Globalization Unit Reflection
Analysis
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cultural/social technological/environmental political/economic
We used the ship and plane, which are well known ways to visit other countries, as symbols of globalization, to show that America is using globalization to reach other countries. All of the American trash is flowing to clean shores with the ship and the man representing USA that is shooting US ideas at the island is on the ship. Globalization is fueling this process. Other than “globalization”, we also had a label of “US Air Force”. This was mainly for clarity that USA was the one behind this. The gun is what was destroying everything that was traditional native to the country, but instead of bullets, it spews US politics, ideas and culture to show that America is taking away other cultures and is westernizing much of the world. It changes other lands for its use, like for labour or resources. We used a warship and the air force to convey the idea of war. War was our analogy to this situation; invading another country with not soldiers, but concepts and slowly taking over. All of these popular brands were coming in as well, and becoming more common faces around the world, as well as polluting. We decided to also criticize some American brands for polluting, as they use globalization for more business, ultimately using up more of the Earth’s resources. The people are helpless and don’t have any power to stop what is taking over their lands. Our cartoon mainly uses labels, symbolism, and analogy to give the message that USA is using globalization to make countries more like it; a message that is rather clear, making these ways effective.
The message of the cartoon is that globalization is what lets allows USA into other countries and change them. Globalization is the act of connecting to other countries; spreading many different things. But some countries can use this to their advantage. For example, our cartoon has the ship which brings the man (representing USA) who makes the countries heed to US ideas and destroys traditional homes is labeled globalization. The label conveys the message that globalization is fueling USA westernizing different parts of the world. It means that traditions and culture that used to be a big part of our lives is slowly disappearing. For example, there is a unique language called Silbo Gomero in the island La Gomera, but it is nearly extinct due to an English speaking boom in the 1900s. Many languages are unique and old, but when the Western English became so globalized, multiple became endangered and eventually extinct. Let’s take a big company like Coca-Cola. Coke cans were brought along into the countries by the ship in our cartoon. Coca-Cola harms the environment very much, and USA brings that along with them wherever they truly make a mark, so that increases the pollution in those specific countries. Finally, I live in Singapore. Singapore used to be a very traditional and farm-like place. After only about 50 years of trade with USA, it has already changed very drastically. It is the era of globalization at this point, and my home has been completely refurbished by bigger countries. Singapore’s population is mostly made out of people who came here for their jobs; I am one of them. There aren’t very many natives here anymore. My home is really different due to the largest countries coming on the ship of globalization and throwing their ideas into our minds and changing our systems. We as international students are a part of that change in globalization and it is affecting our lives as we know it.
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This unit has allowed my see the big impact globalization has on our world. Our lives are as they are because of the modernization of the world. In our modern era, globalization plays a huge role on many technologies, economics, culture and the environment, and as it becomes a bigger part of our lives, its impact will keep increasing.
Culture/Social globalization has effected us in big ways, some for the better and some for the worse. We, after seeing the beliefs of others, can change ourselves if we understand that something isn't quite right. For example, Western cultures are slowly accepting the LGBT communities by giving marriage rights. This globalization can helps people be more open minded to things that were previously frowned upon. However, dominant cultures can swallow smaller ones. Countries with a lot of economic power, like America, can be spreading their culture and endangering others. "Americanized" is what is happening to countries which are being taken over by globalization. I live on the other side of the planet, but my country has been "Americanized"! Singapore is a little cleaner, has a bit more culture and a little more diverse, but could so easily be an American state. As a country, Singapore has been developed by globalization and is fairly new, which is why the old, more Malaysian culture in Singapore is slowly fading away and being replaced by Western. Long ago, we only used to trade physical objects, but now we are trading ideas themselves, trading cultures, and communicating on issues around the world.
The economy has rapidly changed, with some countries having more economic power than ever before. This has allowed poverty to go down very much, because without globalization, 90% would still be in it. That's the shocking thing about globalization because what we couldn't do in over 500 years economically by ourselves, we achieved is less than 200 due to globalization. This opens up jobs for those who can't earn enough. For example, Apple's factory in China have employees from rural areas of the country. In those parts, people can't earn nearly has much money as in Apple, which is a good opportunity to send children for an education and break the poverty the cycle. But on the other hand, large corporations can cause local businesses to stop. As companies get bigger, they earn more and more money as well as fame, putting small shops out of business, destroying them. Globalization of economics allows the rich to get richer, but those with no chance to get poorer. Then the big companies give the poor a job so their family can be educated, so it comes back in a circle. If I were to go out in my own country and look for a family owned shop, I wouldn't find too many. Instead, I would find popular chains from around the world instead. The globalization of economics is bad and good, but has changed our world to a point that we have never been before.
Then, there is technological globalization. In my opinion, this is the most developed aspect of globalization. It has allowed to enter this world of smartphones, airplanes and medical equipment that saves lives around the world. The only thing we are trying to do now is improve these and integrate them into developing countries. As a student who lives in Singapore, millions of miles away from my homes around the world, technology and media has helped me communicate with my friends who I can't see in person, and is a good way for me to see the current events. Almost all countries have access to happenings in the rest of the world, and contact outside the country. This technology plays a part in cultural globalization, and without it, we would be far behind in communication. However, dominant cultures in media can manipulate what you see. Even though technology is a way to find different opinions, you can find a lot of bias too. Media can present to stereotypes nowadays, such as Indian people being nerds, Muslims being bad and etc. This can influence opinions and perspectives. A lot of cultures are not represented in media due to the dominant cultures, so a lot of people are very unaware of what is actually happening. In all though, technology has been expanding very fast and is a key factor in globalization.
As a kid exposed to many cultures, globalization has a huge impact on my life. I communicate with technology, am living in a country built on globalization and am living in a time where there is a war based on religion. Countries are embracing globalization; which could be good in some ways, but could be bad in other ways. Overall, Globalization has had a huge impact our world, and there is no changing that now. Globalization is going full speed ahead and will continue to change our world in ways we haven't yet imagined.
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