Cultural Globalization- Personal Reflections

Cultural Globalization

We now live in a new global world that is connected through global trade, international businesses, and instant cyber communication. These new global connections expose people to ideas and cultures of the world. Wasserstrom reminds us that “Cultural globalization is never about one way flows, though Americans often forget this, conveniently ignoring the fact that the world’s cities are now cluttered not just with KFC franchises but also karaoke bars.”1 Wasserstrom suggests these connections do not necessarily mean that the world will become more “American”. In reality, Americans will be equally affected by this new global connection. My own experiences and travels in China have taught me that technology and access to the internet will not make the Chinese necessarily more “American” culturally or politically.

Last summer I spent three weeks in China and traveled from Beijing, to Xian, and Kunming on my way across the country. I was amazed by how many KFC’s I encountered on my trip and was told that KFC reached China before McDonald’s and the people felt loyalty to international companies that reached China first. Don’t get me wrong, I saw plenty of McDonalds during my travels. So the question Wasserstrom poses, is can the internet “do for information what the Big Mac has done for cuisine…?”2 Can technology infiltrate other cultures at a mass level and change culture, namely information?

When traveling, I also went to internet cafes in every city. While in Kunming, the internet café I found was having a grand opening and this particular café was the nicest I saw on my travels. In a large warehouse, computer stations lined all available space and I was ushered to the VIP section where each computer was paired with a comfy arm chair. When I looked around I was struck that most people using the internets were young and this was typical of the cafes I encountered. Looking around, most young adults were playing video games or watching movies. When talking to others that could speak English, I was told that computers were mostly used for entertainment and that they preferred Japanese games over American games.

I then conducted my own experiment. I knew that the Chinese government censored the internet with the help of google, so I did my own research. I looked up Tiananmen Square on google pictures. Then I added “tank” to the search and nothing popped up beside family vacation pictures, not the famous tank picture from the student protest in 1989. In China, people are not free to search the internet as we are in the United States. In addition emails are censored before they are delivered. I talked to a few Chinese that had been interrogated over questionable email communications.

The idea that being able to use the internet to change China politically does not have much clout, when its citizens are not able to freely surf the internet and communicate without censorship. I do agree, the growing connections between the Chinese and the outside world will effect its culture and politics, but I do not think this will necessarily make the Chinese more “American”; it will help the Chinese to become global citizens in a world were cultural globalization will flow throughout the cyber world. In the same respect, I feel that the internet will also make americans be better global citizens.

Reference:
1. China: Beyond the Matrix by: Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom From The Nation May 7th, 2001 issue
2. China: Beyond the Matrix by: Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom From The Nation May 7th, 2001 issue
http://http//www.thenation.com/docprem.mhtml?i=20010507&s=wasserstrom