The Role of Festival in Building a Sense of Community...

The idea of culture and festival often go hand in hand. Festival in a sense is a way for a particular group to establish public awareness of, and a way to maintain a social, religious, or ethnic groups individuality. Festivals can range from promoting the arts and music to culture and religion, in any circumstance, however, the festival essentially works as a way of bringing communities of people together. Whether this means people from within the specific community or outsiders hoping to grasp some introspect on the way a certain social group lives, acts, and creates the purpose of the festival is to essentially bring those with common interests and viewpoints together in an opportunity to exchange ideas and build relationships. As there was such a great emphasis this past week on the history and role of Diasporas within the international communications framework it is only appropriate that an investigation into the role of festival in maintaining the connectedness of both Diasporic and other communities be analyzed.

Being raised in Kitchener Waterloo I from an early age became accustom to the happenings surrounding thanksgiving weekend every October. Specifically, the Oktoberfest festival is to what I refer. Being a largely German diasporic community Kitchener celebrates its prominent German heritage over a two week period of music, dance, costume, food, and most notably beer. The festival includes a parade, several concerts and huge venues dedicated solely to the traditional German style cuisine and beer drinking. It essentially provides a space wherein people of the German heritage in particular can gather in celebration of their German culture, although the festival is by no means restricted to those of German heritage. Rather, the festival works as a way of bringing people together in high spirits for the sake of community.

In running with this notion of bringing people together I want to mention a festival particularly close to my heart. As a volunteer at the Hillside festival in Guelph over the last three years I have grown to love and deeply respect that which the organizers so graciously achieve year after year. Held at Guelph Lake conservation area on an island connected to the mainland by a narrow causeway, the festival is renowned for its artistic lineup of musicians, a flavourful blend of up-and-coming Canadian performers, world artists, and local talent. The program is always richly diverse and highly entertaining. While music is the focus, the Hillside experience also includes: spoken word, aboriginal circles, an international food pavilion, healing arts workshops, childrens activities and events, drum circles, and environmental expos just to name a few. The eclectic experiences met and the bonds formed during this three day festival can only truly be understood by those who have experienced it firsthand. As a hint of what the festival means to me however I can easily say that Hillside leaves festivalgoers with a feeling that they have been part of something magical. There is certainly something to be said of the liberal, open minded, and socially aware mindset that seems to be present in virtually everyone you meet at the festival. Although the music can be seen as the primary draw I propose that it is the feeling of what Victor Turner would describe as communitas that really keeps people coming back. That is the intense community spirit, the feeling of great social equality , solidarity, and togetherness.

If a festival such as Hillside having no specific religious or ethnic ties has the power to create such a welcoming and stimulating environment for people from all races, religions, and social classes then there in no doubt left in my mind that culture specific festivals have an even more profound effect. The case of the Yiddish music festival as it was cited in class could be a prime example of a festival having an even more intense effect leaving the festivalgoer with the sense of community and belonging that may not be present in their everyday lives. In any case the idea of festival provides one with opportunities that may otherwise not be met, and it is this potential of communitas that draws people to and thus enhances the festival and cultural experience.

Ravi Shankar and World Music...

Perhaps pivotal to a discussion of world music and its accompanying cross-cultural and cross-border flow of creative ideas is the mention of Indian Classical Satirist Ravi Shankar. For many listeners, Indian classical music is synonymous with the name Ravi Shankar. From the 1960s to the present, this sitarist and composer has captured the imagination of fans across the globe not just as a self-contained artist but also as an ambassador for Indian music and culture more broadly (Murphy, 2008). Often being referred to as the ‘godfather of world music,’ the 1960s saw Shankar become an icon in Europe and America. This popularity was spurred by such memorable appearances as his performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and at Woodstock in 1969 (Murphy, 2008). Crucial for the purposes of studying the global processes of stylistic hybridization and revitalization in music is the fact that during the late 1960s and early 1970s, Shankar was increasingly interested in writing music that bridged the European and Indian classical music traditions.

With this in mind one might begin to question, what is it about Indian music or the sound of Ravi Shankar in particular that drew the ‘pop’ crowds of North American and Europe? Also, how much of Indian music’s influence and popularity can be attributed to the interest shown in the sound of Ravi Shankar by George Harrison? And what implications did the Beatles borrowing of Indian themes have on the idea of world music?

Apart from a sense of perspective, Indian music has the ability to teach Western musicians many practical lessons. One prominent example as cited by (Murphy 2008) is that leading Indian musicians have a particularly heightened rhythmic sense. Rather than being constrained by bar-lines they have a system of talas or rhythmic cycles. On a basic level studying Indian rhythmic cycles hones a Western musician’s sense of the passage of time. As the rhythmic skills involved are likely to be complex, this study facilitates concentration on the here and now. Indian skills are noted to tighten up the concentration on the moment and enhance rhythmic accuracy to a remarkable degree (Murphy, 2008).

