Lecture 6, Globalisation, Sustainability and The Media - notes

Socialist - unify the world, collective, cultural

Capitalist - expand territories

Cultural globalisation - homogenised, standard, unified 

'Mcdonaldisation' - George Ritzer 'society takes on the characteristics of the fast food restaurant.'

Marshall Mcluhan

• Idea of the 'global villiage
• Technology shrinks the world
• Technology is an extension of our senses 
• like radio is an extension of our ears etc.

Global Village Thesis

'more in touch with the world, more responsible' - slightly naive viewpoint, utopian.

Iraq front line - brought to our front rooms

Media - an extension of our minds?

Jihad vs Mcworld. - book based on a 1992 article.

 - war between the east and west, religion vs. secular state

- centripetal / centrifugal force - action-reaction force pair associated with circular motion

Problems of globalisation

   - removes state individuality, thus our identities

   - accountability

   - cultural imperialism and dominance, instead of a 'cultural rainbow' 

KEY THINKERS

• Schiller
• Chomsky 
• Imperialism through ways of thinking rather than physical strength.

Oligopolies (4/5 of these are in the USA)

Time Warner owns hundered of smaller outlets

 - media outlets owned by the same company will not have individual views.

- 'marketing importance'

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• Flow of American culture through out the world
•  can almost map this on physical imperialism of old.
• looking to America as our cultural leader...
• Schiller - 'social dominance through the spreading of Americanisation to countries that cannot afford it.'

Big Brother example...

Skin Lightening example...

 - the world seeks to be the same. but to an American model.

Manufacturing Consent - Herman & Chomsky 1988 

- Mass propaganda, seeking to turn the world into the same American model.

- Propaganda Model

Oligops - media for profit, news in particular - capitalist.

Sourcing - news reports are in the interest of the west.. as thats where the news reporters are?

FLAK

- negative responses to news stories

- pay offs

- bribes

- falsely manufactured science! (GCC Example, covered up)

Anti Ideologies  - Anti-ideologies exploit public fear and hatred of groups that pose a potential threat, either real, exaggerated, or imagined.

e.g. - the environmental protestors attacked and labeled 'eco-terrorists' 

Al Gore's - An Inconvenient Truth... sensationalist.

- current argument as to wether or not this film should be shown in the U.S as part of their national curriculum. 

Gordon Brown - "Flat Earthers"

• Jim Inhofe
• Nigel Lawson - "wouldn't be too bad if the world warmed up"

Flak Video - counter sustainability attack.

nuclear power? a green solution?

- money as an exchange for pollution... buying air space from less privileged countries.

Sustainability - buzzword since 1987

Sustainability under capitalism

example..

• Biofuels...
• renewable
• clean
• more expensive
• morally unsound...
• BIOX
• Hamilton ghetto
• built in a designated green space
• tremors destroyed houses
• chemical releases 

Capitalist project to 'solve the worlds problems' , but cause more problems than then solve.

GREENWASHING.

- A company who presents an eco-friendly image, though doesn't necessarily back this up. 

Mcdonalds green logo example

Ford 'Eco-boost' example

Kimberly Clark 'natural nappies' example

Environmentalism

 - Al Gore - reforming...

 - a solution within capitalism

Ecologism 

- Almost a communist view

- belief in a new system..

Victor Papanek - ‘Most things are designed not for the needs of the people but for the needs of manufacturers to sell to people’ (Papanek, 1983:46) Design for the Real Word

Shepard Fairey  - manifesto - http://obeygiant.com/about