Future gazing... cultural homogenisation

It is without doubt that globalisation has become a constant in our lives. I have Irish parents, relatives who are Iranian, Italian and French. I have friends who are Swiss, French, Chinese, Malasian, Italian, Greek, Russian, Spanish, English, German, Pakistani and American. In Australia we are so accepting of others differences (except for perhaps Muslims, but that's another story) that you hardly notice the fact that many people come from somewhere else. For many Australians it is difficult to treat cultural homogenisation as a threat.

Historically, there have been many cultural encounters which have occurred repeatedly throughout the world. Because of these previous cultural encounters, most forms of culture in todays world are, to varying extents, hybrid cultures. From a utopian perspective, I would like to think we can look forward to a world where we are free to live our lives and practice our own culture in whichever way we choose without fear, prejudice or sanction. Culture is certainly not a fixed entity. Culture is constantly adapting and changing relative to the translation of cultural industry goods. Burgeoning technology based diasporic communities are a prime example of how we can freely engage in cultural practices via technology. This demonstrates how improvements in technology have maintained, developed and expanded strong and healthy cultural practices.

Looking to the future, I envisage that as third world countries become 'connected' to the outside world via technology, the process of information exchange will be the key to their development and improvement. India and China are the first of these countries to 'emerge' from the desperation of third world poverty and deprivation. I argue that throughout this process of development and improvement the transmission of culture will not be homogeneous. Instead I argue that the translation of culture involves a certain degree of human agency.

Cultural translation is not the same from one person to the next. It cannot be predicted from one culture to the next. For example, a McDonalds Big Mac in Moscow is regarded as a luxury item. In fact, the wealthy diners are willing to pay surrogates a small fortune to wait in line and deliver the Big Mac to their car. In Australia MaDonalds is often referred to as Maccas, echoing the familiarity of many other colloqualisms such as Johnno, Bazza and Gabba (Duncum 2001). What one society translates will not be the same as another. This varying range of cultural translation will continue to provide diversity, color, richness and ultimately heterogeneity.

With the advancement of technology, I can imagine a future where online diasporic communities transcend the place of cultural engagement one step further. Virtual diasporic communities will develop giving people the ability to walk around their homelands and perhaps even their hometowns as they were at a given point in time. Imagine, a new immigrant, being able to log on to a site where they can create an avatar, or better still, jump into a virtual reality suit, and 'go back home' for a holiday, converse in their own language, discuss the local news and events and perhaps even talk to people they know, all in the street where they were raised.

CyberHomeland Travel Abroad - Your virtual homeland travel agency!

The reality of war, or the reality TV of war!!

This poor Lebanese woman below has come home (3 times and in 3 different locations) to find that her home has been bombed. Perhaps she's just an extremely wealthy woman who had 3 homes. A more likely scenario is that she is keen to pick up a few dollars from the cameraman in return for a bit of staged wailing. The Reuters Photo fraud site has some classic examples of photo misrepresentation. How 'real' are the war images we are viewing?

Photo 1 caption - A Lebanese woman wails after looking at the wreckage of her apartment, in a building that was demolished by the Israeli attacks in southern Beirut July 22, 2006

Photo 2 caption - A Lebanese woman reacts at the destruction after she came to inspect her house in the suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Aug. 5, 2006

Photo 3 - Again the Wailing Woman comes home only to find her third Beirut apartment destroyed.

Another example of photo 'doctoring' is the following front page picture on U.S News.

Photo 1 caption - A Hezbollah gunman with his AK 47 at a fire caused by an explosion in Kfarshima, near Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 17, 2006. The story claims the fire is the result of an Israeli military aircraft crashing to he ground. The reality of the fire is nothing more than tyres burning in a garbage dump. The gunman holding his weapon was merely for dramatic effect.

The photographer who took this image was sleep-deprived and hungry, feeling the strain of weeks in a war zone. He'd already filed dozens of strong photographs, but under pressure to produce something that would stand out from the competition, he made a fateful choice: He digitally altered one of his pictures to make it more compelling.

