glow ball is a shun

Globalization, to put it simply, is the process of increasing worldwide interconnectedness economically, culturally, and politically. While many people are talking about it in recent years like it JUST began happening, it can be argued that globalization began when Columbus first set foot in the West Indies, or really even before that. Personally, I believe globalization is just an increase in communication among diverse members all over the world, usually due to economic reasons. As the world's businesses and economies interconnect, communication among members of different nationalities, races, and cultures increases.


This of course has its advantages and disadvantages. Globalization can make us more unified, yes, but is that always a good thing? Is this process making us into one homogenized culture? Since the United States (imperialistically called "America") is a worldwide superpower due to its high standard of living and once-upon-a-time thriving economic market, it can also be considered a perpetrator of cultural imperialism. The easiest example of this is McDonald's - a company that essentially embodies what America is about - can be seen next to the Great Wall of China, the Eiffel Tower, or the Sphinx. It has no boundaries. If we were to find life on Mars and colonize the planet, there would, no doubt, be large golden arches dominating the landscape.


About 10 years ago when I went on a vacation to India, my cousins all had asked us to bring them Gap T-shirts, Adidas jackets, and baseball caps with names of teams they could care less about. These were simply for appearance purposes - to be 'cool,' you wanted to look wealthy and branded (pun unintended) like an American. However, things have changed in India since then. They don't look to this country as an idol anymore, but  as competition. 

Let's just say this was one of the more modest
photos out of the selection.

An NYTimes op-ed describes another example of American influence on Indian soil. The article is about how the Washington Redskins' Cheerleaders are coming to India to help hold auditions for a cheerleaders for an Indian cricket team. The author, Tunku Varadarjan, a professor at the NYU Business School, goes on to say: 

"All this, however, pales when compared to the broader lessons. With the Redskins cheerleaders on Indian soil, one can safely declare that the British cultural influence in India has been entirely replaced by an American one, cricket notwithstanding. India’s relationship with the United States — economic, strategic, diasporic and cultural — is now its primary external alliance, with a complex nuclear deal at one end of the spectrum and 12 cheerleaders and two choreographers at the other."

This quote perfectly describes cultural imperialism - usually the Western, more established countries have influenced the developing nations rather than having a balanced exchange of ideas and goods. If you look at Bollywood movies, the heavy influence of American culture is apparent over time. The music has changed from being softer, acoustic sounds to electronic, synthesizing sounds with rappers; the women (and men) bare a lot more skin and they actually...dare I say it...kiss! I feel like I'm rambling. I'll end it here. END.