Discuss about the Culture and Globalization.
Mass media is referred to the technology that is used to reach, inspire and influence the mass audience (Devereux, 2013). It is the basic and fundamental way of communication implemented to get to the wide majority of the common public. The common mass media platforms are television, newspapers, radio, magazines, and the web. It is the nature of the common mass of people to rely significantly on mass media to gather information relating to political and social issues, entertainment, as well as pop culture news. Mass media, as a true communicator and informer, is bound to abide by a code of ethics that enables them to act in a manner that involves following a list of dos and of don’ts and maintaining unharmed integrity. Mass media is also required to follow behavioral ethics that are certain guidelines of conduct identified with regard to a certain class or cultural group. Representatives of mass media are required to function with morality and integrity (Berry, 2013). They must be unbiased, impartial, just and fair. They must not perform any action that might be demeaning or degrading to any group or individual of a particular class, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, race, or any other person or group with any physical disability, or of any sexual orientation, or of any geographic location.
Globalization can be stated as the process, which enables transformation in the demographic arrangement of social relationships and exchanges, giving rise to interregional and transcontinental networks of power, interaction and activity (Lechner, 2009). According to sociologists, though economic in nature and origin, globalization has significant implications on the society. According to (Ritzer & Dean, 2015) globalization is considered as the rising interdependence and integration of cultures and societies across the world.
Globalization has had its impacts on every aspect of life. The interchange of global information, views and ideas have led to the changing standards of living. Culture is no exception to such a transformational process. The previously strong and orthodox customs and traditions have gradually loosened up with the advent of globalization (Held & McGrew, 2000). Worldwide, globalization has structured a platform for the maintenance of homogeneity in the lives of the people. The discourse of cultural globalization is led by two scenarios. The primary and common scenario is that of cultural homogenization. This scenario argues that the goods, institutions, ideas and media that are globally available are transcending cultural societies of the globe (Giddens et al., 2016). People all over the world belonging to different cultures are developing a tendency to become similar at the cost of their distinct identities. This has resulted in the local cultures of being endangered (Seitz & Hite, 2012). In the scenario, globalization has led to the fragmentation of cultures as well as intercultural conflicts (Lopez, Rigolini & Torche, 2016). Local cultures are unable to withstand the global cultural shock (Seabrook, 2002). This results in revolts and resistance to protect the local identity and culture, giving rise to a cultural clash.
Cultural globalization is claimed to be associated with the media’s role in communication. In this context, it must be said that media is the means of cultural distribution. Global media is responsible for sharing information and views on the global events. In fact, it is believed by scholars that the rise of globalization would not have been possible without media.
Edward Said had defined Orientalism as the manner of looking at and viewing the non-Western Other as exotic, uncivilized, backward and even dangerous on the basis of their non-Western origin (Kennedy, 2013). The representation of minorities in media is much less than appropriate and ideal. In fact, minorities have long been the victims of the media industry that holds on to the old perceptions of majority appeal at the cost of the integrity of the minorities (Beck, 2013). People of the black color had never been treated as equal to the whites who are considered to be of a superior race (Hallam, 2013). In the context of Said’s explanation of the Other, the black race is often stereotyped as lazy, foolish, submissive, cowardly, irresponsible, violent, animal-like, and sub-human (Kennedy, 2013). Such demeaning and disrespectful stereotypes have now and again surfaced on the platforms of the mass media.
A major issue that arises while discussing media’s role in minority representation, can be said to be the extent of mass media’s facilitation of the preservation of minority culture and identity (Behm & Ortiz, 2013). In other words, it is a major issue to understand the extent to which mass media does or does not undermine the integrity of the values and institutions of the minority group. To a certain extent, this has been related with the context of cultural imperialism emerging from economic dynamics of globalization. These factors are often recognized as the dominant force within the inter-state and intercultural communication (Kraidy, 2017). For example, the United States and the developed North societies often are perceived to having a relationship of the exploitative nature with the societies in the South.
A different issue in the context of minority representation in mass media is the state’s provision of ethnic minority broadcasting. Such an issue is affected by factors both economic and political. Political strain to disregard media’s support and the struggle with the ethnic separatism politics poses restrictions on the programming nature, while it must have an indiscriminate appeal to the specific ethnic groups (Howitt, 2013). The economic urgency to maximize the size of the audience can again impose such strains towards cultural representations. Moreover, it may cause among the audience a moderate ethnographic voyeurism that provides knowledge devoid of understanding. Moreover, there is the possibility that the mass media’s style of portraying the ethnic minorities in information and entertainment media, may call for stereotypical judgment and ethnic prejudice (Reich, 2017). For example, often the black people are portrayed as uncivilized and as criminals in the media (Mirrlees, 2013). Again, a Muslim is naturally taken as having terrorist capabilities by the media. This accounts for the assigning of stereotypes to minorities and for ethnic prejudice on the media’s part.