Aside from these notable attributes that classical Indian music has the ability to bring to the Western musician one may choose to focus for the purposes of a case study on the influence Ravi Shankar had on the Beatles, which in turn have had an unprecedented influence on music, culture, and record sales for the better part of the last 40 years. George Harrison essentially created a fusion between the Western and the Indian music and musical instruments. After learning the sitar from Ravi Shankar, George Harrison included the instrument in several songs most notably however were Norwegian Wood-being the fist Beatles song to include the sitar and Within you and With Out You- from the 1967 landmark record Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band (Making the Album, 2008). These deviations from the traditional rock and roll band formula created a fusion of Western and Eastern music, essentially borrowing form the Indian Eastern tradition and further promoting the world music scene. But does this fusion imply that the Western pop group was stealing from an Eastern tradition or rather that a commercial desire for authentic musical elsewhere’s was being met. This question remains unanswered, however it can be generalized that in either case the fusion of these different types of music brought the Sitar and Ravi Shankar into the mainstream of western music. Essentially, the utilization of eastern music types by the Beatles opened up the door to a whole new market wherein “world music” could make a rather easy transition on to the Western scene.

In the words of Ravi Shankar, “Fusion music will get stronger and stronger in the days ahead. It is one thing, which I always felt, was bound to happen. It is known by several names the world over like World Music, New Age Music, etc. The future belongs to fusion music” (Murphy, 2008). As an example of this fusion I urge you to take a look at the video post below depicting George Harrison taking a sitar Lesson from Ravi Shankar himself.

Sources:
Murphy, David. “Influences: Ravi Shankar” David Murphy Conducts. http://www.davidmurphyconducts.org/?page_id=7 accessed 2 April, 2008.

“Making the Album- Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band” The Beatles.com http://www.beatles.com/sgtpepper/ accessed 2 April, 2008.

Pang in Relation to the Fight for Fair Copyright in Canada

The United States is both the leader of world cinema and the owner of global copyright, not only the copyright of products but also the discourse of copyright itself. As copyright discourse becomes an American diplomatic tool, the United States as a nation and Hollywood as a culture industry composed mainly of transnational corporations are conflated into one single monolithic power that defines what copyright consists of (Pang, 135). While reading the Pang article, “Copying Kill Bill,” I was struck by the array of inconsistencies regarding what indeed constitutes copyright infringement. Further, I was able to relate the idea of a US-centric copyright policy to occurrences in the Canadian Government and a new proposed copyright amendment.

Unlike the situation in Hollywood, the increasing global popularity of Hong Kong cinema has not led Hong Kong’s major studios, such as Shaw, to seek more copyright of their works.
According to Shaw the only legal copyright case they have ever launched took place in 1971, when its major rival Golden Harvest produced the film The Blind Swordsman Meets his Equal. Apparently this film infringed on Shaw’s earlier box office hit One-Armed Swordsman (Pang, 136). The irony in this situation, however, lies in the fact that the one-armed swordsman is so frequently seen in the Tarantino film Kill Bill that it almost becomes a parody. Arguably, Tarantino is consciously using and stealing the image and the symbolization of the one-armed swordsman for his own film, which to Shaw should be as “guilty” as Golden Harvest’s borrowing was thirty years ago (Pang, 136). But, rather, the reference to Shaw films in Kill Bill, a major Hollywood production is read as an honor instead of an infringement. This emphasizes the often underlying assumption that Hollywood productions are superior in terms of creativity and in the legal sense. It is thus only Hong Kong plagiarizing Hollywood and never vice versa, a notion that follows with the idea of U.S.-centric copyright discourse, wherein the United States is always portrayed as the victim (Pang, 136). Hollywood is essentially seen as a trustworthy enterprise, and one that would not steal ideas, however if they ever did it would be seen more as an honour than a breech of copyright.

In running with the idea of US-centric copyright discourse one may wish to turn their attentions to the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) and how this United States Copyright law is affecting Canadians. In December 2007, it became apparent that the Canadian government was about to introduce new copyright legislation that would have been what has been labelled a “complete sell-out to U.S. government and lobbyist demands”(Geist, 2008) The new Canadian legislation was to have mirrored the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act with strong anti-circumvention legislation that goes far beyond what is needed to comply with the World Intellectual Property Organization's Internet treaties. Moreover, it was not going to address the issues that concern millions of Canadians. For example, the Conservatives' promise to eliminate the private copying levy was to be abandoned. There was essentially no flexible fair dealing, no time shifting exception, no device shifting exception, and no expanded backup provision, nothing that focuses on the concerns of ordinary Canadians (Geist, 2008).

