Globalization and Cultural Identity Thesis by Danel Nurlybekova

Globalization and Cultural Identity Thesis By Danel Nurlybekova Submitted in Partial fulfillment Of the Requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts In Communication and Mass Media State University of New York Empire State College 2018 Reader: Todd Nesbitt Statutory Declaration / Čestné prohlášení I, Danel Nurlybekova, declare that the paper entitled: Globalization and Cultural Identity was written by myself independently, using the sources and information listed in the list of references. I am aware that my work will be published in accordance with § 47b of Act No. 111/1998 Coll., On Higher Education Institutions, as amended, and in accordance with the valid publication guidelines for university graduate theses. Prohlašuji, že jsem tuto práci vypracoval/a samostatně s použitím uvedené literatury a zdrojů informací. Jsem vědom/a, že moje práce bude zveřejněna v souladu s § 47b zákona č. 111/1998 Sb., o vysokých školách ve znění pozdějších předpisů, a v souladu s platnou Směrnicí o zveřejňování vysokoškolských závěrečných prací. In Prague, 28.11.2018 Danel Nurlybekova Table of Contents 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 6 2 The Nature of Globalization ..................................................................................................... 9 2.1 Defining Globalization .......................................................................................................... 9 2.2 Globalization Trends ........................................................................................................... 12 2.3 Globalization as Post-colonial Imperialism ........................................................................ 16 2.4 Neo-Liberalism and Globalization ...................................................................................... 18 2.5 Territorial States and Globalization .................................................................................... 22 2.6 The Side Effects of the Globalization Process .................................................................... 24 3 The Nature of Culture and Cultural Identity........................................................................ 26 3.1 Defining Culture .................................................................................................................. 27 3.2 Cultural Identity .................................................................................................................. 29 3.2.1 The Emergence of Cosmopolitanism ........................................................................... 32 3.2.2 Hybridization ................................................................................................................ 35 4 The Influence of Globalization on Culture ............................................................................ 37 5 Preserving Cultural Diversity ................................................................................................. 40 5.1 Cultural Products, Trade & Americanization ...................................................................... 41 5.2 “L'exception culturelle” – the case of France .................................................................... 45 5.3 The Movie Industry as a Reflection of Globalization ......................................................... 49 5.3.1 Development of the Author’s Cinema in France .......................................................... 50 6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 57 Acknowledgments This thesis would not have been possible without the support of my family. I cannot be more grateful for having loving and caring parents, and both my sister and my brother. I am tremendously thankful to my mentor, Todd Nesbitt, who has been greatly supportive, and whose encouragements, comments and suggestions have been invaluable. His enormous contribution to the thesis “Globalization and Cultural Identity” was manifested not only during the thesis writing but also through the interest and passion he expressed to the topic while teaching his classes. Abstract This thesis assesses the impact of globalization on cultural identity. It contends that globalization poses threats to cultural identity and the cultural diversity of nation-states. It examines the effects of globalization on cultural identity, and how globalization forces contribute to the transformation of cultures. The main conclusions of this paper are that globalization indeed poses threats to cultural identity through the eradication of cultural diversity caused by the disappearance of physical, cultural and economic borders between nation-states, as well as by the dissemination of the views of highly developed countries on international politics and other domains. Furthermore, the paper uses a case study of France to explore attempts by nation-states to preserve their cultural identity and diversity. 6 1 Introduction The structure of the modern world is that of a complex and continuous symbiosis of cultures, languages, economic systems, and political hierarchies. Various stages of social development, have taken place, which have had the power to influence lives and create events, and which have resulted in global consequences. It is accepted to use the term “globalization” when mentioning this structure. However, not that long time ago, one could not imagine, starting from the primitive, the perspective of understanding a foreign language without first learning it. Whereas now by clicking a “translate” button, or something more complex, the perspective of creating new global commercial realities can be achieved far more easily. Globalization has brought everything mentioned above by erasing borders, including the physical, cultural, and mental. The borderless world might be a key to a peaceful future, which would be based on mutual empathy, lack of misunderstanding and conflicts. Accessibility to all needed items and products from all around the world, in a harmonious diffusion of nations’ historical experience, including technological progress. In other words, globalization hypothetically could lead societies to a utopian model of the world, where the arrangement of life excludes diversity. It means that the true meaning of the terms as “nationality,” “country,” “bilingual,” and “traditions” would be lost in the faceless and “monotonous” world. In the Communication and the Globalization of Culture: Beyond Tradition and Borders, the author starts his discussion of globalization and culture by mentioning utopian and anti- utopian novels of by 20th century authors Aldous Huxley and George Orwell (Mohammed, 7 2011). “Huxley ([1932] 1998) and Orwell (1949) both envisioned the death of culture at the hands of technology and politics, respectively…. George Orwell’s (1949) masterpiece Nineteen Eighty-Four envisioned the world where all aspects of culture, including the production of newspapers, books, magazines, and films, were part of the process of political domination being imposed on the population. Common to both Huxley and Orwell’s visions was the notion of a powerful central authority imposing structural and social changes necessary for the death of culture” (Mohammed, 2011). In reality, globalization could take on the role of a “powerful central authority” and with the help of the natural flow of its tendencies cause cultural identities and treasures to vanish. Globalization, as an essential tendency of the twenty-first century, is a controversial and influential subject matter that thrusts the world towards radical and crucial alterations. The consequences of globalization reflect many aspects of our lives, including social structures, economy, the politics of nation-states, and the culture, as one of the most prominent domains (Ritzer, 2011). Hence, this paper examines concepts of cultural identity and globalization and explores whether globalization facilitates the eradication of cultural identity. The paper analyzes the effects of globalization on various levels, how global integration influences cultural and national identity, what mechanics are resulting in erasing cultural borders, and what these borders mean. To achieve this, the thesis discusses the connection between globalization and cultural identity in detail. It examines the concept from various angles and proposes a more in-depth explanation of the core idea of globalization, and perspectives of viewing globalization, by 8 providing information and analysis of such subtopics as globalization and the economy, and globalization and its relationships with politics and social reforms. Furthermore, it will explore theories indicating that global integration is a part of post-colonial imperialist tendencies used by the North, spreading their views through new technologies that are the triggers of globalization. Besides this, liberalism, which it directly connects with the perception of globalization products, will be assessed. Later the paper examines culture and notions of national identity. Globalization and its relatively short history has altered our perception of ourselves, as representatives of our nationalities, and has been the foundation for the emergence of new phenomena such as cosmopolitanism and cultural imperialism. The shift of the traditional cultural perception to the most recent concept of cosmopolitanism is a demonstration of globalization’s effects.

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