Experts say the trend is fueled by a range of factors. Growing pressure in newsrooms to compete with a growing array of media outlets may tempt photographers to push ethical boundaries and editors to sacrifice scrutiny for speed. New and widely available Photoshop technology has also created something of a slippery slope. Nearly all news photographs undergo some form of digital alteration these days.

The Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media December 2005 has a story on war content analysis of ABC NBC CBS CNN. Embedded journalists were more favourable in overall tone and employed more episodic framing. Episodic framing depicts concrete events that illustrate issues, while thematic framing presents collective or general evidence with some general context. For a full and complete picture we really need some general context, especially when comprehending the complexities of war. The war in Iraq has an unprecedented number of embedded journalists. Approximately 600 reporters are embedded on the front line. The journalist is 'attached' to the Department of Defence and therefore becomes biased. This study found that journalists developed a feeling of camaraderie, developing close personal relationships with the military personnel and become fully integrated into military command structures. The report found that embedded journalists were more favourable towards the governments position on the war and twice as likely to represent the Iraqi people as welcoming the invasion than as suspicious or hostile of the war.

Original Photos

'Doctored' photo

There are four methods of photographic misrepresentation.

1. Digitally manipulating images after the photographs have been taken.

2. Photographing staged scenes and presenting the images as if they were of authentic spontaneous news events.

3. Photographers themselves staging scenes or moving objects, and presenting photos of the set-ups as if they were naturally occurring.

4. Giving false or misleading captions to otherwise real photos that were taken at a different time or place.

Unmanned cameras are responsible for a lot of misrepresentation as they provide images without context. What is happening outside the frame? Nobody will every know!

What we see today is a 'slice of the war'. This particularlised perspective is only a small piece and does not represent the complexities of what the war is really about. Perhaps today we are merely capable of absorbing slices not complete stories involving context. We are conditioned to accept a reality TV version of life and this is reflected in all aspects of our experiences... war included.

Diaspora: A scattering of 'human' seeds

The word 'diaspora' is derived from the Greek diaspeirein, which suggests the scattering of seeds. However, there is ongoing debate about what 'dispora' actually denotes. Dispora is commonly defined as human dispersals abroad... a human seed scattering.

Australia is the pre-eminent diaspaoric community with 40% of its population born outside Australia, or at least on parent born outside Australia. In 1947 the Australian population was 7.6 million of which only 9.8% were overseas-born. Of these, 90% were from Great Britain or Ireland. This large percentage is representative of the White Australia policy of this time. According to the 1991 Census, 24% of Australia's population were immigrants and 40% were born overseas or had one parent born overseas. This large increase reflects the abolition of the White Australia policy and the creation of a much wider immigration policy.

My adoptive parents immigrated from Northern Ireland in the 1950s (although my genetic lineage is 7th generation Australian). However, due to socialisation and indoctrination processes I still retain strong memories and images of Irish culture, Irish songs, Irish food, Irish religion (staunchly protestant), Irish sayings, Irish jokes, Irish ancestry, friendships with predominantly Irish people (although the occasional Scot or Brit was OK). As a child I had a very broad Irish accent and I remember when I first attended primary school, the other children had trouble understanding me. As far as anyone was concerned I was an Irish child. Even today, I still retain a strong Irish cultural identity and regard myself, at least partially, as the product of Irish decent. My early socialisation certainly makes for an interesting reflection on childhood socialisation and biological determinism.

As an 'Irish' child growing up in the 60's I recall a plethora of British shows which, I am sure, helped new immigrants feel 'at home' (We certainly watched all of them!) Today, however, technology has made communication easy and available to maintain links to homelands. There is television (particuarly the SBS which was created for immigrants and dedicated to promoting multiculturalism), movies, radio, video, email, online usenets, online religion, YouTube, blogs etc. The ability to remain culturally connected to the homeland is easier than ever.

We human beings are very tribal in nature. We feel comfortable in like minded groups. Perhaps this is why diasporic communities retain strong links with the cultural roots rather than trying to adopt and embrace the culture of their new country. Loneliness and isolation are no longer a problem when moving away from your homeland. We maintain ties via new technologies that enable members of disasporas to engage in their cultural heritage, albeit a hyperreal cyberspace version.