The following clip emphasizes in greater detail than I could ever tell the imperative nature of the DMCA issue in Canada. As Canadians we are often forced to defend ourselves in the face of the ever looming possibility of becoming culturally indistinguishable from our neighbours to the South. We so easily seem to fall victim to propositions and Bills being initiated not for our Canadian national purposes, but rather the Capitalistic ambitions of the United States. Just like the SPP puts power into the hand of corporate interests rather than Canadian, US, or Mexican citizens the implementation of a DMCA in Canada would put the power into the hands of those corporations producing music or software for example instead of in the hands of Canadian law. The video puts this into further perspective as well as suggesting possible outlets for activism within this field. Enjoy!!!

Sources:
Geist, Michael. “The Fight for Fair Copyright in Canada.” Michael Geist Blog March 31, 2008. http://www.michaelgeist.ca/
Pang, Laikwan (2005). ‘Copying Kill Bill’. Social Text, 23 (2): 133-153.

Rwanda: A Look at Media Dependency...

For some one hundred days in the spring and summer of 1994, millions of Rwandans witnessed, participated in, and lived through a nationwide campaign of human extermination. As it was mentioned by the presenting group in class age, gender, and occupation were no criteria in the massacres. Rather, in hundreds of villages across Rwanda, where previously two ethnic groups had intermingled socially and coexisted peacefully for the last several decades, ordinary people were picking up machetes and killing their neighbours. Although I cannot claim to ever know the realities to this disturbing event it was made clear in the presentation that the Rwandan media have been accused of inciting the hatred that lead to the violence by using an ethnic framework to report on what was essentially a political struggle. Thus, I hope to expand on this notion by looking particularly at how this atrocity was in many ways regulated and perpetuated by the government controlled Rwandan media, most specifically the government controlled radio RTML, or Radio-Television Libre des Mille Collines.

In following with this notion one is forced to ask, under what circumstances can and do media play an exceptionally powerful and heinous role? And to what extent can media incite panic leading to genocide? In trying to answer such questions one may turn to the idea of media dependency.

As in any case, fear, anger, and anxiety are potent emotions that can lead to panic and civil disobedience. Essentially, the use of radio in Rwanda contributed to this panic by reaching large populations of Rwandans simultaneously, and often in crowd settings. In rural areas in particular, the effect of low literacy and the use of radio on a widespread level had the ability to exercise major influence (Darryl, 12). It is this potential to consolidate ideas that the RTML took advantage of in its hateful and malicious radio broadcasts. While investigating this within the framework of a media dependency theory we can assume that, life in complex industrialized societies requires increased dependency on mass media’s role in disseminating information (Thussu, 50). In fact, many studies have documented and examined the heightened dependency on media during times of political or economic crisis or uncertainty. McQuail (1994) theorized that actual effects may be greater in periods of instability. This can clearly be seen in the Rwandan example wherein people become more reliant on mass media for information and guidance; people may come to know of the crucial events only through media; and media are more influential in matters outside the realm of personal experience (Darryl, 16). In the case of Rwanda, political tensions had come to a head, the country was on the verge of breakdown, and people essentially became slaves to the information being broadcast over the radio.

Additionally, of pivotal importance is the concept that due to strong traditions of hierarchy and authoritarianism, brought on by colonizing practices, the likelihood of blind obedience to the orders of officials on the radio is no doubt higher than in nations lacking a history of colonizing practices. It is thus with this knowledge of high rote obedience characteristics that government radio essentially took on the responsibility and power of interpreting the world for its people (Darryl, 17). In other words, the government used radio as an agenda setting and framing tool wherein the messages conveyed to the public were put forth in a manner seen as suitable to those in politically powerful positions. Although it is impossible for me to say precisely what extent media propaganda contributed to the genocide, it can be theorized that Radio (RTML) broadcasts assisted in the annihilation of between 500, 000 and 1, 000, 000 Rwandans during the genocide leading one to believe that a theory of media dependency is no doubt of great significance when looking at technologically mediated crisis in the developing world.

Sources:

L.I., Darryl. “Echoes of Violence: Considerations on Radio and Genocide in Rwanda.” Journal of Genocide research Vol6, Issue 1 (2004): 9-27.

Thussu, Daya Kishan. “International Communication: Continuity and Change,” Oxford University Press, London 2006.

The SPP: A Threat to Canadian Soverignty...

According to the group presentation on the Security and Prosperity Council (SPP), this organization was the result of a collaborative effort between the heads of Mexico, the United States and Canada in March of 2005. The main objective of this newly formed group being, to increase security and prosperity among these nations, and build upon existent established relationships such as; The North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Canadian/United States Boarder declaration and the Canadian/Mexican partnership (class presentation, March 4, 2008). The SPP claims to build upon existent relationships by offering a somewhat diplomatic, cooperative and flexible forum to discuss, collaborate and examine issues affecting the security and prosperity of Canadians, Americans and Mexicans. Also, Under the SPP Security Agenda, there are ten goals and corresponding working groups that deal with topics as far reaching as Traveler Security and Border Facilitation to Law Enforcement strategies, and Intelligence Cooperation( class presentation, March 4, 2008).

