文化全球化與在地審美觀：匈牙利與台灣的比較研究 - 政大學術集成

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(1)國立政治大學國際傳播英語碩士學位學程 International Master’s Program in International Communication Studies College of Communication National Chengchi University. 碩士論文政治大立Master’s Thesis. ‧ 國. 學 ‧. 文化全球化與在地審美觀：匈牙利與台灣的比較研究. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. “How Cultural Globalization Shapes Our Beauty Ideals – A Comparative Study on Hungary and Taiwan”. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Student: Dora Kardos 雲潔穎 Advisor: Tingyu Kang 康庭瑜. 中華民國 107 年 6 月 June 2018. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(2) 文化全球化與在地審美觀：匈牙利與台灣的比較研究 “How Cultural Globalization Shapes Our Beauty Ideals – A Comparative Study on Hungary and Taiwan” Student: Dora Kardos 雲潔穎 Advisor: Tingyu Kang 康庭瑜. 立. 政治大. 國立政治大學. 碩士論文. 學. ‧ 國. 國際傳播英語碩士學位學程. ‧ er. io. sit. y. Nat. A Thesis. Submitted to International Master’s Program in. al. n. v i n International C h CommunicationUStudies engchi National Chengchi University. In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement For the degree of Master of Arts. 中華民國 107 年 6 月 June 2018. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(3) Acknowledgements I would like to express my deepest gratitude first of all to my advisor, Professor Tingyu Kang, who has been encouraging and supporting me for the past year since I started working on this thesis. She has always given me the most useful insights, never leaving me confused about what to do next and always inspiring me to improve and write the absolute best version of this paper. I couldn’t have done it without her and I will always be grateful for her guidance. I would also like to say thank you to my friends Ksenia Kuzmina and Arzhia Habibi, who not only supported me emotionally through this process but have also given me academic and linguistic advice when I needed it the most.. 政治大. Furthermore I owe a lot to my family: my parents, grandparents and Adel Latif for their emotional support throughout the everyday stress and struggles, for always enthusiastically. 立. asking me about my progress and encouraging me to keep working hard – and not getting. ‧ 國. 學. tired of me talking about this thesis for months on end.. And cheers to all my fellow IMICS classmates ~ this has been a long and difficult journey,. ‧. but we got through it together and I am so proud of you all!. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(4) Abstract Beauty is important not just for women, but to our whole society – and is a concept that is dependent on culture. As we live in the digital era and a highly interconnected world, cultural globalization shapes many aspect of our lives, including our perceptions of beauty and beauty ideals as well, that are constantly changing and can be expected to be converging. The aim of this research paper was to explore these global and regional influences and find out how they shape the beauty ideals of women in Hungary and Taiwan: exploring the content young women from the two countries consume on Instagram, searching for a deeper understanding. 政治大 women differentiate between the 立modes of beauty represented by continental European and. of the modes of beauty ideals that are embodied by these images. It was found that Hungarian. ‧ 國. 學. Anglo-American influencers. Continental European influencers are praised for their natural beauty, while the Anglo-American ideals are often criticized for being superficial. These. ‧. perceptions can be explained by theories of Occidentalism. Meanwhile Taiwanese young. Nat. sit. y. women were found to look for Japanese and Korean influencers for sources of cultural. n. al. er. io. inscription and often had a liking for Caucasian-Asian, mixed-race influencers. A surprising. i n U. v. finding was the lack of significant presence of US influencers, which can be explained by the. Ch. engchi. rise of self-made micro-celebrities on social media, as well as the Hollywood film studios’ new practices of recruiting movie stars from different regions of the world to cater for diverse markets. Keywords: cultural globalization, beauty ideals, social media, Hungary, Taiwan. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(5) Table of Contents 1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………………...1 1.1. Research Purpose……………………………………………………………………...1 1.1.1. Aims and importance…………………………………………………………...1 1.1.2. Ideal Beauty and Cultural Globalization……………………………………….3 1.1.3. Taiwan and Hungary…………………………………………………………...5 1.2. Research Background…………………………………………………………………6 1.3. Research Questions……………………………………………………………………9 2. Literature Review…………………………………………………………………………10. 政治大. 2.1. The importance of beauty – social capital and the beauty premium……………….10. 立. 2.1.1. The beauty premium…………………………………………………………..10. ‧ 國. 學. 2.1.2. Beauty ideals………………………………………………………………….12 Western beauty ideal…………………………………………………..13. ‧. y. Nat. 2.1.2.1.2.. Physique and body type……………………………………….15. The East Asian beauty ideal…………………………………………..17. 2.1.2.2.2.. al. n. 2.1.2.2.1.. io. 2.1.2.2.. Skin tone and face……………………………………………..14. sit. 2.1.2.1.1.. er. 2.1.2.1.. i n U. v. Skin tone and face…………………………………………….17. Ch. engchi. Physique and body type……………………………………….18. 2.2. Cultural globalization and the convergence of beauty ideals………………………..19 2.2.1. Cultural imperialism or Westernization and its critique………………………19 2.2.2. Cultural globalization, glocalization and cultural proximity………………….21 2.2.3. The convergence of beauty ideals…………………………………………….24 2.3. Culture, beauty and social media…………………………………………………….25 2.3.1. The propagation of social media……………………………………………...25 2.3.2. The power of social media, comparing ourselves…………………………….25 3. Methodology……………………………………………………………………………...29 3.1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..29. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(6) 3.2. Characteristics of qualitative research……………………………………………….29 3.3. Research design……………………………………………………………………...30 3.3.1. Sampling………………………………………………………………………30 3.3.1.1.. Possible biases………………………………………………………...30. 3.3.2. Participants……………………………………………………………………31 3.3.3. Research methods and data collection………………………………………...32 3.3.3.1.. Main method: semi-structured interviews…………………………….32. 3.3.3.2.. Secondary method: the background of the screenshots……………….33. 3.3.4. Limitations……………………………………………………………………34. 政治大 The Hungarian case……………………………………………………………………….36 立. 3.4. Data analysis…………………………………………………………………………34 4.. ‧ 國. 學. 4.1. The superficial: influencers from Anglo-American countries……………………….37 4.2. The natural: influencers from continental Europe…………………………………..45. ‧. 4.3. Occidentalism………………………………………………………………………..53. sit. y. Nat. 4.4. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...60. io. er. 5. The Taiwanese case………………………………………………………………………62 5.1. Source of cultural inscription: the role of Japan and Korea…………………………62. al. n. v i n 5.2. The significant presence of C mixed-race women inU h e n g c h i the sample………………………66 5.3. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...69. 6. The lack of the significant presence of the US…………………………………………...70 6.1. The national background of the Instagram screenshots……………………………..70 6.2. A different media era………………………………………………………………..73 6.3. Hollywood’s recruitment from new regions to cater for a diverse market………….79 6.4. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...82 7. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………..84 References…………………………………………………………………………………….89 Appendix A – Informed Consent Form………………………………………………………99 Appendix B – Interview Question…………………………………………………………100. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(7) List of figures and tables Table 1. Basic information of the interviewees……………………………………………………….33 Figure 1. Lili Reinhart brought as an example by HU11……………………………………………..40 Figure 2. Selena Gomez as example for strong make-up look by HU10……………………………..41 Figure 3. Blake Lively, example for a posed and Photoshopped picture by HU09…………………..42 Figure 4. British women: actress Emma Watson (left) and YouTuber Zoe Sugg (right)…………….43 Figure 5. Danish model Josephine Skriver (left) and Dutch supermodel Doutzen Kroes (right)…….49 Figure 6. French Angelique Boyer, as an example of natural continental European beauty…………50 Figure 7. Hungarian model Vanessa Axente, example of natural beauty by HU01 …………………51 Figure 8. Examples of the “no make-up make-up look” presented by HU01. 政治大. Figure 9. Contrast of posed American actress Blake Lively and natural French actress Angelique Boyer made by HU09…………………………………………………………………………………55. 立. Figure 10. Instagram posts of American actress Blake Lively, prepared red carpet events…………56. ‧ 國. 學. Figure 11. American examples: Selena Gomez singer (left) and Lili Reinhart actress (right)……….57 Figure 12. American actresses on the red carpet: Aja King (left), Amanda Seyfried (center) and Ashley Benson (right)…………………………………………………………………………………58. ‧. Table 2. Summary of the Hungarian results …………………………………………………………59 Figure 13. Former Korean girl band ’Sistar’ and Korean make-up artist Pony serve as inspiration for. y. Nat. sit. cultural inscription to young Taiwanese women………………………………………………………62. er. io. Figure 14. Korean actress Kong Hyo Jin (left) and Japanese model Emi Suzuki (right) are further examples for source for cultural inscription………………………………………………………….63. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. Figure 15. American entrepreneur Olivia Palerno (left) and American model and singer Celine Farach. engchi. reflecting masculine character traits for Taiwanese interviewees……………………………………64 Figure 16. National backgrounds of the women in the Instagram screenshots sent by Hungarian and Taiwanese interviewees………………………………………………………………………………71 Figure 17. Examples of self-made celebrities: British Zoe Sugg (left), Australian Sarah (center) and Iraqi Sarah Angius (right)……………………………………………………………………………..75 Figure 18. Further examples of self-made celebrities, from left to right: Estee Lalonde, Bree Warren, Daisy and Aryee Claudia Dedei………………………………………………………………………76 Figure 19. Self-made celebrity examples from Taiwanese interviewees: Chiara Ferragni (left), Sonya Sanchez (center) and Pony (right)……………………………………………………………………76 Figure 20. Further examples of self-made celebrities by Taiwanese interviewees………………….77 Figure 21. British actress and activist Emma Watson………………………………………………80 Figure 21. Israeli actress Gal Gadot well-known for her role as Wonder Woman………………….81. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(8) 1. Introduction 1.1.. Research Purpose. 1.1.1. Aims and importance This research aims to explore how female beauty ideals in Hungary and Taiwan are constituted by social media influencers from different cultural backgrounds. Employing theories of cultural imperialism and cultural globalization, this study seeks to identify the key cultural players in the global age in shaping women’s everyday bodily practices. Focusing on the Instagram accounts that young women from these two countries follow for beauty ideals can help understand the kinds of influences that affect them when it comes to female beauty,. 政治大 explained in the literature review 立 later, is a culturally constructed concept. Therefore if. molding or upholding their ideas of the ideal, to-be-achieved look. This look, as it will be. Hungarian young women tend to follow for example, mostly American or other Western. ‧ 國. 學. European accounts, while Taiwanese favor East Asian, such as Japanese and Korean influencers and beauty-related accounts, that can indicate the Hungarian beauty ideal’s. ‧. convergence towards an American-Western ideals which differs from a possible Asian ideal. y. Nat. appealing for the followers of a variety of East Asian accounts. The findings of the study will. sit. be theoretically significant, considering how the possible cultural dominance of global. n. al. ordinary people, constructing their personal body images.. Ch. engchi. er. io. cultural players and the macro global power structures shape the everyday practices of. i n U. v. Exploring the influences shaping Hungary and Taiwan, and the possible convergence of their beauty ideals through cultural globalization and the usage of social media is something that has never been researched before and can make an intriguing case in understanding global trends in international communications and their effects on cultural aspects of our lives. Previous research on cultural globalization however mostly focuses on traditional, mass media outlets such as television or magazines, when mentioning and describing the channels of the cultural influences countries are receiving. In his 2009 research Ryoo, about cultural globalization and Korea, talking about ‘new technologies’ he is still mentioning cable television and satellite as examples –which have been around for many decades: “the last decade has also witnessed the development of a unique pattern of media production, distribution and consumption, in which one can see the signs of an increased diversity of 1. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(9) originating nationalities. The introduction of new media, such as cable television and satellite provided the technological springboard for this trend, as new media created vast spaces for multi-channel broadcasting” (Ryoo, 2009, p. 138-139). In a series of Routledge studies book about globalization in urban China the authors also assert “Because popular culture and the mass media are regularly identified as important sources of soft power, it is no surprise that the internationalization and marketing of China’s media industries—and the influence of foreign media on the nation’s social, cultural, political, and economic systems—have been the subjects of many intellectual discussions”, (Lee et al., 2014, p.41) later in the chapter specifying the influential foreign media products as mostly traditional media products: movies, television programs and magazines. Even in The Blackwell Companion To Globalization, which contains fundamental accounts on the topic from authors such as. 治政大previous globalization theories global cultural ideas, values and products. Talking about Robinson mentions that “they立 emphasize the rapid growth of the mass media and resultant. Tomlinson, mass media outlets are mentioned in connection with spreading and transmitting. ‧ 國. 學. global cultural flows and images in recent decades, evoking the image famously put forth by Marshall McLuhan of ‘the global village” (Ritzer, 2007, p. 139) or Peter Meyer also writes. ‧. that “Often in connection with this economic sense of globalization, other meanings emphasize the international political system of states, the recent intensification of the. Nat. sit. y. worldwide network of communications and mass media, the global spread of iconic mass. er. io. consumer products like Coca-Cola and McDonald’s or popular culture trends like Rap music and Chinese food.” (Ritzer, 2007, p. 445) Meanwhile even though the book was published in. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. 2007, when social media platforms already enjoyed emerging popularity (Facebook had been. engchi. around for three years already by that time) it also takes no mentions of social media or its possible effects on cultural globalization. And when it comes to cultural globalization and beauty ideals in particular, other countries’ possible influences of women’s ideas of beauty, the examined media and media outlets are mostly also mass media such as television, or print magazines. (E.g. Frith, Shaw & Cheng, 2005; Maynard & Taylor, 1999) There is a gap in the literature as it lacks discussion on social media’s role in cultural globalization, specifically of that on beauty ideals and the body image of women around the world. This present research study’s contribution will be exploring this role social media platforms might take in cultural globalization by shaping young women’s ideas of beauty, better understanding cultural globalization following the emergence of these new media technologies.. 2. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(10) This following study might also be of value for marketing intentions, since by exploring what the popular beauty ideals supported in Hungary and Taiwan are, which the followers might be motivated to imitate, we can predict which aspects should be emphasized in the marketing of a new product that will make it appealing for the certain audience. 1.1.2. Ideal Beauty and Cultural Globalization The concept of beauty might be hard to gasp, but it is intertwined with many aspects of our lives: personal qualities, sexuality, communication (Synnott, 1989) and is known for having a special importance for women (Baker-Sperry & Grauerholz, 2003). There are certain norms of beauty apparent in every culture, to which women consciously or subconsciously try to adhere, because they all know that our societies have rewards for the beautiful. This. 治政 work field or one’s professional life – and this phenomenon 大 is often called the beauty 立 premium. (Mulford et al, 1998). cultural capital might materialize as economic mobility or special opportunities either in the. ‧ 國. 學. In his research Medard Hilhorst (2002) reminds us however, that this beauty is not simply the sum of one’s physical traits – it includes other attributes and details that make a person. ‧. attractive, such as their clothing and make-up or even their charisma, attitude or their. y. Nat. communicational competence. And what is even more important, he states, is that it is “also. sit. depends on the responsive feelings of the observer” (Hilhorst, 2002, p.14). This therefore. er. io. suggests that the notion of beauty and attractiveness is a concept that is highly subjective to. al. n. v i n background and social experiences C shape they perceive beautiful and appealing, the h ethenideals gchi U each and every individual. So if we presume that to at least some degree one’s cultural. exact same picture or look might (and will probably) form different responsive feelings if the viewers come from significantly different cultural backgrounds.. In their research, Vandenbosch and Eggermont (2012) focused on the impact media consumption has on the body image of girls and young women and their results also suggest that the beauty ideal is highly dependent on the culture, which determines the attitudes and norms of the society. Millard also reinforces this presumption, stating that “despite the adage that some people are born beautiful or that some forms of beauty are universal, it is consensus within a culture and society that determines which features are defined as beautiful and which are not” (Millard, 2009, p.146). Considering that, we can state that the ideal look, what people perceive to be beautiful and physically appealing is different in each society, nation, culture. 3. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(11) Meanwhile globalization is a process that is and has been undeniably shaping many spheres of our lives for decades now: it influences the economic, social and cultural aspects of the lives of modern persons. However, when it comes to discussing especially the cultural aspects of globalization, there are scholars that used to and some to this day still interpret it as a form of cultural imperialism, or as it is commonly also called, Westernization or Americanization, often suggesting that this process was going to lead to a uniform globalized culture based on American patterns. Authors criticize this approach stating that a Western culture cannot simply be installed all over the world like that (Tomlinson, 2012) and that Schiller’s 1976 definition that cultural imperialists often build upon is neglecting the influence of regional processes and interactions that can indeed have a great impact on a country’s or regions cultural changes (Sparks, 2012).. 政治大 rapidly developing and. John Tomlinson, a key author of cultural globalization describes globalization as. 立. something that “refers to the. ever-densening network of. interconnections and interdependencies that characterize material, social, economic and. ‧ 國. 學. cultural life in the modern world” (Tomlinson, 2012, p. 352) and explains how this connectivity especially in the cultural sphere is due the newest technologies we use for. ‧. communication. People, especially in developed countries all own computers with internet. y. Nat. connections, smartphones and other devices that enable them to always be connected and. sit. online and easily access any person or information they need within just seconds. Tomlinson. er. io. states that “our use of media and communication technologies thus helps to define what it is. al. n. v i n use of modern technologies such as C social a cultural activity. h emedia n g actually chi U. to exist as a social being in the modern world” (Tomlinson, 2012, p. 361), which makes the. As Zhang (2013) notes, the beauty standards and ideals of all cultures are subject to change, they are not permanent or fixed. As any culture itself evolves and is influenced by others, either their neighbors or distant but powerful others, it will inevitably adjust and change as well, along with its values, standards and ideals. Therefore as a result of both cultural globalization, the influence of Western or American culture as well as the possible impact of regional powers, today’s beauty ideals, since, as it was discussed above, are also dependent on culture, are also changing, possibly converging – and are certainly different from how they were a hundred years, or even a few decades ago.. 4. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(12) 1.1.3. Taiwan and Hungary The two countries chosen as a focus of this present research study were Taiwan and Hungary. The majority of the previous literature on either cultural globalization or ideal beauty tends to focus on a limited number of major countries or discusses it in general, leaving other interesting regions and countries unexplored. Although cultural globalization, as its name also states is a global phenomenon, its process and effects can vary significantly in different parts of the world. The literature most commonly mentions the influence of the United States’ culture or Americanization – but even the appearance and possible dominance of the American culture can vary in different parts and regions of the world based on factors such as the level of difference between the domestic. 治政 country at the same time – therefore the research will focus 大on one European and one Asian 立 country to exemplify such differences.. culture of the given nation or the other powerful regional players that might also affect the. ‧ 國. 學. A Central European country like Hungary and an East Asian nation like Taiwan will experience cultural globalization and its effects on their beauty ideals quite differently –they. ‧. both have their very own, unique experience of glocalization. Hungary for example has. y. Nat. always had a strong European cultural heritage and it can be considered a ‘Western culture’,. sit. therefore is closer to the dominant American culture researchers name as the strongest cultural. er. io. influencer of globalization, which essentially also shares the European, although Anglo-Saxon. al. n. v i n C hof the United States, and along with the inevitable influence e n g c h i U which Taiwanese might already background (Kramer, 2002). Meanwhile the culture of Taiwan is considered Eastern or Asian. interpret very differently from Europeans, firstly they also have to make sense of the. influences reaching them from Europe –which are already part of or very familiar for the Hungarian culture but are new for Taiwan-; and they also have to take into account the impact regional players such as Japan or South Korea have on the country – which is non-apparent in the case of Hungary (Huang, 2011; Shim, 2006; Mee, 2005). And while the two countries are quite different in these regards, they also share some important characteristics that makes them appropriate for comparison. Historically a parallel can be drawn between Hungary and Taiwan, which also affected their development in general and also regarding the foreign cultural contents flowing into each country. Although Hungary has never been an official member state of the Soviet Union, up until the regime change of 5. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(13) 1989, it was considered to belong to the Socialist block of Europe. Between 1949 and 1989 the country was called the Hungarian People’s Republic, operating in a one-party socialist system, governed by the Hungarian Communist Party. And although the party had its own Hungarian leaders such as Mátyás Rákosi or János Kádár, they had to report back to the Soviet leadership and had to adhere to the rules and regulations that the USSR set for the members of the Socialism block. This meant restrictions of travel that allowed Hungarians to travel only to other Socialist countries, restrictions of Western European and American products, including cultural products and a strict censorship. Therefore the cultural products of ‘the West’ as well as the technological advancements reached Hungary later than most countries, once it gained back its national independence. Meanwhile Taiwan also had several challenges on its road to national and cultural independence. It was first ruled by the Qing. 治政大 the Japanese colonial rule for ceding Taiwan to the Japanese Empire. Taiwan was then under 立 under the Japanese rule and then having the martial law 50 years, from 1895 to 1945. Being dynasty of China, who then lost control over the territory in the first Sino-Japanese War,. ‧ 國. 學. established created a similar situation in Taiwan as in Hungary, restricting its development and the flow of Western European and American cultural products into the country. Hungary. ‧. became a democracy in 1989, while the martial law was lifted in Taiwan in 1987, which. Nat. sit. receive global cultural influences almost at the same time.. y. means that the two countries achieved true democratic freedom and therefore the chance to. er. io. This makes the two cases worth exploring individually and comparing afterwards to gain. al. n. v i n C h other influencing might shape countries differently considering e n g c h i U factors.. a much deeper understanding of the notions and processes of cultural globalization and how it. 1.2.. Research Background. In the last few years, social media has had a growing impact on people’s lives all around the world. A decade ago it was still mostly the mass media –television and magazines- that shaped the opinions of people and formed the emotional and mental development of children and teenagers. However, by now social media has become an even stronger force, especially for the generation of digital natives who “spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computers and tools of the digital age” (Prensky, 2001). Additionally, since the popularity of print magazines and television is decreasing, teenagers and young adults, especially females tend to look for idols to look up to, follow and imitate, to get motivated and inspired by on 6. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(14) social media sites, such as Instagram. On Instagram the emphasis is on the visual content – even though users bare the opportunity to add captions to their pictures, most viewers tend to focus on the visual images and videos themselves. Therefore the visual characteristics of the platform make is easier for users to skim through the content, getting an overall impression without having to deal with the additional content such as text and links on Facebook, which might be superfluous and useless for this specific purpose. According to Smart Insights, Instagram is currently the 7th most popular social media platform in the world, having reached 600 million users in the beginning of 2017, also dominating the ‘interactions per 1000 followers’ stats amongst all socials (Chaffey, 2017), while 95 million photos and pictures are being shared on this platform every single day (Lister, 2017). In 2016 there were already more than 500,000 advertisers placing paid. 政治大 the platform was constantly strengthening the user experience with features such as the highly 立 advertisements or spending on sponsored content on others’ accounts and the development of. popular Instagram Stories, extending the possible video length and allowing the previously. ‧ 國. 學. commonly missed and requested zooming function (“Mi történt az Instagramon 2016-ban?”, 2017). This all underlines the growth of the platform that seems to be getting more and more. ‧. popular around the world – while it’s probably biggest competitor, Facebook (which actually. y. Nat. owns Instagram) has started stagnating in some countries in terms of growth in users, in. er. io. sit. Hungary for example (Lévai, 2017).. In 2016 the Pew Research Center has completed a research on Instagram usage amongst. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. Americans, a national survey with 1,520 adult participants and found that more than half of. engchi. the users visit Instagram daily, 35% of them even several times a day. They also discovered that Instagram is the most popular amongst young adults, namely the Y-generation: 59% of Americans aged 18-29 years are Instagram users, while this ratio is only 33% for the next age group, 30-49. Furthermore, it is interesting to note as well, that women tend to use Instagram more than man: the ratio of female users is 38% compared to 26% for men (Pew Research Center, 2016). Overall, amongst US users Instagram has the second biggest penetration rate of 32% - following Facebook which actually owns this platform- reaching more than 60% of Americans aged 18-34 (Chaffey, 2017). According to the platform’s own data and a survey completed by MediaQ in Hungary, working with a representative national sample employing a multichannel hybrid survey (online survey, N=3106; mobile app survey, N=1049), there were 1.1 million Instagram users 7. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(15) in Hungary in the beginning of 2017 – which is a significant number, considering that Hungary’s current population is around 9.8 million only (“Population total”, 2016). Just as in the United States, where these platforms originate from, the only social media platform with a higher reach than Instagram in Hungary is Facebook – with 5.4 million users. They have found that the typical Hungarian Instagram user is below 30 years of age and in a good financial situation. In the same survey they discovered that the Y generation (aged 20-35) in Hungary spends around 243 minutes a day online, 12% of which is spent looking at Instagram. (33% on Facebook, 13% on YouTube, 12% chatting and the remaining 18% on the web) (Lévai, 2017). Another survey by Crane, with 3,400 respondents found that every second respondent posts at least weekly and that they mostly follow their friends and foreign celebrities. There is. 政治大 respondents followed famous Hungarians 立 – but that already represents a 20% growth from the. a growth in the tendency to follow local, Hungarian celebrities: in 2016 only about half of the. previous year. (HVG, 2016) An interesting trend Crane has also found regarding the most. ‧ 國. 學. popular Hungarian accounts based on the number of followers –excluding brands and organizations- is that they are of mostly women. International model Barbara Palvin is at the. ‧. top with 6.8 million followers (as of 26th September, 2017) followed by Adrienn Lévai and. y. Nat. Regina Dukai. In the Top 11 Hungarians with most followers in 2016, there were only 2 men.. er. io. sit. ("Nőuralom az Instán – Vol 2.", 2016). Meanwhile the social media landscape in Taiwan is slightly different with these. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. American platforms having competition over the market with their Asian counterparts.. engchi. According to Statista, based on their survey conducted amongst Taiwanese internet users aged 16-64 years, the market penetration of Instagram was 37% in 2016, while Facebook reached 82% and Line 69%. (We Are Social, 2017) According to a survey with 1,500 respondents completed by Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC) in October, 2016, 26% of Taiwanese use Instagram (Fulco, 2017). However, if we further categorize these platforms, we can say that while Line and the Facebook Messenger are leaders when it comes to messaging, for ‘traditional’ content sharing platforms Facebook and Instagram (as well as YouTube) seem to be dominating the Taiwanese market, similarly to the Hungarian one.. 8. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(16) 1.3. Research questions RQ 1: What kind of images do Taiwanese young women consume and what accounts do they follow as a source for their construction of ideal beauty? RQ 1.1: What are the national backgrounds of these Instagram accounts and images? RQ 1.2: According to Taiwanese users, which modes of beauty ideals are embodied by these Instagram images from different national backgrounds? Are there differences across images from disparate national backgrounds? RQ 2: What kind of images do Hungarian young women consume and what accounts do they follow as a source for their construction of ideal beauty? RQ 2.1: What are the national backgrounds of these Instagram accounts and images?. 政治大 these Instagram images from different national backgrounds? Are there differences 立 across images from disparate national backgrounds?. RQ 2.2: According to Hungarian users, which modes of beauty ideals are embodied by. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 9. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(17) 2. Literature Review 2.1. The importance of beauty – social capital and the beauty premium Beauty is a notion whose meaning changes in time and based on location and culture. The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines it as the “combination of qualities, as shape, proportion, color, in human face or form, or in other objects, that delights the sight.” As Darling-Wolf also brilliantly formulates: “constructions of female beauty are indeed intricately embedded in the complex interaction between gender, globalization, nationalism and class status” (DarlingWolf, 2004, p. 328). However hard to grasp the concept might be, it is intertwined with many aspects of our life: personal qualities, sexuality, communication – its importance is undeniable (Synnott, 1989).. 立. 政治大. It is a commonly acknowledged fact, that “the pursuit of beauty occupies a central role in. ‧ 國. 學. many women’s lives” (Baker-Sperry & Grauerholz, 2003, p.712). It is not only a form of normative social control that has been believed to limit women’s lives by the belief that they. ‧. need to adhere to these norms and values (Baker-Sperry & Grauerholz, 2003), but also a way or tool for women to reach higher status and gain advantages in many spheres of the society,. sit. y. Nat. whether it be the work place or in a relationship. Crittenden explained this, stating people. io. er. might often consciously or unconsciously themselves try to adhere to these norms and values (which they have internalized through socialization), in order to receive the approval of their. n. al. i n U. v. audience and gain the above mentioned advantages and status in the society (Crittenden, 1991).. Ch. engchi. 2.1.1. The beauty premium In other words, beauty has its premium in the society; it can be or lead to a valuable form of social capital. Mulford, Orbell, Shatto and Stockard also confirm this notion stating that the possession of beauty or high levels of attractiveness “is a major asset in sexual exchange and is associated with upward economic mobility in particular for females” (Mulford, Orbell, Shatto & Stockard, 1998, p.1566). adding that it might also mean advantages in the work sphere. However, using physical attractiveness in their research as a variable the authors note that they do not believe it would be a significant determinant of one’s success in life. They do conclude though that if other people believe someone is attractive, that belief might shape 10. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(18) their attitude towards them, as most people tend to like interacting with others they deem attractive, thus bringing the certain person “opportunities for productive exchange” and other possible advantages (Mulford, Orbell, Shatto & Stockard, 1998). Monteath and McCabe also elaborate on this phenomenon explaining how the stereotypes people build towards others based on their looks –are they attractive? Are they slim or are they fat?- reflect the social opportunities one has, especially for women –beauty and high levels of attractiveness being positively correlated to such social opportunities (Monteath & McCabe, 1997). Thus, referring back to Benbow-Buitenhuis’ 2014 study, due to “the cultural privilege attached to beauty”, which “provides compelling reason for women to participate in beauty. 治政 capital for women, making it a significantly strong motivator 大 for their actions such as 立also a big influencer of the importance they attribute to the consumption, their activities and culture” (Benbow-Buitenhuis, 2014, p. 49), feminine beauty provides a form of cultural. ‧ 國. 學. concept.. However, regarding a person’s attractiveness, in his research about physical beauty,. ‧. Medard Hilhorst provided a list of certain features based on which people evaluate someone’s. y. Nat. level of attractiveness which apart from physical looks includes features such as someone’s. sit. clothing, make-up or hairstyle, so the little details with which they can enhance their naturally. n. al. or communicational competence (Hilhorst, 2002, p.12).. Ch. engchi. er. io. given physical look, their charisma, attitude, overall behavior or even their friendship abilities. i n U. v. Reminding the readers about Kant’s teaching Hilhorst also mentioned that beauty is not the sum of appealing features only, but it actually “also depends on the responsive feelings of the observer” (Hilhorst, 2002, p.14), which is a really interesting concept. It means that it is not our given characteristics or features that make us beautiful or physically appealing but the other’s perception of beauty and the thoughts and emotions encountering us evokes in them. Therefore it suggests that the notion of beauty and attractiveness is a concept that is different and highly subjective to each and every individual and thus cannot be objectively defined. If we presume that to at least some degree one’s cultural background and social experiences shape the ideals they perceive beautiful and appealing, then this above mentioned notion would suggest that the exact same picture or look might (and will probably) form 11. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(19) different responsive feelings if the viewers come from significantly different cultural backgrounds. In the end, this beauty premium can be an influential driver behind many actions and purchases of women – just as for cosmetics, often mentioned as ‘hope in a jar’ (Jones, 2008) or even diet and fitness programs, basically anything that can be bought to help enhance one’s attractiveness. However, the beauty premium can only drive someone to purchase if the certain product or service reflects that image and beauty ideal that the (potential) customer is chasing – therefore it is important for marketers and advertisers to know their target audience and the desired look they pursue. Therefore let us explore in detail what this beauty ideal might be – in the West and in East Asia. 2.1.2. Beauty ideals. 