There are concerns that globalisation and disasporic dispersion throughout the world will bring about homogenisation and effectively dilute culture. This idea is discussed by Larry Strelitz in Where the Global Meets the Local: Media Studies and the Myth of Cultural Homogenization. The views of Douglas Kellner, known as 'media.cultural imperialism thesis' are discussed by Strelitz and and are defined as a "global culture, with the hallmarks of homogenisation and convergence is obliterating local cultures, creating in its wake the mirrors of American consumer society." Strelitz argues that globalisation has had a positive effect on other cultures and points to the fact that most forms of culture in the world today are the result of historic cultural encounters and are therefore hybrid cultures.

So, is globalisation good or bad? In our fast changing world this complex question is far too simplistic. However, I'm sure there will be much debate and research done in this interesting area of study.

Cyborg sex: Real or Hyperreal?

Online chatrooms, pornography and cybersex. Have you secretly delved into this world? Have you accidentally clicked on a link that takes you places you otherwise might not have ventured? Did it excite you or disgust you? Were your eyes were drawn to the images like a moth to a flame. Perhaps your fingers were unable to stop clicking from one image to the next.

Have you experienced cybersex?
Is cybersex the domain of men or are women equally represented in the world of cybersex?

Pornography, chatrooms, MUDs and sex in cyberspace are big business. It is accessibility 24/7, it is affordable and it is completely anonymous. Cybersex is the safest sex possible in a world where fear and anxiety increasingly permeate our lives. But, if you are in a monogamous relationship, is cybersex cheating? Mmm... perhaps this is dependent upon your own moral values. Then you have to ask yourself: Does my partner share the same moral values? Yes.. then it's all good. No... and perhaps there are more questions raised about this delicate issue. There is little doubt however, that the world of cybersex normalises infidelity.

I was surprised to find that women are over-represented among those deemed cybersex-complusive Women and the web: cybersex activity and implications. Perhaps this is due to the easy of access. No need to take a trip to the local sex shop to get your dose of XXX materials. Just a mouse click away from a smorgasbord of safe hyperreal porn.

Jean Baudrillard explores simulation from a postmodern perspective. He regards first order simulation as a reflection of basic reality. Second order simulation masks and perverts basic reality. Third order simulation masks the absence of basic reality and fourth order simulation is pure simulation where reality does not exist. This he calls hyperreality. Baudrillard believes that hyperreality will become the dominant way of experiencing and understanding the world. Perhaps cybersex will become the 'normal' sex of the future?

Ok, time to get down and dirty in the MUD! Multi User Domain that is. In the MUD you can become whoever you want and do almost whatever you please within the boundaries of the specific domain.

So, it was with trepidation and a little hesitation I set out to visit the hyperreal, graphical MUD, social avatar world of Second Life. Hi ho, hi ho, it's off for sex we go... Want to come up to my place for a bit of hyperreal cybersex baby?

I was amazed by the large percentage of sex related businesses in operation in Second Life. I was also intrigued by the representations of women in these sites. All the women I encountered were slim, large breasted and beautiful. Dressed in overtly sexualised clothing. It wasn't hard to understand why all the women in second life were similar. The social ideal of a women is obviously firmly indoctrinated in our psyche. I wondered just what these women looked like in real life ('RL').

Perhaps the RL person might be a rotund and balding old man. There is no way to know.

The sexual offerings in Second Life were on par to RL offerings. Businesses and/or brothels, offered a wide range of services from lap dances to the most bizarre and unusual. Your sexual fantasies can be played out in Second Life without ever having to leave the comfort of your own home.

Sadly, it was obvious that I was a novice to Second Life. Therefore, it was impossible for me to interact (relative to this topic) with other Avatars in Second Life. In Second Life you need time and money to build up the characteristics of your avatar. You can buy, not only the usual accoutrements of life, but also body parts!! I also found it a little frustrating not being familiar with second life etiquette and this also hampered my ability to interact. Therefore, I was ignored for most of my visit. :(

Todays coupling between humans and machine create what Donna Haraway regards as the cyborg. Haraway regards our constant interaction with machines as an extension of ourselves. Mobile phones clamped to our ear, fingers tapping away on a keyboard, our eyes locked on a computer screen. It seems that our moderns lives are now inextricably linked to machine. I don't think I could go for more than a few days without access to a compter, my MSN pals and my email account.