After conducting some further research on the topic I began to question how an organization such as the SPP indeed infringes on Canadian Sovereignty, and further, who the real beneficiaries of such an agreement are? According to Jack Layton and the NDP’s, under the SPP, Canada will have less and less ability to adopt independent and sustainable economic, social, cultural and environmental policies. Meaning that, in the long run, this could have a lethal effect on Canadian public programs such as universal healthcare and public education (www.ndp.ca/stopthespp).

Another key issue surrounding the SPP is that the talks have all gone on behind closed doors where even elected MPs have been kept out of the discussions. Though the extent of the SPP agenda has largely been kept secret, it is known to involve over 300 policy areas that seem to stretch far beyond the realm of security and economic prosperity, and enter into much more shaky territory, including pesticide use, food safety, civil liberties, human rights, and environmental protection, as well as oversight from Washington in particular, over security decisions and energy policy.

Being a patriotic Canadian, the mere concept of a Security and Prosperity Partnership appears fundamentally bizarre and above all, uncanadian in my eyes. As a nation, Canada has been built upon, and thus prospered under the principles of equity, democracy, and in particular, sovereignty, especially from the likes of our Southern neighbors. Judging by the majority of the world’s hatred oriented towards the United States foreign policies, imperialistic practices, and most importantly, their military regime, it has been in these recent times of uncertainty that I have remained proud in my countries sovereignty and our decisions to stay out of hostile military situations such as Iraq.

According to a Global Research study of Canada’s sovereignty and the militarization of North America, there is something perhaps even more fundamental in defining and understanding where Canada and Canadians stand as a nation. Namely, that by endorsing a Canada-US "integration" in the spheres of defense, homeland security, police and intelligence as the SPP affirms, Canada would become a full fledged member of George W. Bush's "Coalition of the Willing", meaning that Canada would directly participate, through integrated military command structures, in the US war agenda in Central Asia and the Middle East (www.globalresearch.ca...).

With this integration comes the threat of Canada no longer having an independent foreign policy, and thus losing our sovereignty as a nation quite separate from the much disputed US policies. In the end it is essential that Canadians themselves have a say in the agreements their Government signs, and the SPP is a sad case wherein the greater public interest has been pushed aside in order to cater to big business and the often imperialistic and unjust policies of the United States. As a Canadian not in support of US policies ranging from security to foreign trade my only hope is that, as this issue is being debated in parliament, Canada eventually overturns its agreement to join the SPP before we see the integration of Canada and the US as one.

Sources:
Chossudovsky, Michel. “Canada's Sovereignty in Jeopardy: the Militarization of North America.” Centre for Research on Globalization. August 17, 2007.

“Standing up for Canada by challenging the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP)” NDP website. http://www.ndp.ca/stopthespp.

Primordialism: Is a Revision Neccessary?

We live in an age today in which so much depends upon our strong sense of global community, and yet so many of our problems trace back to how weak this unifying sense is. This theme is obviously most tragic when it appears in the form genocide, ethnic cleansings, and other manifestations of the deadly politics of identity. After our discussion in class during the Rwandan Genocide presentation I began to question how indeed an ethnoscape or rather the politics of identity can lead to implications surrounding the primordialist thesis as discussed by Appadurai.

According to Appadurai the greatest barrier to being able to map the interaction of disjunctive flows is a widespread attachment to primordialism. But what is really meant by primordialism? Is it simply the idea that culture and identity are rooted in, often unconscious, sentiments of belonging to a primary group, wherein a collective identity is based on conceptions of shared geography, ethnicity, or language?(lecture, Feb. 26, 2008)) Or is it something far more complex or specific having to do with strong ties a particular group has, based not on the unconscious, but rather, continually reinforced ideas of belonging, being a direct result of the current globalized media?

There is no doubt that breaking the vicious political cycle of ethnic or religious identity determining ones worth, or appropriate place in the world, is difficult. But it is possible. As it was mentioned in class, Rwanda and now Darfur are prime examples of missed opportunities for intervention. Breaking this destructive ethnocentric cycle is necessary for many tangible reasons, as these conflicts both feed into, and perpetuate other conflicts, including the current panic surrounding terrorism.

Arguably, it was the relatively autonomous developments of large and aggressive social formations in the Americas and Kingdoms of Africa and the overlapping of Eurocolonial worlds that set the basis for a permanent traffic of ideas of peoplehood and selfhood, which created the imagined communities of recent nationalism throughout the world (Appaurai, 28). With this idea in mind it is easy to draw a link between colonial possession and rule over a country, such as the Belgians in Rwanda, and a paradox of constructed primordialisms, namely the European constructed ethnicities of the Hutu’s and Tootsies. So what then, can be done to reverse the implications of the times past? And furthermore how can we theorize about the world within this primordialist view?