立. 政治大. In their study about sexual objectification, Vandenbosch and Eggermont (2012) focused on. ‧ 國. 學. the impact media consumption has on the body image of girls and young women and how it can lead to an objectification of one’s own body through the internalization of the beauty. ‧. ideals broadcasted in the media, that regard female physical appearance in a highly sexualized way most of the times totally disregarding the individuals’ personality. They explained that. Nat. sit. y. during the internalization of the beauty ideals, girls and women consider the societal norms of. io. er. their society to assess the desired attributes and characteristics they should attain in order to conform to the current beauty ideal.. al. n. v i n C is highly dependentU on the culture, which determines This suggests that the beauty idealh engchi. the attitudes and norms of the society. Millard also reinforces this presumption, stating that. “despite the adage that some people are born beautiful or that some forms of beauty are universal, it is consensus within a culture and society that determines which features are defined as beautiful and which are not” (Millard, 2009, p.146). However, some researchers argue that even though culture does determine the current beauty ideals, it is never constrained to only one set of attributes that define beauty. Hilhorst asserts that even based on the societal norms different looks can all be considered beautiful in the same culture: different shades of skin colors, different physiques and statures, and so on. As he writes: “all these different looks can be equally beautiful in their own right.” (Hilhorst, 2002, p.13) 12. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(20) Considering the literature introduced above we can state that the ideal look, what people perceive to be beautiful and physically appealing is different in each society, nation, culture. This research focuses on images from Hungary and Taiwan, however, most of the existing literature regarding beauty ideals focuses broadly on Western and Easter countries. Although there might be slight differences between countries that are classified as Western or Eastern, based on experience, and the literature that does examine the two countries, Hungary fits the general conceptions of Western and Taiwan of Eastern countries (Crittenden, 1991; Grosse, 2016). 2.1.2.1.. Western beauty ideal. Prior to elaborating on the different attributes of beauty ideals it is important to note that. 政治大 location in the West and due to the slight differences in local cultures, it has different 立 variation –as the Hungarian is also only one mode of Western beauty ideals. This present. ‘Western’ beauty ideal is a broad term that has a great internal differentiation and based on. ‧ 國. 學. research is going to focus particularly on how this Hungarian version of ‘Westernness’ is shaped in terms of these ideals by other, for example American forms of Westernness.. ‧. However, when talking about beauty ideals, even as culturally constructed concepts, the. sit. y. Nat. literature most often discusses it as one single form of ‘Western’ ideal, Western culture, etc.. io. er. (Frith, Shaw and Cheng, 2005; “I examine beauty in the complex context of contemporary Western culture and society ” Millard, 2009, p.147; Reischer & Koo, 2004; Thompson &. n. al. i n U. v. Hirschman, 1995) Previous studies therefore fail to identify that there are differentiated. Ch. engchi. powers in terms of which version of the West gets to be disseminated and how each Western country and culture interprets and adopts these influences shaping their own images and cultural understanding differently. This research is going to explore this aspect, how and which modes of Westernness shape Hungarian women’s ideals of beauty in particular. In a series of interviews conducted with Western women, where they were asked to define the current female beauty standards, the participants all described a very similar image that basically generalizes the Western beauty ideal: “she is tall, thin, tanned, has large breasts, clear skin and long hair, and is often blonde.” (Millard, 2009, p.154) But let us take a look at the currently existing literature to further explore this Western ideal.. 13. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(21) 2.1.2.1.1. Skin tone and face Exploring the notion of ‘beauty ideal’ we can look at the many different features that an individual bears and examine what attributes of these features people find attractive in each society. One of these features that determines beauty in many cultures and differentiates between them is skin color. It is typical for Western societies, including Hungarian that by the 21st century having a tanned skin tone has become the ideal, to-be-pursued look considered beautiful. To understand this phenomenon, we have to take a look back into history to examine the changing lifestyle of Western people throughout the last few centuries. As in many other parts of the world, centuries ago the ideal look in the West used to be quite different. It was wealthy. 政治大 making that the desirable look, while the lower social classes, who had to work out on the 立 fields under the sun and had the tan skin could only dream of that. women that did not need to work and thus could stay inside and retain porcelain white skin,. ‧ 國. 學. However, as the societies and the lifestyle of the people have radically changed over the. ‧. course of the years, the ideal look and perception of beauty has changed with them as well. Today having a darker, tanned skin has a completely different underlying meaning: not of. sit. y. Nat. hard field work anymore, but having the time and money, opportunity to travel and relax, go. io. er. on holiday to warm and sunny places, for example the seaside, to be able to afford doing nothing (Holiday & Elfving-Hwang, 2012). This presumption is especially salient amongst. n. al. i n U. v. Hungarians as the little land-locked country has no seaside, therefore having a really tanned. Ch. engchi. skin usually suggests a (more expensive) holiday abroad.. Sharon Romm notes the same phenomenon her study titled “Beauty through history – the changing ideal” elaborating on how the beauty ideals are changing and adjusting constantly, following the transformations undergoing in each society and reflecting their structure of power as well. Quoting the beauty editor of Vogue at the time, Andrea Robinson, she explains how today the ideal, pursued look is the “obvious look of health” (p. xxx) She explains how this phenomenon started around the 1960’s in Europe, emphasizing healthy, nutritious food choices, sports and having a fit body through icons such as Jane Fonda and disseminated through media outlets such as the above mentioned Vogue magazines (Romm, 1987).. 14. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(22) As a counterargument for the mainstream Western idea of beauty Romm also argued that – already 30 years ago when that article was published- “striking and distinctive faces” were appearing in the fashion and beauty industry, suggesting that there is no one look that is beautiful, making both the editors and consumers more tolerant towards a more diverse idea of what a beautiful face might look like. Yet again, she emphasizes that there is a reason behind the beauty standards and the changes in them over time, explaining how they are following the social structures and lifestyles of the society (Romm, 1987). An often cited study from 1994 also concluded that today there are multiple ideals of beauty present “reflecting the proliferation of lifestyles, cultures and ethnic groups” (Englis, Solomon & Ashmore, 1994, p.52.) in Western societies, which results from today’s globalization and the diversification of the society.. 