available easily. People have to change their ways of living in order to meet the globalization standards (Duru-Ford, n.p). As globalization is all about information sharing and technological advancement, which in turn affects the economy of any place, critics say that the entire world should have one standard followed in this area. This will double the positive affects of globalization. A single set of economic policies in all countries will let people enjoy their own cultural identity but have all other positive impacts of globalization on their economy and everything else (Friday, n.p). This means that a place will have to be dependent on the entire world in order to change a single economic policy according to its needs. However the integration will be a lot easier and will have more impact. The process of globalization has now started to get implemented in Cape Town. You can not help real poverty in Cape Town. The fight of people against the apartheid has still left its marks. Various monuments make these people remember what they had to fight against. However changes are taking place now. The former president Nelson Mandela is now free and lives in Cape Town. According to Dubrow (n.p.) the language of any place is an important element in the culture. If the language of any place is not spoken by the children in that place, just a few old and aged people in the society know that language then the language can become extinct. Even though a lot of people in Cape Town speak its local language, but due to globalization English is now taking its place. Almost half of the total world's languages will become extinct in a few decades (Dubrow, n.p). A language of any place should be spoken and care initiatives should be taken by the government so that it does not become extinct. With globalization on toll, it is difficult to keep pace and preserve its local language. However Cape Town has managed to do this to some extent. But if care is not taken in the future, then this decreasing rate of people speaking this language can become negligible also. The main reason for the increase in use of English language in the area is due to the fact that it is the language on advertisements, billboards, television, blockbuster movies etc. the tourists who come to the place also speak English, with a very few not knowing English and just their own language. Hence English has made a lot of impact on the culture of Cape Town. The culture of Cape Town is now becoming more westernized. The reason for this is the influence United States has on all technological and communication aspects of all businesses etc in the place. The cultural practices are moving more towards dominating cultures. Same is the case all over the world (Oni, n.p). Weaker cultures are giving up and dominating cultures are making an influence. Cape Town might be one of the biggest cities in South Africa, but still depends on United States for its technological and communication needs. For example, Microsoft has all its products designed according to America. The windows and other operating system platforms are in the English language. Hence the students in order to learn and firms in order to be on top of the communication and technological aspects, have to know this language. The entire world is loosing its cultural heritage. The rich culture of Cape Town is also giving away and is getting influenced by the global culture. Cultural imperialism has an affect on values also. One affect of globalization is commercialization. This aspect increases the right to choose the right product for your self idea. This materialistic thought sometimes blurs the difference between right and wrong in the minds of the people. They become unsympathetic. The tie that was holding the community together i.e. then cannot be kept together for long. Globalization induces the idea of individualism which can be dangerous if an intense measure is taken. All of the advertisements giving happy news and not telling the reality creates an artificial environment and diminishes the true value system of that place. Same is happening in Cape Town. Big Billboards, English commercials and the affect of individualism is making Cape Town loose its culture and values. This is not a new phenomenon. In every country where the culture is weak and other cultures can influence it, then they do influence it. Another reason for this change is the corporate culture. The government also wants a little bit change in the area. A global culture and language in the area will attract more tourists and more investors. Investors will never invest in a remote village of Africa, but somewhere where their company has a tendency to grow. Therefore, Cape Town being the second biggest city of South Africa has the potential to not only attract customers but also investors. Thompson however is right in this aspect, that today America is not the only one influencing the culture, but many other countries like china, Japan and Taiwan are also side by side with America in technological advancements. In some areas they are even more advanced. However they have managed to keep their language. The culture of these countries is also influenced by the American culture (Thompson, 149, 173). Thompson is right in the sense that many cultures of the world are hybridized. This means that they are a fusion of two or more cultures. Hence keeping one single culture alive is very difficult. People want to adapt to the new advancements the world is making. Even though technology is brining so many changes in the culture, but we cannot blame all of this change on technological advancements. The superimposition of culture and values is yet another side affect of globalization. Many researchers say that people in developing countries watch media programs coming from developed countries, some of these programs such as soap operas and sitcoms get very popular. The entire culture is then adapted accordingly brining a change in the beliefs and values of people. Hence the television can bring a global change in the cultures of the world. Even the traditional music style is now changing with some of western beats coming in. the young generation now prefers western styled clothes. For example, MTV has changed music style of every nation. Even under developed country's youth population is watching this channel and getting influenced. Children now do not listen to traditional bed time stories from their parents. The respect, values and beliefs have changed totally. People have forgotten their own culture and their own suffering. Moving with the hip hop beat of other culture, they are creating a hybrid