All hail the cyborg!

Bother Boots? I'll give you some bother!

What forces shape extremism?

New conservatives, Neocons? This Neoconservatism is a political movement, mainly seen in the US, which emerged in the 1960s, and 1970s, and is 'enforced' by the administration of George W. Bush. Neoliberal globalisation is a label for economic liberalism that describes policies aiming corporate control and consumerism.

As discussed by Noam Chomsky and Gilber Achcar in Perilous Power (2007) "Neoliberal globalisation, or global capitalism, has brought about the disintegration of the social fabric and of social safety nets. People are more and more experiencing a state of disarray and social anxiety, and this leads to forms of violent assertions of "identity", extremism or fanaticism, whether religious or political or whatever."

Are extremist groups reacting to these forces? Has globalisation led to an identity crisis?

Identity Crisis?

For decades, identity has been one of the most important ideologies for the white supremacist movement. In its most radical form, it asserts that Christ will not return to earth until the globe is 'purged' of all Jews and other "Satanic" influences. In recent years, a shift among white supremacists towards agnosticism and racist variations of neo-Paganism have weakened the identity ideology and reduced group numbers.

US Hate Groups:

Black Separatist - Oppose interracial marriages,want separate institutions for blacks

Christian Identity - White supremist, anit-semetic

Ku Klux Klan - Anti blacks, jews, immigrants, homosexuals, and now also Catholics

Neo-Confederate - Pro Southern American Culture & civil war, anti-black

Neo-Nazi - Anit-Semetic, Pro-Hitler

Racist Skinhead - Violent white supremist shock troops

The Australia First Party site is most interesting in its attempt to strive for an Australian National identity. At first glance you would not realise this party advocates a white Australia policy and borders on extremist ideology. Statements in their policies such as "Reduce and Limit Immigration. Immigration mistakes can be big long term mistakes." "Abolish Multiculturalism. End the divisive, government funded and institutionalised policy of multiculturalism." "Strengthen the Family. Promote policies that strengthen and protect the traditional family." Mmmm... worrying! Australian First might not use the 'bother boot technique', however their more subtle approaches are still dangerous.

But wait... there's more... Another dimension of extremism is fundamental Christianity. A much nicer, far more palatable version of extremism. Chomsky regards the US as one of the most fundamental countries in the world, and one of the few functioning voting blocs there is the extreme fundamentalists, who out of either cynicism or belief have a big effect on the administration. I can see elements of Christian fundamentalism seeping into Australian politics. Is Australia following the US trend? John Howard has been linked to the Exclusive Brethren, a moralistic sect connected to right wing politics. The Exclusive Brethren do not vote, however hold the government in highest respect as God's ministers as outlined in their ‘Testimony to Government’. The exclusive Brethren fund political parties who will legislate appropriate to their conservative beliefs.

It was interesting to note that in all major newspapers today, the 20th April, 2007, John Howard advises all Australians to use the power of prayer for rain. I'll be interested to see just how often Christian sentiment such as God's Will and Power of Prayer etc. will occur in the media throughout the upcoming election campaign.

Want to recapture your youth? Just cut off his allowance!

What are Subcultures, Alternative Youth Cultures, Mainstream Youth Cultures? The line has blurred to such an extent that it is difficult to find typical examples for each. Just what is alternative youth culture? How do you find it? How old is youth?

The key academic elements of youth subcultures as discussed in Jordaan and Jordaan (Man in Context, p. 726) and are defined as a collection of people who share in an awareness of membership, interact with one another, share one or more implicit objectives or motives, develop explicity or implicity a set of norms or rules exerting pressure to conform and consider consensus highly within the group. If interaction between members of group is long lasting, then a leader and followers pattern develops and interpersonal attraction and respect develops between members.