政治大. 2.1.2.1.2. Physique and body type. 立. Another salient feature is physique. It is commonly known that in both Western and. ‧ 國. 學. Eastern societies there is currently a very thin ideal, as Millard’s above cited study describes it as well, and as we can see simply by looking at advertisement from the mass media from. ‧. either Western or Eastern countries. As Knobloch-Westerwick also concludes the results of a. y. Nat. content analysis of magazines: “female models who are thin and conform to cultural standards. er. io. sit. of beauty dominate media portrayals” (Knobloch-Westerwick, 2015, p.1090). At least concerning Western women, a slim and fit body has an even deeper meaning –. n. al. i n U. v. because genetically a skinny stature is not as common for women in the West as it is for those. Ch. engchi. from Asia. Therefore most of the times Western women have to work really hard, put in a lot of time, energy and effort to reach their goal body, thus looking fit also symbolizes the health and discipline of the woman, which makes the look even more attractive (Millard, 2009). Furthermore, nowadays in the 21st century, in contrast to decades and centuries ago, when food shortage was a common problem in Europe, being fat or overweight suggests poor health conditions and lower economic status, while a slender and fit figure has become an indicator for wealth or at least a relatively higher economic spending (Toselli, Rinaldo & GualdiRusso, 2016). Citing previous research study results Monteath and McCabe write that since the standard and pursued body type, which is supported in the West is thin, ectomorph; strong negative stereotypes are common for overweight people and fat bodies, suggesting that someone with 15. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(23) excess body fat is simply bad. As a result, they add, studies showed that higher Body Mass Index (BMI) values typically result in higher body dissatisfaction (Monteath & McCabe, 1997). It is interesting to note that this slim body ideal is disseminated through the media such as magazines saliently more to women than to men: citing Andersen and DiDomenico’s 1992 study Monteath and McCabe point out that in a study examining popular magazines it was found that articles concerning body weight and topics related to it (such as diet, weight management, etc.) were found 10.5 times more in women’s magazines than in men’s, concluding that this is one of the main reasons why women in the West are so prone to chasing a thin body ideal (Monteath & McCabe, 1997).. 治政 modern ideal of female beauty results in “a schema 大 that integrates three fundamental components: idealization of 立 slenderness and leanness, an irrational fear of fat, and a As quoting the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology Chris Lowe also writes, this. ‧ 國. 學. conviction that weight and shape are central determinants of one’s identity.” (Lowe, 2017, emphasis added) The statement of this modern experience underlines the enormous –and. ‧. often negative- effect and significance these thin body ideals have on Western women.. y. Nat. Studies –not surprisingly- have also proven that as a result of these ideals, body. sit. dissatisfaction is a common problem that concerns many women in the West, suggesting that. er. io. “feeling fat is an everyday part of life; consequently, many women turn to chronic dieting as a. al. n. v i n Cashthe body shape that showed that what women perceived e n g c h i U society expects from women to have turned out to be even slimmer than what they personally expected from themselves,. solution” (Monteath & McCabe, 1997, p. 710). A study conducted by Monteath and McCabe. although they did realize they were extreme and as a result their personal ideals were somewhere between this perceived societal ideal and their realistic current body (Monteath & McCabe, 1997). However, due to the changing society’s effects on the beauty and body ideals, this extremely slim standard seems to be changing now. Quoting a beauty pageant organizer Balogun writes that since even the Western girls cannot fit into these extreme body ideals, might they be average girls or even runway models and beauty queens, we can see even these women in the spotlight “becoming bigger, with rounder butts”, signifying the change in both the Western and global/international standards for the perfect body (Balogun, 2012). 16. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(24) 2.1.2.2.. East Asian beauty ideal. As Hungarian culture and beauty ideals are just one mode of the broader Western culture, further shaped by unique experiences and interactions with other countries, the Taiwanese culture and ideas of beauty also only constitute one variation of Easter Asian culture and beauty. Furthermore, while Hungary is located in Europe surrounded by other European regional players only, Taiwan is located in East Asia and thus will not only have to interpret and make sense of the certain Western influences culturally, but also of other East Asian powers as well, making it a unique case different from other East Asian countries. Therefore although there are certain similarities to the East Asian stereotypical, general ideas about beauty, which are going to be discussed below, Taiwanese will still interpret the impact of. 政治大. both the Western and Asian global cultural powers differently regarding beauty ideals – the discussion of which the currently existing literature lacks, and which therefore this present. 立. 學. ‧ 國. research aims to explore.. 2.1.2.2.1. Skin tone and face. ‧. As opposed to the West, people in East Asian countries such as Taiwan favor pale, white porcelain skin, which, as mentioned above, goes back to the ideals hundreds years ago (Li,. y. Nat. sit. Min, Belk, Kimura, Bahl, 2008). At those times, wealthy women who didn’t need to go and. al. er. io. work out on the fields had a much whiter skin than their poor, working counterparts – thus in. n. East Asian cultures, pale, white skin represents wealth and an upper class lifestyle and has. Ch. i n U. v. become the desirable look. The logic behind the Eastern and the previously mentioned. engchi. Western perceptions is really similar, however while the Western ideal reflects the modern lifestyle, the Eastern ideal reaches back to the lives of people centuries ago. Regarding the look of the face, the lately hugely popular surgery trends and numerous studies researching this phenomenon have showed that women in East Asia, being fixated on the Western ideas of beauty and their ‘exotic’ look, presumably prefer a more Westernized face and look to their own, nature-given Asian characteristics. Rosemary Righter writes about how Asian women are willing to purposely ‘Westernize’ their faces – including altering their natural almond-like eye shapes and aiming for a foreigner-like 高鼻子 (Gāo bízi; meaning high nose) (Righter, 2003; Tomb, 2010). This phenomenon is not quite surprising, considering that as Grosse also stated, reviewing previous studies there has been a change in 17. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(25) the values of East Asian and in particular Taiwanese people, from traditional to a more liberal, Western-like approach (Grosse, 2016). 2.1.2.2.2. Physique and body type A research study conducted by Crittenden in 1991 showed that Taiwanese young women were respecting and looking up to traditional Asian ideals such as feminine modesty, delicacy and discreetness. The author explained it with cultural reasons as these Taiwanese women were seemingly conforming to traditional Chinese cultural values as well as the gender stereotypes this culture and their society were exposing on them (Crittenden, 1991). It is also interesting to highlight that the focus regarding beauty might be also quite. 