Cultural globalization, glocalization and cultural proximity

國

立 政 治 大 學

‧

N a tio na

l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y

In the end Sparks concludes that looking at the increasingly globalized world and the processes under way in the economy, societies and culture there should not be one center marked and instead of the domination of one nation or the developing countries in general, the discussion should emphasize the competition of the developed nations as the center of imperialism. In his closing remarks regarding cultural imperialism Sparks notes another aspect that many are often mistaken about and which differentiates cultural imperialism from the concept of cultural globalization, saying that “it is not the intrinsic characteristics of a television programme, or a language, that make it “imperialist” but the use of state power to ensure that it gains currency” (Sparks, 2012, p. 293). And this is one great difference imperialism has from globalization: the essentiality of the presence of the state and its actions.

For globalization, the process does not necessarily depend on the interference of the state, it will go under way, especially in the sphere of culture.

2.2.2. Cultural globalization, glocalization and cultural proximity

According to John Tomlinson, “globalization refers to the rapidly developing and ever-densening network of interconnections and interdependencies that characterize material, social, economic and cultural life in the modern world” (Tomlinson, 2012, p. 352). Tomlinson states, that the cultural aspect of globalization “both has its effects and simultaneously is generated and shaped,” (Tomlinson, 2012, p. 355) explaining how this connectivity influences culture and people not only on a global, but also on the local levels.

He explains how this connectivity, especially in the cultural sphere is due the newest technologies we use for communication: the spread of the internet and the fact that the majority of people in the developed world, and more and more in developing countries as well, own mobile phones. And thus we are just ‘one click away’ from a plethora of information of the world and just seconds away from getting in touch with one another – and this increasing immediacy has a great influence on many aspects of our lives, including even small things such as the foods we prefer or the entertainment we choose. He points out how, in the schema of cultural globalization all activities such as watching television, using the internet or communicating with others through these modern devices, become unique ways of cultural activity. As he writes, “our use of media and communication technologies thus helps to define what it is to exist as a social being in the modern world” (Tomlinson, 2012, p. 361).

‧

Therefore we can see that the use of modern technologies such as social media is actually in fact a cultural activity, which, due to cultural globalization and its penetration into the most personal levels of the local spheres, is constantly shaping many aspects of our lives, our opinions, choices, activities and even identity. Even our decisions whether to eat or not, what to eat, if we would like to be slim or strong, how we want to look and what we do in order to achieve that, our chosen lifestyle – they are all connected to culture and are under the influence of cultural globalization.

However, it needs to be noted that even though cultural globalization has a great impact on many spheres of our lives it does not result in a homogenized culture for each and every nation, demolishing national and regional cultural traits and characteristics. Ryoo argues that there will never be a simple copy of the influencer Western/American culture anywhere as a result but ‘multiple modernities’ due to factors such as the local reception of such cultural influences – which will be different all around the world (Ryoo, 2009). This phenomenon of all the different local cultures shaped by the global processes is also often called glocalization.

And exactly due to this local aspect, the resilience or determining power that these local cultures have in the reception of the global influences, cultural proximity is becoming a factor more and more influential, especially in East Asia, which is culturally more distant from the Western, American culture that is deemed the strongest influencer and source of cultural globalization. Ryoo also mentions how Asian countries are more and more open for a “Made in Asia” concept in the media and entertainment industry (Ryoo, 2009), and Huang reaffirms the presumption, elaborating on how Korean pop culture might be more acceptable to some East Asian nations such as Taiwan or China than the materials released in the West. Huang argues that it is because the Korean productions are not as distant from these recipient countries as the purely Western content, they are creating a balance between the Western and Asian cultures, infusing the former into the latter, making the content more ‘transferable’ in the region (Huang, 2011).

On the other hand, the reflection of cultural imperialism on Hungary differs a little bit from that of Taiwan. It needs to be noted that being European has been a strong part of the Hungarian identity – examples such as the Hungarian-Polish personal union in the 14th century or the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy underline that. However, being part of the socialist block in the 20th century –although never being part of the USSR, thus still retaining the European identity- left Hungarians longing for the previously mostly unavailable Western

22

‧

products and lifestyle after the regime change of 1989. These new arrivals, rather unfamiliar for Hungarians were mostly from the United States. Although there were products coming to the Hungarian markets from the Western parts of Europe as well, due to the shared cultural heritage, they were not so drastically unfamiliar and new for Hungarians as the American products. This longing for the lifestyle and the products was especially the case for the younger half of the population as the older generations looked at some of the new arrivals with skepticism (James, 1995; James 1995b).

Today, almost 30 years following the regime change and the start of the Western products’

penetration of the Hungarian market, they have become an inalienable part of the lives of the Hungarians – such as in almost all other modern European nations. When it comes to cultural influence, the United States seems to still remain the biggest influencer. Hungarians take pride in being European and belonging to the other member states of the European Union, but that also means they look at the region as a land of (culturally) equal nations that share the same heritage but do not follow just one or two of their bigger counterparts. If we look at the Hungarian cultural market, for example the offerings in the cinemas, it is still and for the last decades have been the American movies produced in Hollywood that dominate the program.¹ The same stands for the music industry as well – it is mostly the American, globally also popular songs that are played over and over again in the radio along with Hungarian popular music. It is maybe only the British that have a good chance in making an impact on the Hungarian market of culture – but they do share the same Anglo-Saxon heritage with the United States and therefore are rather similar culturally. In case someone is interested in the cultural products of other regional players, it might be harder to find – for movies for example one needs to go to the so-called art theaters or film festivals.

Therefore when it comes to the effects of cultural imperialism and other countries’ cultures impacting that of Hungary, we can argue that the USA has the biggest impact on the cultural lives of Hungarians. And while there are regional players that play an important role for

1 The movies offered in two cinemas in Budapest on 23^rd September, 2017 were: Kingsman: The Golden Circle;

The Lego Ninjago Movie; Victoria and Abdul; The Boss Baby; Despicable Me 3; The Beguiled; Home Again;

IT; American Made; The Hitman’s Bodyguard; Wind River; The Emoji Movie; therefore 12 movies that are either American production or co-production + 1 Hungarian Documentary, 2 Hungarian Comedys, 1 British Horror, 1 German Comedy, 1 Russian Animation, 1 Belgian-French Animation. (63% of movies offered are US-made, 15% local)

‧

立 政 治 大 學

‧

N a tio na

l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y

Taiwan, in the case of Hungary there is no other salient influencer apart from the United States.