Subcultures develop when the dominant culture fails to meet the needs of a particular group of people. Often this failure to meet needs becomes manifest in the journey from childhood to adulthood. Youth come together for support as they traverse the rocky road into aduldhood and subcultures form.

Skaters skate together, grafitti artists paint together and Emo's manufacture misery together.

Spankmag is touted as the first youth culture online magazine by and for young people. This global online community for 14 to 24 year olds started life as an eZine however, it now operates more as a youth forum, youth blogsite and youth news site.

After one visit to the Spankmag site is was blatantly obvious that this site is merely a commercial venture. Advertisers links to internet shopping sites just waiting to take your credit card details. Spankmag is just an online teen magazine. As discussed by Jonathan Alexander in Digital Youth, Emerging Literacies on the World Wide Web, Spankmag has the appearance and intent to give youth access to a voice, a chance to interact, to share information and ideas that are of concern to youth. Alexander also notes that the sites 'News' forums are quite limited in ther range of interetsts. The news seems particularly weighted toward the entertainment world, featuring pop stars, albums and film reviews. Spankmag is most certainly a coexistence of commercial and youth interests.

I was quite amazed at the professionalism of youth subculture site Krump Kings.

K.R.U.M.P.ing (Kingdom Radically Uplifted Mighty Praise) has evolved from Ghetto roots and uses the dance form of Krumping as a non violent alternative to street violence. This style of dance is a highly volatile, expressive and versatile dance form. Youth site Cooeey, is a place where you can create your own online world to express yourself and interact with others. You can also buy 'Coodos', via your mobile phone account and then spend your 'Coodos' in the Cooeey shopping mall.

All sites researched had some form of commercial component. You have to ask the question. Is a commercially driven alternative youth culture site really alternative? Are the youth who devote their time to these sites being hoodwinked?

Another interesting feature of youth culture and subcultures is how they are perceived. Not so frightening anymore, we now regard their behaviours as normal and almost mainstream. The social acceptance of youth culture lures a much wider segment of society into co-opting these behaviours. Perhaps in an attempt to recapture their own youth?

I am a typical example of a middle age woman co-opting youth. Aged in my 40's I have my belly pierced and I recently got a rather large tattoo on my backside. These acts, whilst shocking to my 80yo mother, barely raised an eyebrow amongst my peers. In fact a good friend in Austria was so enarmoured with my tattoo that she has saved it on her computer as her wallpaper. I have to chuckle when I think of my backside becoming aspirational!

Culture Jamming, the good, the bad and the ugly

My initial reaction to culture jamming was one of admiration. I though to myself ‘this is amazing, how can I get into it’. Culture jammers display remarkable creativity and passion as they attempt to educate the uninformed and ignorant. Sadly, a large percentage of our population fall into the category of uninformed and ignorant due, in no small part, to the ever increasing dominance of powerful interests. Powerful interests that want us to remain obediently amenable to their self-serving, wealth generating activities. This problem is exacerbated by the waning power and influence of the fourth estate. Culture jamming is a powerful channel for expression and freedom of speech against these powerful interests and I believe it has to be one of the most exciting avenues for collective and/or individual expression available to us today.

Benjamin R. Barber's book, 'How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole' is regarded as a piercing and vital look at how capitalism is consuming society. Capitalism and over-consumption is 'eating us up'! Barber claims that in our culture of over-consumption we are turning our children into aggressive consumers and also harming the psychological development of adults. I tend to agree with his assertions.
Culture Jamming is a way to reclaim our culture, rid ourselves of the 'shop till you drop' mentality and help us understand the issues that our society face.

Have a look at this video at http://kleercut.net/en/. This is a very specific culture jamming website devoted to Kimberly-Clark and their use of old growth forests in the production of Kleenex tissue products. Kleercut jammers recently used this very sophisticated approach (see video) to get their message out to shareholders of Kimberly-Clark and the general public. Did you know that Kleenex tissue products are made from old growth forest timber?

The advertising for Kleenex depict downy ducklings, fluffy puppies and cute children. All residing in the perfect TV ad world of beautiful people where everyone has sparkling white teeth.