政治大. different in these certain cultures. Frith, Shaw and Cheng published a study where they conducted a cross-cultural analysis of women’s magazine advertising, comparing magazines. 立. from the U.S., Singapore and Taiwan and they found that while it was the body that was. ‧ 國. 學. mostly emphasized in the American magazines, their Asian counterparts had their focus rather on the face. The authors also cite previous studies that suggested that this might be due to. ‧. historical reasons: female figures have often appeared in Western art creations, since the. sit. Nat. human figures that were in focus. (Frith, Shaw & Cheng, 2005). y. beginning of time – however in Eastern, Chinese art it was mostly the nature and not certain. er. io. Furthermore, a research study examining sexuality and female role portrayal in Taiwanese. al. v i n C hcompared to the West in print advertisement in the country and to Taiwan before – which engchi U n. print ads also found that there is a decreased level of ‘physical innuendo and nudity patterns’. might yet again underline the focus regarding beauty and attractiveness not being on the female body –or at least retrieving from it- or as the author concludes: that modern Taiwanese women would like to escape the stereotypes of being property-like objects in a dominantly male society and thus would like to emphasize other than bodily characteristics in the pursuit of attractiveness (Lin, 2007). Even though the focus in East Asian and Taiwanese beauty standards might be or might have been on the face, having a fragile, slender, thin body ideal has been and is significant in this East Asian society and its traditions, independently from possible Western influences (Barnett, Keel, & Conoscenti, 2001). However, it is interesting to note that even though this ideal has been apparent for many decades and centuries it might be a recent development that 18. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(26) people place such significance on it, leading them to change their behaviors in order to conform to these ideals. A study written by Pike and Dunne in 2015 conducted about eating disorders that also inspects Taiwan points out that previous research results showed, that eating disorders –usually motivated by trying to conform to thin body ideals- did not use to be common around Taiwan – it is only nowadays that EDs are becoming more common, especially amongst the younger generations that are the most exposed to Western media and the pressure of the modern, Westernized consumerist culture (Pike & Dunne, 2015). Another research conducted in 2002 by Cachelin, Rebeck, Chung and Pelayo about the influence ethnicity might have on body size preference, also concluded that Asian women tend to be less dissatisfied with their own bodies, due to their current body size being closer to their ideal, than their Caucasian, Afro-American or Hispanic counterparts –which again. 政治大 facial characteristics rather than 立their body type, weight, etc. (Cachelin, Rebeck, Chung, & underlines that their focus of ideal beauty the determinant of their body image might be the. Pelayo, 2002).. ‧ 國. 學. 2.2. Cultural globalization and the convergence of beauty ideals. ‧. Globalization is a process that is and has been undeniably shaping many spheres of our. y. Nat. sit. lives for decades now: it influences the economic, social and cultural aspects of the lives of. al. er. io. modern persons. In this chapter we are going to take an in-depth look at what globalization is. n. commonly identified or confused with, namely cultural imperialism or Westernization and its. Ch. i n U. v. critiques; then actually elaborate on globalization itself, focusing on its cultural aspects. The. engchi. end of the chapter is going to discuss how globalization might form our use of modern communication technologies and how all that may shape one’s body image and perceived beauty ideals. 2.2.1. Cultural imperialism or Westernization and its critique A rather false but still to this day commonly used interpretation of the globalization processes is what we can call cultural imperialism or Westernization. The idea behind the concept is that it is the Western, mostly American capitalist consumerist culture that spreads all around the world due to the increased connectivity, the global telecommunication and the decreasing costs and difficulty of travel. John Tomlinson, a key author of cultural globalization also mentions how some Western scholars often theorize that globalization is 19. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(27) leading the world towards a uniform, global culture with the spread of the –already mentioned- Western, American capitalist culture will reach and take over every corner of the world, threatening all other, different cultures and traditions. However, in his work Tomlinson warns that ‘what globalization is clearly not doing, […] is effortlessly installing Western culture as global culture” (Tomlinson, 2012, p 356). As later Colin Sparks explains, the concepts of media and cultural imperialism actually emerged back in the 1970s and the most defining author on the topic was Herbert Schiller and his work from 1976 in which he defined cultural imperialism as: “…the sum of the processes by which a society is brought into the modern world system and how its dominating stratum is attracted, pressured, forced and sometimes. 政治大. bribed into shaping social institutions to correspond to, or even promote, the values. 立. and structures of the dominating centre of the system (Schiller, 1976, p. 9, emphasis. ‧ 國. 學. added).”. ‧. Sparks highlights that the conception Schiller outlines is very broad and shares the conceptual framework with the imperialism theory’s core and periphery model, placing the. y. Nat. sit. United States of America in the center. In his criticism of Schiller’s concept Sparks warns that. al. er. io. it neglects the importance of regional processes –giving the examples of television. n. production, pointing out how the television industries of South Korea or Japan has been. Ch. i n U. v. acting as serious drivers for regional markets in East Asia due to cultural proximity –which. engchi. we will mention and discuss again later on (Sparks, 2012).. Confirming the critiques of Tomlinson, Sparks also elaborates on how it is an irrational presumption and fear that this one specific Western/American culture would take over ‘single national cultures’ developing one unified global culture based on the values and structures of the American culture. He reminds the readers that “every existing society, even the most successful and developed modern states, exhibits plurality of cultures, very often themselves a combination of earlier influences from “outside”” (Sparks, 2012, p. 285) yet again reaffirming that it is not the case that there would be single national cultures threatened by and standing against the overwhelming American culture.. 20. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.

(28) 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. 政治大. will go under way, especially in the sphere of culture.. 立. 2.2.2. Cultural globalization, glocalization and cultural proximity. ‧ 國. 學. According to John Tomlinson, “globalization refers to the rapidly developing and everdensening network of interconnections and interdependencies that characterize material,. ‧. social, economic and cultural life in the modern world” (Tomlinson, 2012, p. 352). Tomlinson. y. Nat. states, that the cultural aspect of globalization “both has its effects and simultaneously is. sit. generated and shaped,” (Tomlinson, 2012, p. 355) explaining how this connectivity influences. n. al. er. io. culture and people not only on a global, but also on the local levels.. Ch. i n U. v. He explains how this connectivity, especially in the cultural sphere is due the newest. engchi. 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).. 21. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.002.2018.F05.