Ch. 59, Kpop, and Globalization

 

The overarching theme in these readings were regarding culture, whether or not it was fear of one dominating the other or just observing how foreign ideas interact with local culture. The article about the "starting culture war" brings up some good points, especially about how instead of certain elements of culture combining into one super-culture, things have started to diversify and separate more. This is just a reaction to the previous era of unprecedented mixing, and how it is extremely easy to communicate ideas and ideologies now. This has resulted in pushback, which can be seen in the rise of populist leaders and things like BREXIT. There will always be some sort of backlash to any perceived issues or lines that cross the "thymotic desires" as the article puts it, or really, anything new. These big corporate companies that push a global culture can also be seen as contributing to this push-back, at least a little. While in Indian IT places, "the global", is a type of communication style and set of skills that can standardized and transferable anywhere. This means it is easier to set up offices in other countries, but that itself can create division. Not everyone is going to be able to the opportunity to learn these skills, like speaking English, to make them easily transferable. As the article says, it takes a certain type of education. That is not to say it is all bad, either, and this cultural shift is just an opening avenue in one industry. In this, globalization is mixing with the country of origin's culture, creating new traditions. It is interesting to see how this has come into play in more creative industries – I would argue that there is a lot less pushback for incorporating new ideas and sounds, as can be seen in KPOP bands like BTS. Any issues more come into play with cultural appropriation, but you see more and more artists trying to be respectful and avoid pushing that hot button issue anyway.