Lesson 1: Global Media

Cultures
Presented by Group 3
1 SEDS - A
In this lesson, we will learn about the role of media as an important tool
in the spread of cultures globally. Before reading the discussion, take
time to read the following key words related to this lesson:

 Audience Studies is a broad and multifaceted area of communication

research. It encompasses a wide range of theoretical perspectives, as well
as a diversity of methodological approaches, that all share a concern with
understanding how and why audiences engage with media, and the
broader political, cultural, and economic implications of the media–
audience relationship.

 Communication Network is the pattern of directions in which information

flows in the organization. Channels of communication (networks by which
information flows) are either formal networks or informal networks.
 Cultural imperialism is the imposition by one usually politically or
economically dominant community of various aspects of its own culture
onto another non dominant community. It is a form of imperialism in
that the imposing community forcefully extends the authority of its
way of life over the other population by either transforming or
replacing aspects of the non dominant community’s culture.
 Cultural products are goods and services that include the arts
(performing arts, visual arts, architecture), heritage conservation
(museums, galleries, libraries), the cultural industries (written media,
broadcasting, film, recording)
 Cyberghetto the equivalent of a ghetto in cyberspace; a place on the
Internet etc. where a social group is marginalized.
 Hegemony the social, cultural, ideological, or economic influence
exerted by a dominant group.
 Social Structures are the internal institutionalized relationships built up
by persons living within a group (such as a family or community) especially
with regard to the hierarchical organization of status and to the rules and
principles regulating behavior.
 Splinternet this is a word made up of “split” and “internet”. It refers to
the balkanization of the internet, one that is fragmented and divided as a
result of technology, commerce, politics, nationalism, religion and
particular interests.
DISCUSSION:
 Globalization relies on media as its main instrument for the spread of
global culture and ideas. There is a close relationship between
globalization and media which must be revealed to further understand the
contemporary world.
A. Media and Its Functions

 Dr. Jack Lule, professor of global studies and professor and chair of
journalism and communication at Lehigh University, describes media as a
“means of conveying something, such as a channel of communication .”
For media commentators, “media” refer to technologies of mass
communication.
 The human speech is the oldest and most enduring of all media; this is
referred to as oral communication. Meanwhile, script is the very first
writing that allowed humans to communicate and share knowledge and
ideas over much larger spaces and across much longer times. Printing
press started the information revolution and transformed markets, 3
businesses, nations, schools, churches, governments, armies and more.
 In 1979, Elizabeth Einstein surveyed the many profound influences of the
printing press . These influences include the preservation and
standardization of knowledge and the challenge of political and religious
authority. Newer forms of media include electronic and digital media.

 While it is relatively easy to define the term “media,” it is more difficult to

determine what media do and how they affect societies.
 Marshall McLuhan, media theorist asserted the famous line –“the medium is
the message.” The statement tries to draw attention to how media reform
societies as a form of technology. The media used to convey a message in
itself influence how people live.
 Since the introduction of the television in the 1960s,it steered people
from the dining table where they eat and tell stories to each other. The
television is not a simple channel of communication; it changed viewer’s
social behavior and family behavior.
 McLuhan also asserted that the various forms of new media extend
human senses and dumb them at the same time. New media may have
increased the extent of communication but they also dull the
communicative capacities of humans.
 This is the same case in the use of cellular phones. Though they expand
people’s senses because they provide the capability to communicate to
more people instantly at the same time, they also limit human senses
because they make users easily distracted and more prone to multi-
tasking. This is not necessarily a bad thing; it is merely a social change
with a trade-off. (Abinales and Claudio, 2018)
B. Global Media Cultures and the Global Village

 The media have a very important impact on cultural globalization in two

mutually interdependent ways. First, the media provide an extensive
transnational transmission of cultural products and second, they
contribute to the formation of communication networks and social
structures.
 Global media cultures create a continuous cultural exchange, in which
crucial aspects such as identity, nationality, religion, behavioral norms
and way of life are continuously questioned and challenged.
 McLuhan analyzed the social changes brought about by electronic media,
particularly, television. He declared that the television was turning the
world into a “global village.’ This concept was regarded by Marshall
McLuhan as a phenomenon that connected the world.
 As more people watch the TV, they gradually perceived the world as a
smaller community. Global media has the tendency to homogenize
culture. As global media spread, people from all over the world would
begin to watch, listen to, and read the same things.
 However, Lewis Mumford thought that media technology was instead used
as a tool for capitalism, militarism, profit and power.(Steger et. al, 2014).