It is true after all that many policymakers, as we saw in the case of Rwanda, take the primordialist view of these conflicts, viewing them as the playing out of histories of fixed, inherited, deeply antagonistic group identities. In trying to make sense of this ethnic strife however, while history shapes, it does not necessarily determine conflicts nearly to the extent posited in such theories. A number of studies, for example, have shown that ethnic identities are much less fixed over time and that the frequency and intensity of ethnic conflict vary more than primordialist theory would have it (www.harvardir.org...). In the example discussed in class, the Tutsi and Hutus of Rwanda never really thought of themselves as being very different from each other prior to the European colonization of this county. With this simple fact in mind, can we move towards a new kind of primordialist theory, that is not based so much on specific ethnicity or language, but one wherein the implications of our increasingly globalized world starts to play a more pivotal role? My assumption is yes, not only because of the theoretical significance that this change would prompt, but also that it may prevent further tragedies from happening by way of a more modern look at current ethnoscapes and thus the reasons for ethnic conflict.

Sources:
Appadurai, A. “Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy.” Modernity at Large:Cultural Dimensions of Globalization, University of Minnesota, 1996.

Jentleson, Bruce W. “A Responsibility to Protect: the Defining Challenge for Global Community.” Ethnic Conflict, Vol. 28 (4) winter 2007.<>.

Bollywood and the Effects of Cultural Imperialism...

Trade liberalization and economic growth have given more people than ever before the means to become consumers of media entertainment. The rising literacy levels in developing nations and access to Western (meaning mostly American) entertainment offerings no doubt play a significant role in creating media consumers that are more demanding in terms of their traditional cultural and entertainment industries. With these notions in mind, I seek to propose that, cultural imperialism is indeed a viable and extremely useful theoretical model in analyzing the relationship between American cultural production and the rest of the world.

Out of this model important questions begin to emerge: What are the implications of Western media globalization for indigenous cultures in developing countries? What kind of influence, is Western media globalization having on indigenous media industries? And finally, in this age of media globalization, are there any indications that cultural influences may be taking place both ways – between the East and the West – rather than only from the West to the East? If so, do these counter-flows really challenge cultural imperialism?

The expansion of democracy and economic liberalization in the last two decades especially, has no doubt unleashed unparalleled Western cultural influences around the world. Biggins (2004) says that globalization, with an adverse advocacy through the media, has brought in a “landslide transformation of existing local culture and identity into a new form of culture with no frontier” (www.razonypalabra.org...). With this in mind I wish to address the Bollywood film industry in India, and more importantly how this industry reflects the globalization of media imagery, making it an almost cultural clone of the Western vision of life

According to Schiller, Cultural imperialism occurs with the Western countries’ influence on the language, values and attitudes, including religion, ways of organizing public life, styles of politics, clothing styles, and many other cultural habits (Thussu, 48). Thus, when considering this definition, perhaps a most compelling example of this is the incorporation of the Hollywood production formula seeming to consist of themes of sex, violence and alcohol in Bollywood films.

India’s movie industry, which turns out more than 800 feature films a year compared to about 250 produced by Hollywood annually, is the largest in the world. However, in recent years, movie theater attendance has fallen substantially because the industry’s traditional song-and-dance storylines and hokey treatment of love scenes has not produced big hits. As a result, the Bollywood film industry has started to deal openly with sex and show generous doses of skin in an attempt to draw audiences. For example, Agence-France Presse reported that the biggest grossing film in 2003 was “Jism” (Body), which tells the story of a woman who is unapologetic about using her sexuality to persuade her lover to kill her rich husband. "The success of Jism showed that Indians are no longer ashamed of watching a steamy scene in a full house," said leading filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, who wrote the film's screenplay. Bhatt said the film reflected a change in the mindset of the Indian viewer (www.razonypalabra.org...).

Now, what can one make of situations like this, can we truly attribute this change of direction in film to the Western ideas of what constitutes entertainment? I say yes, not only because of the correlation seen between increased flow of Western cultural products and the change in Indian film having a role in this change, but also because of what I have seen through personal experience. While visiting India this past summer I was stunned by some of the mere advertisements I came across. In a culture where I had to pay special attention to dress, not showing any skin above the knee or the elbow I was stunned to see scantily dressed models of a much fairer complexion than is characteristic of this part of the world, grazing the billboards of down town Calcutta. It was evident that the advertisements were indeed a reflection of the luxuries and way of life that are displayed through western ads, film, and television, rather than that which is characteristic of India.

