Homogenisation

In my last two blog posts I have touched on the fact that the processes of globalisation and westernisation has led to cultures across the world becoming essentially the same. This process is more formally called ‘homegenisation’ and it is where different cultural practices become intertwined into one blended, uniform culture that does not allow for easy identification of the characteristics of the many cultures it is made up of.

There are numerous examples of cultural homogenisation that surround us every day, here I will name just a few:

Music – many famous music artists now make it into the charts worldwide rather than just the country they have originated or even visited. This essentially means we are all often listening to the same music whether or not we speak or understand the language it is being produced in.

Cars – Car manufacturers are often based in many countries and export to an even larger range. As a result we tend to drive the same models worldwide.

Television – as with music, TV shows are shown worldwide so that even when on holiday you can tune into some of your favourites.

Food Outlets – perhaps one of the most infamous examples of homogenization in the media is the concept of Macdonaldisation. Firstly it concerns the fact that food outlets such as that named are found on most high streets worldwide now regardless of what the traditional foods in that area might comprise of. However it also has further implementations than this, for instance Macdonaldisation also refers to the way that the presence of these types of outlets can also alter other customs and moral values in the area such as eating with hands or the consumption of processed foods.

High Street – high streets across the world, particularly in MEDCS, are starting to feature the same retailers, and brands. 

Overall it is clear how the presence of the above is certainly minimizing the significant differences that can and still do to an extent exist between cultural groups. I for one was extremely surprised when visiting Namibia in 2008 that there local shop was in fact a Spa,r and that many of the children were excited to share with me that their favorite musicians were American rappers such as Dizzee Rascal and Jay-Z.

In order to illustrate the concept of homogenization to students I thought of quite a fun task for them to do. I would provide them with a logo quiz where they would have to guess the company name it represents. This would hopefully demonstrate how we can recognise logos across the world because we are so interconnected and often use the same products from the same global manufacturers and retailers.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081008085929AA4XDEo

http://www.converge.org.nz/pirm/homogeni.htm