 Commentators believed that media globalization coupled with American

hegemony would create a form of cultural imperialism whereby American
values and culture would overwhelm all others.
 Herbert Schiller, media critic, argued that not only was
the world being Americanized, but this process also led to
the spread of “American” capitalist values like
consumerism. Meanwhile, John Tomlinson, considered
cultural globalization as simply a euphemism for “Western
cultural imperialism” since it promotes “homogenized,
Westernized, consumer culture.” (Abinales and Claudio,
2018)C
C. Cultural Imperialism through Media

 In the 1980’s, media scholars began to pay attention to the ways in

which audiences understood and interpreted media messages. The field
of audience studies emphasizes that media consumers are active
participants in the meaning-making process, who view media “texts” (in
media studies, a “text” simply refers to the content of any medium)
through their own cultural lenses.

 In1990, Elihu Katz and Tamar Liebes argued that “texts” are received
differently by varied interpretive communities because they derived
different meanings and pleasures from these texts.
 Apart from the challenge of audience studies, the cultural imperialism
thesis has been contradicted by the renewed strength of regional trends
in the globalization process. Asian culture, for example, has proliferated
worldwide through the globalization of media.

 Given these patterns, it is no longer acceptable to insist that globalization

is a unidirectional process of foreign cultures overwhelming local ones.
 Nevertheless, it leaves room for dynamism and cultural change. This is
not a contradiction; it is merely a testament to the phenomenon’s
complexity. (Abinales and Claudio, 2018)
F. Social Media and the Creation of Cyberghettos
 The internet and the social media are proving that the globalization of
culture and ideas can move in different directions. As with all new
media, social media have both beneficial and negative effects.
 Anyone with an internet connection or a smart phone can use Facebook
and Twitter for free. These media have enabled users to be consumers
and producers of information simultaneously.(Abinales and Claudio,
2018)
 However, social media also have their dark side. In the early 2000s,
commentators began referring to the emergence of a splinternet and
the phenomenon of cyberbalkanization to refer to the various bubbles
people place themselves in when they are online. As such, being on
Facebook can resemble living in an echo chamber, which enforces
one’s existing beliefs and opinions. This echo chamber precludes users
from listening to or reading opinions and information that challenge
their viewpoints, thus, making more partisan and closed-minded.
(Abinales and Claudio, 2018).
Summary of the Lesson
 Media is the primary tool of globalization in the contemporary world. For
media experts, “media” refer to technologies of mass
communication.
 These include traditional media such as oral communication through
human speech, script and printing press and newer forms of media
such as electronic and digital media.
 The media used to convey a message in itself influence how people
live.McLuhan also asserted that the various forms of new media
extend human senses and dumb them at the same time.
 The media have a very important impact on cultural globalization in
two mutually interdependent ways.
 The field of audience studies emphasizes that media consumers are
active participants in the meaning-making process, who view media
“texts” (in media studies, a “text” simply refers to the content of any
medium) through their own cultural lenses. Apart
 The field of audience studies emphasizes that media consumers are
active participants in the meaning-making process, who view media
“texts” (in media studies, a “text” simply refers to the content of
any medium) through their own cultural lenses.

 In the early 2000s, commentators began referring to the emergence

of a splinternet and the phenomenon of cyberbalkanization to refer
to the various bubbles people place themselves in when they are
online. This echo chamber precludes users from listening to or
reading opinions and information that challenge their viewpoints,
thus, making more partisan and closed-minded.
END OF TOPIC
THANK YOU!