With this in mind, what then can we say of the counter-flow of culture, and does this flow of east to west really challenge any notions of western society? With a projected movie market that is essentially larger than that of Europe and maybe even North American some day soon, how long will Hollywood remain immune to these Asian influences on its own style of filmmaking? My instincts lead me to believe that within the next 20 years one can expect to see a huge change in the production of Hollywood films, not because of a genuine desire to move towards the Asian style of movie making, but perhaps as an attempt to simply infiltrate the Asian movie market as these populations become more economically powerful and influential in the world arena. So really, this reverse flow of culture is in no way near the point of challenging cultural imperialism, and rather stands as a further developing and expansion point of Western media.


Rampal, Kuldip. “Cultural Imperialism or Economic Necessity? The Hollywood Factor.” Razon Y Palaba.< http://www.razonypalabra.org.mx/anteriores/n43/krampal.html>

Thussu, Daya Kishan. “International Communication: Continuity and Change,” Oxford University Press, London 2006.

Disney, Motion Pictures, and Cultural Imperialism...

The idea of cultural imperialism expressed in film has no doubt been an issue at the forefront of cultural imperialism debates for a long time, but it was not until reading the Cartwright and Goldfarb article on Disney’s health education films in Latin America, that I was able to come to terms with the idea that this kind of cultural imperialism was taking place at the hands of everyone’s favorite mouse. I suppose this idea was never very far from reach, but my inner child and subsequent attachments to some of my favorite films and childhood memories were simply drowning out the possibility that those who brought you wholesome classic films such as, Beauty and the Beast and the Lion King could take part in such nonsensical practices. On the other hand however, one could easily argue that these practices did not so much consist of unethical or imperialistic messages, as they did promote and teach those in seemingly primitive rural circumstances about the importance of sanitation and cleanliness in suppressing a whole slew of preventable illnesses.

According to the most basic dictionary definition of the term, cultural imperialism is the imposition of a foreign viewpoint or civilization on a particular culture or people. With this definition in mind, there is no doubt that the actions Disney took between the years 1942- 1945 in its production of educational shorts for Latin America were indeed the epitome of what we know to be culturally imperialistic practices. The Disney educationals were part of a joint effort by Disney studios and the US government to, “ …Teach the fundamentals of social science free from religious or political influence”(Cartwright and Goldfarb, 170). However, far from teaching free of cultural influence or bias, these films manage to fix intently on the private bodies and domestic lives of the subjects these films and constitute a discrete set of colonialist imaginings and desires. Essentially, the families in the films are characterized as innately lazy and ignorant, thus the Latin American subjects and families are held individually responsible for their own states of disease and poverty, as opposed to addressing the real issues which included a lack of sufficient infrastructure and development on the part of these nations own governments. The strategy used in these shorts are no doubt pedagogically linked to an association of illness and poverty with particular bodily “customs,” where as health and prosperity are linked with Western scientific standards of hygiene.

When drawing an a specific example of , “When Cleanliness Brings Health,” it was stealthily demonstrated when comparing the clean family to the dirty family that many of the characteristics of the clean family were indeed reflections of middle class America. The clean family for example, had an abundance of multi-colour dishes sitting on a shelf, plenty of food, smiling faces, and a hard working nuclear family. The dirty family on the other hand were shown in ripped worn clothing, cooking on the floor, their faces covered, and the family appeared very sad with slow moving darker animation. In a sense these cartoons were indeed a good way of disguising imperialism because it made the films in a sense, more playful and less offensive. This format also allowed for the hiding of “shameful faces” and the use of the large animated hand reaching in and correcting things that the dirty family did wrong. It was almost as if there was some kind of metaphorical control in use, where someone bigger was needed to reach in and help correct what was being done wrong. According to Whitney, “…moving pictures constitute one of the best mediums to foster understanding and more friendly relations between peoples.”(Cartwright and Goldfarb, 173)

In thinking about the many factors that surround issues of cultural imperialism I can not help but think back to a separate and no less crooked example where in 1946 America again utilized motion pictures to aid jointly in justification of evacuation and downplaying the dangers of nuclear testing and the future wellbeing of the people of Bikini Atoll in French Polynesia. As the narrator states, “Bikini Atoll, a dot on the map of the mid-Pacific, was destined to become a focal point for the eyes of the world!” (Trupp, 104). This film made it look as if these people were nomadic thus pleased to be helping out their Friends in America, when in reality they were being forcibly displaced.

Essentially, in its Latin American oriented productions, Disney promoted health along the lines of a merit system structure where health rewards labour, and illness is a punishment for laziness. While the entertainment films of the time were regarded as an important part of winning the attention of the popular audiences, the educationals were a more overt means of controlling and conforming political views, as well as individual and community cultural practices across Latin American cultures (Cartwright and Goldfarb, 177). Aside from this though, a critic such as myself may be forced to ask, what were some of the benefits of these educational shorts? Was there a marked improvement in health and wellness? And although these films were made under a less than noble pretense of economic and political influence did the benefits of the so called “soft power” outweigh the costs in any way?

