Answer to Question #291520 in Sociology for Shoaib

Question

Q.2) “Some assert that cultural contact is creating uniformity, standardization, homogenization —a global monoculture that is sterile, dull, and artificial” Comment. (2)

Answer 1

Looking into a very wide spectrum of cultures around the world, listening to different kinds of music from the Africa, Australia, America and Latin America one gets to deeply sink into completely different understanding of culture. Culture can be defined as a way of living; it ranges from food, dressing, language etc. Different cultures come with different foods, dressing and even language e.g. in the Curry of India, Thailand’s coconut milk, America’s cheeseburger. Milk from Thailand, the United States cheeseburger. All these diverse cultures are put together to form one global culture.

 Marshall McLuhan (1964), a media and communication theorist, coined the term “global village” to shed more light into the phenomenon of the world’s culture shrinking and expanding at the same time due to pervasive technological advances that allow for instantaneous sharing of culture (Johnson 192). However, the thought that there is a possibility for all worlds’ culture to become one has been deemed to be a bit controversial. On one hand, people believe that if it continues, cultural globalization will lead to a great market centers where countries from all walks of life and economic opportunities are represented and where more wealthy and powerful countries render help to the poor ones

On the other hand, people are afraid that the evolution of a global village may raise conflicts of interests and between cultures leading to a fragmented culture and cultural domination by more wealthier countries and possibly create hybrid cultures (Johnson 191-96). More than ever, examples of cultural globalization are evident in our daily lives. The Internet has continued to bridge the communication gap that existent for centuries courtesy of improved technology handing over individuals from all walks of life an opportunity to communicate instantly with each other e.g. use of Instant messenger, Facebook, Myspace ,WhatsApp and various online forums are examples of this instant communication.