The Economy is spreading pop culture
It's clear that to develop in the world's expansive market, globalization is key. Strategies like the self-suffciency model won't work, and Rostow's Development Model is becoming a less successful strategy due to a lack of resources or market stagnation. Whichever strategy a person, city, or country takes to develop, if they're going to try to access the global market, they need to be able to do one thing well: communicate. Because of this, many people in countries like China and India are learning English in hopes of becoming a part of the global market.
This is a cartogram measuring the amount of McDonald's in a country. Obviously, America has the most. But other countries, like China, have a substantial amount, and that number is going to only increase over time. So why are McDonalds beginning to pop up everywhere?
Sure, Big Macs are pretty good, but there's more to it than that. Its a symbol of pop culture and America. Almost everyone will prefer the food they grew up with, but some people might just eat there for the experience. It can also be there for Americans who could be missing their favorite American restaurant and want a taste of home. But either way, a major part is the pop culture aspect. Interestingly enough, U.S. McDonald's sales are down. After all, Americans don't eat there for the atmosphere.
"For the first time in history, your morning cappuccino is the same no matter whether you are sipping it in Tokyo, New York, Bangkok or Buenos Aires." (Mark Pagel, Does globalization mean we will become one culture?) It used to be that every place was unique and different. Each country has hundreds, maybe thousands of unique cultures, all distinct and created over time. But trans-national corporations can cause placelessness and suffocate folk culture with pop culture.
So how did culture even begin to diffuse in the first place? How did we start with thousands of unique culture to slowly merging into one? Well, cultural diffusion began with trade. Whether it was the Phoenicians or the Silk Road, that was when cultures began to interact. Suddenly, the saying "Money makes the world go round," makes sense. Globalization is caused by the economy. The land around us and our beliefs and values used to shape our culture, but now the worldwide pursuit of wealth and development is rubbing off onto LDCs. Everyone has their own rich culture filled with history but, unfortunately, that doesn't feed your family. The following video compares the development of the U.S. and Great Britain to China, India, and Japan, and the various development patterns each one shares. (Watch from 11:20 to 13:40)
While we seem to be rapidly approaching a very globalized culture, Hans Rosling brings up the point of having to unite the inequalities of developing countries. Before a country can really begin to make its way to becoming a MDC, it has to become fairly balanced, without too much poverty gaps. After all, McDonalds won't likely go somewhere where no one can afford its products. An area's poverty usually makes it less suscepitble to globalization. It makes sense; the less economically involved somewhere is, the less interaction it has with other cultures.
So, with this information, we can come up with this: an area's economic development varies directly with its exposure to popular culture. New York City obviously has some of the most exposure to pop culture, and is one of the most economically developed cities, while isolated tribes in the Amazon rainforest have relatively no economic development. The people of the world who are hoping to have their country develop and become richer must now ask themselves: How are we going to become a part of the global economy without losing our culture?
So, with this information, we can come up with this: an area's economic development varies directly with its exposure to popular culture. New York City obviously has some of the most exposure to pop culture, and is one of the most economically developed cities, while isolated tribes in the Amazon rainforest have relatively no economic development. The people of the world who are hoping to have their country develop and become richer must now ask themselves: How are we going to become a part of the global economy without losing our culture?
In relation to AP Human Geography
This article relates to the following chapters in AP Human Geography
Chapter 1: The article talks about the concepts of placelessness and urban landscape.
Chapter 6: The article talks about learning English and how it has become a lingua franca.
Chapter 9: The article talks about MDC/LDCs, Rostow's Development Model, World Systems Theory, Market Stagnation, New international division of labor, etc.
Chapter 12: The article talks about learning English to help provide services for MDCs.
I chose this topic because I'm a Vietnamese boy who was born and raised in America, and haven't had very much exposure to my heritage. I've realized that it is really important to stay to my culture and pass it on, but I've also realized that it won't be easy in the future to keep holding on. I wanted to research the topic a little and what would happen if everyone thought like me.
This article relates to the following chapters in AP Human Geography
Chapter 1: The article talks about the concepts of placelessness and urban landscape.
Chapter 6: The article talks about learning English and how it has become a lingua franca.
Chapter 9: The article talks about MDC/LDCs, Rostow's Development Model, World Systems Theory, Market Stagnation, New international division of labor, etc.
Chapter 12: The article talks about learning English to help provide services for MDCs.
I chose this topic because I'm a Vietnamese boy who was born and raised in America, and haven't had very much exposure to my heritage. I've realized that it is really important to stay to my culture and pass it on, but I've also realized that it won't be easy in the future to keep holding on. I wanted to research the topic a little and what would happen if everyone thought like me.
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