Whatever the answers may be in terms of improving the lives of those which the Disney films touched, I am reluctant to give in and say that “Soft Power” is really soft at all. Instead I propose that, the shorts produced by Disney were the epitome of culturally imperialistic films with an ulterior motive than promoting the wellbeing of those they were made for, and were instead critically harmful to the opinion of self which Latin Americans held.

Sources:
Cartwright, L. and Golgfarb, B. “Disney Discourse: Producing the Magic Kingdom.” Routledge, 1994.
Trupp, P. “Rings of Fire.” Sea of Dreamers: Travels with Famous Ocean Explorers. Fulcrum Publishing, 1998.

This is an example of one of the videos on momentofyouth.org, where Jon addresses issue surrounding the environment and who holds the responsibility to address these issues, us or the Government?


Issues in Canadian Politics - The Environment from Moment of YOUth on Vimeo.

Week # 3- A Way to learn More...

Last weeks readings in the Thussu text no doubt shone a light on issues which we as communications students seem to be dealing with non-stop. Some of these issues include the ever expanding and intensification of the global communications industry. It is no secret that media organizations both in Canada and abroad have been moving towards both vertical (ownership of different stages of production/distribution) and horizontal integration (ownership of formerly competing producers and distributors) processes. But who is to blame for the furthering concentration of our media sources? Is it the big conglomerates striving for monopolies and unbound control? Or our Government, for failing to put an end to the expansion of international agreements which weaken state control over the telecommunications industry? Or rather is it no fault but our own for lacking in the initiative or willingness to step in and really put an effective end to the homogenization of our culture? Is the expansion of the TNC- transnational corporation essentially allowing the big name media companies like Newscorp put a cap on what we are, seen as being “privileged,” enough to know about.

According to Thussu, TNC’s possess the following characteristics...

1) Co-ordination and control over various stages of individual production chains within & between different countries
2) Ability to take advantage of geographical differences in the distribution of factors of production (resources, capital, labour) and in state policies (taxes, trade barriers, subsidies)
3) Geographical flexibility: to switch resources and operations between locations at an international scale. (Thussu, 96)

So really, if a TNC encompasses all of these essentially powerful characteristics that so easily put them into a large profit making and heavily influential category, why do so many of them, like CNN or Fox News for example, cut back , skimp out, or report in a biased manner on the reportage of issues of key importance. With the least foreign correspondents out of any major competing news corporation, why is it that as Americans and Canadians for that matter, we such a huge proportion of us turn to them when faced with the question of which news broadcast to watch? We know the CBC is a more reliable news source, after al l it is publically funded. So why the toss up?

It is true that CNN is readily available in so many places all over the world, but what is the cost of this increased access. I vouch to say that a decrease in quality no doubt accompanies the increased access and ‘infotainment’ reputation this particular news corporation possesses.

So, if these kinds of issues seem to be flooding the mainstream , in communications policy at least, my question becomes, What kinds of initiatives need to be taken to inform the public on the issues that may not be covered by mainstream directionally motivated news corporations. Particularly, what can be done to help inform and inspire the youth of a particular nation to get involved, and read between the lines of what they are being told?

A simple answer in terms of Canada in particular, may be right under our noses in the medium of online communities such as momentofyouth.org. This online forum possesses so many of the qualities that serve to inspire and inform the youth of today. Here, there are several videos, or “vimeos” as the creator calls them, done in a kind of knock off of Rick Mercer, bold statement, and audience questioning style. There are videos and accompanying forums discussing a variety of topics having to do with Canadian society, its politics, and key issues of debate that so many young people may not either know about or lack a clear understanding of. The creator, Jon Gallager a PhD. candidate at the University of Waterloo, does a great job of addressing issues such as the environment, the political spectrum, the minimum wage, crime, and poverty. It is through addressing these broad issues that he also touches on aspects of globalization and corporate/ governmental control of our public industries, things that are absolutely vital to know about when hoping to gain some kind of educated perspective on international communication. So although momentofyouth.org has not yet addressed the issue of concentration of media ownership, for example, this site is no doubt on well on its way to further developing its ideas and remaining a strong resource for those Canadians , particularly youth, who want to know more than what they are simply being told by mainstream media sources.

Sources:

http://www.momentofyouth.org/discussion/index.php?board=3.0

Thussu, Daya Kishan. “International Communication: Continuity and Change,” Oxford University Press, London 2006.

A language with many traits....

This video provides a brief synopsis of the development and characteristics of this international language. Watch it if you want to learn more about Esperanto's origins and benefits of the language. Enjoy!!!

Esperanto and the International Community....

Last class we spent a considerable amount of time discussing what indeed constituted a nation state, as well as how this entity may affect and further perpetuate international communication and global politics. Traditionally, a nation state is seen as a specific form of state, which exists to provide a sovereign territory for a particular nation. As it was discussed in class, the state is a political entity while the nation is more of a cultural and or ethnic entity. When successfully implemented, such as the case of Portugal or Iceland for example, this implies that the citizens share a common language, culture, and values (Miriam-Webster Online- www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary...).

