Читать книгу Essentials of Sociology - George Ritzer - Страница 117

Many have the strong view that what affects global culture most of all is cultural imperialism, or the imposition of at least aspects of one dominant culture on other cultures (Inglis 2017; Tomlinson 1999). Cultural imperialism tends to undermine, even destroy, local cultures. For example, there is a long tradition in India of professional letter writers, men who place themselves in prominent locations (e.g., near train stations) and offer their services writing letters for poor, illiterate migrants. Many of these letter writers are able to survive on the pittance they are paid for each letter. However, the adoption of elements of Western culture—the cell phone, texting, and so on—is rendering the professional letter writers, and the cultural traditions associated with them, obsolete.

There is certainly a great deal of cultural imperialism in the world today, much of it associated with the United States (Crothers 2018; Kuisel 1993). The process of Americanization includes the importation by other countries of a variety of cultural elements—products, images, technologies, practices, norms, values, and behaviors—closely associated with the United States. One example is the American movie industry: The popularity of American movies around the world has decimated the film industries of many countries, including Great Britain and France. (India is one exception, with its thriving Bollywood productions, including the 2009 Academy Award winner for Best Picture, Slumdog Millionaire [Rizvi 2012].) Another successful U.S. cultural export is Americans’ taste for food, especially fast food and the way in which it is eaten (quickly, with one’s hands, standing up or in the car). McDonald’s is a prime example, but another of note is Starbucks (Simon 2009), which has been surprisingly successful in exporting its model of large, slowly consumed cups of coffee. In contrast, in France and Italy and other countries, the historic preference has been for tiny cups of espresso quickly consumed (although the first Starbucks opened in Italy in 2018). There are now more than 28,000 Starbucks stores located around the world, in more than 70 countries.

Cultural imperialism certainly exists, but it would be wrong to overestimate its power. Local cultures can be quite resilient. Not all cultures suffer the fate of French movie producers and Indian sari makers and letter writers. Consider the following:

 The powerful process of Americanization is often countered by anti-Americanism, which is an aversion to the United States in general, as well as to the influence of its culture abroad (Huntington 1996; O’Connor and Griffiths 2005).

 Many cultures—Chinese and Islamic cultures, for example—have long, even ancient, histories. These cultures have resisted at least some impositions from other cultures for centuries. They are likely to continue to resist changes that threaten their basic values and beliefs.

 Local cultures modify inputs and impositions from other cultures by integrating them with local realities and in the process produce cultural hybrids that combine elements of both (Nederveen Pieterse 2015). Hybridization occurs when, for instance, British people watch Asian rap performed by a South American in a London club owned by a Saudi Arabian; another example is the Dutch watching Moroccan women engage in Thai boxing. In the fast-food realm, McDonald’s sells such hybrid foods as McChicken Korma Naan, which caters to those in Great Britain who have developed a taste for Indian food (including the many Indians who live there); McLaks, a grilled salmon sandwich served in Norway; and McHuevos, a hamburger with a poached egg served in Uruguay.

Thus, cultural imperialism needs to be examined in the context of the counterreactions to it, counterflows from elsewhere in the world, and the combination of global and local influences to produce unique cultural elements.