Yes, these images give you a warm and fuzzy feeling, right?
But they certainly do not give you any insight into where Kimberly Clark source their raw materials.

Culture jammers give us this insight!

Mmmm... I'm not feeling so warm and fuzzy any more!

Culture jamming makes the act of protesting fun again. Adbusters, the most famous culture jammers of all have a wonderful spoof section on their website at http://adbusters.org/spoofads/index.php, Reverend Billy's Church of Stop Shopping site is very entertaining http://www.revbilly.com/ and Joey Skaggs new site 'Ther Art of the Prank' http://pranks.com/ has some fabulous material. Another site which features some amazing animations dedicated to US political satire http://www.markfiore.com/animation/corrections.html is heavily slanted toward 'Bush Bashing', however still well worth a visit.

Here's a little culture jamming of my own:
The Liberal Party website http://www.liberal.org.au/ proudly displays the latest statement from JH:



Debeers has a long history of explotatation in South Africa.


Culture jamming is a most welcome response to the inadequacies and declining power of the fourth estate and I believe it can have only a positive influence on our society. Culture jammer’s provide, what I would regard, a public service. They educate, inform and enlighten us to the corrupt, immoral and deceitful practices taking place in our society. Practices that in many cases are legal, but are they ethical, moral and just?

Good, Bad or Ugly, what do you think?

Video Games Developers: Are they the new Scorsese?

In the 20th century film became art. Are the video game developers of today the Scorseses of the 21st century? Are video games art?

Prior to investigating the world of video games I was one of the those people who regarded video games as merely simple entertainment for children, nothing special, just something to keep the kids (or husband) occupied when I wanted some peace and quiet. However, after further research I have discovered an exciting world that educates, entertains and provides cognitive development all within an aesthetically stunning landscape.


Film critic Roger Ebert, who admits to rarely playing video games, argues that the interactivity of computer games means they can never be regarded as art http://www.smh.com.au/news/games/good-game-but-is-it-art/2006/09/03/1157222003715.html. I find myself disagreeing with his comments as there are certainly other more traditional forms of art that are very interactive. For example, performance art can be interactive, an audience can influence the course of a performance or can even participate in it. Also there are also many forms of installation art that incorporate an element of interactivity.

The French minister of Culture and Comunications recently awarded the prestigious title of Knight in the Order of Arts and Literatures to three game designers: Shigeru Miyamoto (Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda), Michel Ancel (Rayman, Beyond Good and Evil) and Frederick Raynal (Alone in the Dark, Twinsen's Odyssey) http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060315/boissiere_pfv.htm.

Obviously the French have no problem qualifying video games as art.

I have to agree with Aaron Smuts who discusses in this article http://www.aesthetics-online.org/ideas/smuts.html there is still a lot of work to be done in the discourse of video games as art. He is of the opinion that the current discourse fails to achieve the level of argument usually undertaken within a discipline. Lots of people are debating the topic of video games as art, however not the right people. Smuts believes that philosophers of art have completely ignored the subject and in this article attempts to improve the quality of discourse around video games as art.

My mind wanders... a learned philosopher of art, armed with a game controller, frantically pushing game buttons, muttering "Ok Mario, where's the hidden exit to the green toad house?".
Perhaps these learned philosophers of art just need an introduction into the beguiling world of video games?

I discovered another cultural differential as I was researching. It is most interesting to note that there is a marked trend towards censorship of video games in Australia. This appears to follows the trends in the US. The level of censorship in Australia appears to bear the characteristics of moral panic http://www.mediaknowall.com/violence/moralpanicnotes.html. Games appear to act as a moral scapegoat for problems in society. What is happening to freedom of speech and freedom of expression? Who decides what we can and cannot see?

The need for more intelligent debate on this topic is essential and perhaps those who decide what is and what isn't art should become more familiar with the medium.

Welcome... Come on in!

Welcome to my blog... eCulture - Let's Talk About It!

I look forward to sharing some of my thoughts and musings on topics relevant to studies in Media and Communications and in particular... eCulture.

I hope you will enjoy the postings in this blog and I look forward to your comments on any topics that ignite your interest and/or passions.