“The local is dead long live the global”
Assess the accuracy of this statement in terms of understandings of the globalising world presented in the texts you have studied
In recent times, rapid economic development and technological innovation has impelled dominant global ways of thinking. These impending forces deterritorialise the world and encourage the transfer of information and values over conventional boundaries of time and space. Consequently national boundaries decrease in significance and countries become more integrated and interdependent. Whilst this means that developing countries can access economic opportunities easier on the other hand they are also introduced to global capitalist values. Consumerism and economic prosperity …show more content…
Lost in Translation explores how two disillusioned westerners, Bob the fading Hollywood actor and Charlotte the Yale navigate the superficiality of their urban surroundings to seek a meaningful relationship between themselves and with their environment. The out of focus shot in the opening scene and close up shots of neon advertisements boards establishes the narrative in a disorientating setting. The advertisements proliferate images of luxury and transforms Tokyo from a permanent city into a fragmented assemble of urban spectacles. The once traditional city has become transformed into a global metropolis that is influenced by forces of commercialization, westernization and capitalism. Amidst this commercialised environment the individual has also become a commodity as portrayed by Bob’s dominating presence on the Suntory billboard. However Bob’s disillusioned reaction to this image of him amidst the electronic realm of the megacity as symbolised by the action of rubbing his eyes reveals that he is accustomed to this ‘hyper real image’. This theory coined by Jean Baudrillard explains why Bob’s interactions with the Japanese people are based on his commodifed self whilst his real self only appears in his meaningful interactions with …show more content…
Gavron examines the diaspora of Indians to the west and the consequent loss of culture as dominant global ways of thinking overshadows traditional values and customs. At the outset of the film, the Bangladeshi woman, Nazneen finds the west as alienating and unwelcoming as conveyed by the intruding noises of the London Streets and unwelcoming glares directed towards her in the opening scene. This perspective magnifies her sense of displacement and emphasises that she yearns for her family in her homeland. Yet as the movie progresses Nazneen’s costume changes, she starts from always appearing in her sari to gradually accustoming herself to western dress. This movement away from cultural dress emphasises her adaptation of western values yet she still yearns for familial connection. The voiceovers that recur through the film to her sister in Bangladesh reveals that despite her assimilation into the west Nazneen still deeply values local connections. Instead of choosing to use technology to communicate, her deliberate use of letters emphasises that she upholds traditional methods of communication. Whilst culture seems to be destroyed by globalisation, in Nazneen’s case her prioritisation of aspects of culture reflects Tomlin’s theory that “cultural identity is much more the product of globalisation than its victim”. Whilst she
Assess the accuracy of this statement in terms of understandings of the globalising world presented in the texts you have studied
In recent times, rapid economic development and technological innovation has impelled dominant global ways of thinking. These impending forces deterritorialise the world and encourage the transfer of information and values over conventional boundaries of time and space. Consequently national boundaries decrease in significance and countries become more integrated and interdependent. Whilst this means that developing countries can access economic opportunities easier on the other hand they are also introduced to global capitalist values. Consumerism and economic prosperity …show more content…
Lost in Translation explores how two disillusioned westerners, Bob the fading Hollywood actor and Charlotte the Yale navigate the superficiality of their urban surroundings to seek a meaningful relationship between themselves and with their environment. The out of focus shot in the opening scene and close up shots of neon advertisements boards establishes the narrative in a disorientating setting. The advertisements proliferate images of luxury and transforms Tokyo from a permanent city into a fragmented assemble of urban spectacles. The once traditional city has become transformed into a global metropolis that is influenced by forces of commercialization, westernization and capitalism. Amidst this commercialised environment the individual has also become a commodity as portrayed by Bob’s dominating presence on the Suntory billboard. However Bob’s disillusioned reaction to this image of him amidst the electronic realm of the megacity as symbolised by the action of rubbing his eyes reveals that he is accustomed to this ‘hyper real image’. This theory coined by Jean Baudrillard explains why Bob’s interactions with the Japanese people are based on his commodifed self whilst his real self only appears in his meaningful interactions with …show more content…
Gavron examines the diaspora of Indians to the west and the consequent loss of culture as dominant global ways of thinking overshadows traditional values and customs. At the outset of the film, the Bangladeshi woman, Nazneen finds the west as alienating and unwelcoming as conveyed by the intruding noises of the London Streets and unwelcoming glares directed towards her in the opening scene. This perspective magnifies her sense of displacement and emphasises that she yearns for her family in her homeland. Yet as the movie progresses Nazneen’s costume changes, she starts from always appearing in her sari to gradually accustoming herself to western dress. This movement away from cultural dress emphasises her adaptation of western values yet she still yearns for familial connection. The voiceovers that recur through the film to her sister in Bangladesh reveals that despite her assimilation into the west Nazneen still deeply values local connections. Instead of choosing to use technology to communicate, her deliberate use of letters emphasises that she upholds traditional methods of communication. Whilst culture seems to be destroyed by globalisation, in Nazneen’s case her prioritisation of aspects of culture reflects Tomlin’s theory that “cultural identity is much more the product of globalisation than its victim”. Whilst she