Reader Response

In 'Globalization of Culture Through the Media' (2002), Kraidy attempts to evaluate the different perspectives of globalization, namely cultural imperialism and hybridization through media. He describes the first school of thought, cultural imperialism, to be one where Western nations are exerting their dominance by exporting their ideas through the media to developing countries. He then explores the second school of thought, cultural hybridization, to be one where the phenomenon of localization that adapts the imported ideas to one’s own culture inherently relinquishes developing countries from Western domination. He then comes to the conclusion that cultures around the world inherently amalgamate imported cultures with their own, and transnational mass media only exacerbate this process.

I agree with Kriady’s view that mass media act as an accelerant to hybridization instead of being the root cause of it. This can be illustrated in the example of the 2011 Social Media uprising that occurred in Egypt. The Egyptian’s dissatisfaction with the incumbent authoritative regime was already set in motion over the decades. However, social media, like Facebook and Twitter, was the spark that provided protestors with the means for the movement. Protestors were able to round up activist within Egypt and spread their message worldwide. Hence, the Egyptians’ desire for liberation from the oppressive regime was a longstanding internal predicament rather than an instant reaction brought upon by transnational media.

On the other hand, I feel that Kraidy has generalized the extent of hybridity as he fails to address that not all aspects of imported cultures are localized. This can be seen in Singapore where many partake in the celebration of Valentine’s Day and Halloween, which are of Western origins. Also, with the accessibility to American television and films in Singapore, there is a percentage of Singaporeans, predominantly the youth, who subscribe to Western cultures wholesale. For instance, there are those who embrace and identify with the Western culture they subscribe to, via transnational media, over their own. Personally, transnational mass media has provided me the platform in which I acquired Western ideologies such as the notion of freedom. This has led me to discredit the culture I was brought up in as I deem it to be infringing on the notion of freedom.  Therefore, the pervasiveness of localization is at best questionable when considering the population in its entirety.

(386 Words)

References

Kraidy, M. M. (2002). Globalization of Culture Through the Media. Retrieved from http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1333&context=asc_papers