According to Thussu it was the rise of modern nationalisms and the expansion of European colonial empires that played a significant role in the modern creation of nation states. With the expansion of European influence in the 19th century and the growing effects of free market capitalism, attempts at monopolizing the global communication industry were easily satisfied through the expansion of shipping, railway, and telegraphy systems (Thussu, 3). Essentially, modern nations as they began to emerge in the 18th and 19th centuries were fundamentally new types of human community involving a unified geography, a unified temporality, as well as a unified vernacular language- which prior to this time was unheard of (Thussu, 3). It is from this point specifically, that I wish to address a topic which was not mentioned in the readings, but nonetheless has the potential to contribute significantly to the study and more importantly, progression of international communication.

It is evident that, as a result of Britains predominance in the industrial revolution of the 19th century, the English language has dominated as “the international language.” But why is it that English is all the rage? Why is there a higher demand for English teachers than any other kind of language teacher? Is it because English is simply a superior language? Easier to learn? Structurally distinguished? I think not. Rather, it has been the preferred language of the last two superpowers (the United States and Britain), and it is because of their dominant influence over the global economy, politics, and society that this language is the chosen elite. Personally, I can see many flaws in this logic, and as such wish to discuss the true international language of Esperanto.

Esperanto is a language not of any particular country or ethnic group, rather it is a neutral, international language created by L.L. Zamenhof on the notion of fostering a worldwide community of peace and international understanding (www.esperanto.ca/kurso/). Esperanto is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language and is most useful for constructing neutral communication. This means that communication through Esperanto does not give advantages to the members of any particular people or culture, but provides an ethos of equality of rights, tolerance and true internationalism. There is even evidence that learning Esperanto may provide a good foundation for learning languages in general, and various educators have estimated that Esperanto can be learned in anywhere from one quarter to one twentieth the amount of time required for other languages (www.esperanto.ca/kurso/). With its vocabulary stemming from germanic and Romance languages, and its phonology from Slavic languages, it is evident that Esperanto makes an effort to incorporate a wide array of language families in its creation and evolution.

I realize that there are many flaws and possible counter-arguments to the idea of a consciously constructed language such as Esperanto being the dominant medium of international communication, but the ideology behind the concept is nonetheless intriguing. Essentially, it provides all speakers with an equal ground on which to communicate, leaving no room for linguistic advantages such as that with native English speakers in the international arena. With this in mind I seek to propose the idea of a common language such as Esperanto alleviating further monopolization of the communication industry, and simultaneously further perpetuating a truly international community of peace and understanding as being entirely possible.

This video is pretty self explainatory, but manages to provide a view into the reality this global economy imposes on the developing world.

Week #1- The Propaganda Model and Gramsci's Conception of Hegemony

After class on Tuesday the idea of globalization encompassing so many working definitions was definitely the most important idea pulled from our seminar. Although I did the readings and have encountered this idea of globalization several times before it was not until this class that I actually had the chance to break down and analyze the main competing theories of globalization in such a detailed and critical manner. In layman’s terms, the idea of globalization can essentially be described as a process by which the people of the world are unified into a single society. This process is described as encompassing a combination of economic, technological, sociocultural and political forces.

Appropriately, we devoted much time to picking apart and thoroughly understanding perspectives on globalization such as modernization theory, dependency theory, and theories of the information society. Although I found the explanations and criticisms of such theories to greatly contribute to my working definition of globalization I was somewhat disgruntled by the amount of time devoted in the text to the notion of hegemony , especially how it relates to the mass media being an instrument of propaganda. As it was briefly suggested in chapter 2, Chomsky and Herman’s propaganda model examine how news in mainstream US media systems pass through several filters, including the size, ownership, and profit orientation of media firms. The heavy reliance of news corporations on advertising and dependence on business and governmental sources for information, in a way interact with and reinforce the ideas of Gramsci.

Essentially, Gramsci’s conception of hegemony is rooted in the notion that the dominant social group in a society has the capacity to exercise intellectual and moral direction over society at large, and to build a new system of social alliances to support its aims. In other words, the most effective way of wielding power is to build consent by ideological control of cultural production and distribution ie. the media. These ideas seem to fit perfectly with Herman and Chomsky’s propaganda model as a way of explaining the political function of the mass media in propagating and maintaining the dominant ideology of the select group in power. Thus, it can be argued that, although the media here in Canada for example, are free from direct government control, they nevertheless act as agents to legitimize the chosen dominant ideology. So the next time you feel unsatisfied with your preferred news reportage corporations coverage ask yourself this… What feeds into this hegemonic cycle and what alternative methods can you take to find the stories you really want to hear about?