culture in their society. The nutritious and rich food of Cape Town is replaced by new westernized dishes. The aim of the family head is to now provide food to the family, as the scarcity of food and water grows in Africa. Youths have forgotten all old teachings and are now committing crimes, doing robberies and engaging themselves in prostitution. According to Yakubu (35), almost 75% of the world population watched television. Most of the television channels are either dominated or influenced by American culture; hence this makes this 75'% population getting Americanized. The new global cultures permit these people from spending their salaries through credit cards even before they get them. This has increased corruption and bribery in the government. People living in Cape Town are not filthy rich, and in order to make their ends meet, they try whatever means of earning money. The food policies in the city have also changed. Due to scarcity of food the prices have gone up and hence it is difficult for a common person to feed his family. Female in the city who were formerly confined to the four walls of their homes, now enter the economic market of the Cape Town. Positions in the job market which were previously confined to males are now taken up by females. Products from all over the world are being dumped in Africa with seductive advertising. This has yet again changed the values of people. Now nobody wants to be left behind. Everybody wants to show that they are modern and up to date with the new culture and technology. Like many other places, the economy of the place was formerly regulated by the state. Today, with import and export being an important part of the economic growth, obtaining import license, quotas, foreign exchange etc has become a norm if you have to conduct business there. More and more government run organizations are now getting privatized. Individualism and liberalization are the key points in running the government. As we can see that aggressive changes brought by the globalization is now changing the local culture of Cape Town and is now bringing structural changes in it also. People have now adapted new ways and changed their old living habits. It is not just in Cape Town, but all over Africa people have now turned towards individualistic needs. The whole psyche of the people has changed. No wonder, there are many positive aspects of globalization. It has made everything accessible to every one. The world has become a global village with information on the finger tips of every one and technology just a mouse click away. However, it is difficult to differ between the right and the wrong in case of culture. As we can see above the entire culture of Cape Town has changed but the change has been gradual and people did not notice until it was too late. Critics take globalization as a factor which is changing their culture and imposing new cultures. Other people take it as a good change. The internet has also brought a big revolution in the way people think and live their lives. Today internet is an essential element for every student. Formerly students used to do all kinds of research via books and magazines. However, today education will be in complete if your graduation report does not contain web references or your resume does not contain e-mail address. A person who does not know how to use internet is considered as backward. A person who does not adapt the new westernized culture is taken as a person who will hinder in the modernity of the country. The social and economic pattern has been altered completely. Muslim girls in Bo-kaap community, who did not leave their houses without wearing a headscarf, now wear western dresses and work in multinational organizations. Looking at eh museum of Cape Town we can see what the city looked like formerly. What values and cultures did people adapt The change is extreme and irreversible. It is now not possible to change back the alterations in the culture. Many people have raised their voices against globalization, but cannot do much because hey are also influenced by globalization in one way or the other. Over the internet we can see many people who say a lot of things against globalization, but they are too saying it via the most influential globalization factor i.e. the internet (Kwame, 2-9). Roles of women have also been changed. They are no longer just dish washers and child bearers of the family. Today these women also contribute by becoming a working housewife. This working tradition has created a need or maids and servants. These maids and servants now take care of the house and the children. With the mother not around to teach the children about what is right and what is wrong, children are adapting more and more western culture and forgetting their own culture. These children spend more time watching television and surfing on the internet, than they spend with their families. The schools have also become very expensive. A common middle class person cannot afford the rising fee of the schools and hence children are dropping out of schools and getting involved in crimes etc. this ahs increased the crime rate of the area and hence there is more pressure on the local peace maintaining bodies. Cape Town attracts a lot of tourists all the year round. Most of these come to see the traditions and culture of the city. The government should see that the culture is maintained and the city reflects the traditions and values of the place. The culture should be integrated in the process of globalization. This will help them keep their culture alive and yet be modern in every sense. Not having latest technology and not having better means of communications will not necessarily keep the culture alive. Ti is the local people who have to accept their own culture and not the culture of the people who visit the place. Works Cited Barlow, Maude (2001). The global monoculture; Earth Island Journal. (Autumn) City of Cape Town (2001). Cape Town's Economy; current trends and future prospects. Duru Ford L. (2002). The macdonization of Hongkong Global Policy Forum. Radio Northerland. Friday, M. (2002). The Effect of Globalization on Culture in Africa in the Eye of African Woman. Echo. World Council of Churches. Globalization 101. (2008). Globalization; introduction. Retrieved April 13, 2008 from: http://www.globalization101.org/index.phpfile=issue&pass1=subs&id=119 Herman E. & McChesney R. (1997). The Global Media. New York: Cassell. Kwame, Yeboah. (n.d). The impact of Globalization on African Culture. University of Southern Denmark, Odense. Obiora, A. L. (1996). 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