This paper focuses on the recent advertisement of H&M for their kids’ winter wear catalogue that had backfired as being racist and had created huge controversy among the ethnic groups. The advertisement in context is the one for the monkey sweatshirt for kids. It portrayed a black child wearing a sweatshirt with the caption coolest monkey in the jungle, in its front. The same advertisement had a white child wearing a sweatshirt that said survival expert and had the image of a lion. Such an advertisement by H&M produced a wave of outrage among the wide range of its audience, especially among the ethnic groups as promoting racist dialogue.
The advertisement had appeared on the UK website of H&M. The outrage compelled H&M to take down the advertisement and even to take the product down on a global basis. A qualitative analysis of the advertisement was performed in the sociological context. The analysis presented a few details about the organization’s treatment of ethnic minorities; specifically the blacks. A qualitative and contextual analysis of the issue brought into notice that it is not the first time that H&M or any other organization that uses the mass media for promotional purposes has performed acts of racism. According to (West, 2018), H&M had previously been accused of racial insensitivity on loosely similar grounds in the year of 2015 for using fewer black models in their advertisements and media representations.
The recent controversial advertisement of H&M with the black child wearing the sweatshirt stating the caption coolest monkey in the jungle emphasizes on the portrayal of the blacks as uncivilized and animal-like. Such treatment of the ethnic minorities comments highly on the insensitive representation of minorities by mass media. However, the possibility of H&M’s blindness towards the possible reaction of the audience on the advertisement cannot be set aside.
On a careful qualitative analysis of H&M’s advertisement, it has been found that H&M, a highly popular clothing brand has been responsible for the insensitive and demeaning representation of the African ethnic minority on the basis of their color. Even if it had been unintentional, the disrespectful implications and degrading suggestions of the advertisement cannot be ignored. The ethnicity that is portrayed in the advertisement in a degrading and prejudiced manner is that of the African blacks. The advertisement assigns stereotypes to the black race such as wild, animal-like and uncivilized.
The extent to which the advertisement had represented the black Africans as having wild and uncivilized characteristics can be understood by looking at the language used by them. The sweatshirt modeled by the black child uses the phrase coolest monkey in the jungle. Words like monkey and jungle, immediately adds stereotypes to the black race. The word monkey attributes the characteristics of an animal to the black race. In a much similar fashion, the word jungle stereotypes the black race as of being uncivilized, violent and wild in their nature and actions. Looking at the sweatshirt advertisement of the same catalogue in which H&M uses the white model, it portrays the white child in a completely different view. The advertisement uses the caption survival expert and the image of a lion on the sweatshirt modeled by the white child. Such words and image assigns highly superior connotations to the white race. The image of the lion adds grandeur to the white race. It is obvious then, that the H&M advertisement poses the black race as an uncivilized and inferior race compared to the white race that has been assigned a superior and grand value and as a result, makes way for the scope of racial discrimination.
The H&M advertisement in context was published in the UK website of the brand. The advertisement had a global and outrageous impact. The demeaning portrayal of the black race as uncivilized had created a global concern and had enraged the ethnic minorities for the insensitive portrayal of the race. The brand’s South Africa stores in Johannesburg were vandalized by the protestors of the ethnic group of the locality. The news of H&M’s racist advertisement had spread worldwide and caused outrage even in the global framework. With the rise of globalization and of mass media platforms like the social media, it takes no time for information to be exchanged across nations. The scandal of H&M advertisement carrying racist suggestions took no time to reach the global network through social media. The result was an immediate and outrageous response from various corners of the world. Almost every user of the social media responded against H&M’s advertisement and demonstrated their disappointment in the brand’s racist portrayal of the black race. In fact, most of the public personalities from all over the world who had previously endorsed the brand and had been associated with the brand’s name have criticized and expressed their disgust at such racial representation of the black Africans by the organization. Such outbreaks of protest were carried through the various global platforms of social media. Moreover, as a protest many customers, sponsors, business associates, employees and promoters of H&M have expressed openly their decisions of losing ties with the brand.
Stating the obvious, therefore, the racist advertisement of H&M had a global impact. However, the brand has claimed that any harm caused to the sentiment of any individual or of any group was completely unintentional. They claim that they were ignorant of the racist suggestions in the advertisement and were apologetic for the same. However, it must be noted that intentional or not, the advertisement did raise certain racist issues and doubts regarding the ethical obligations of the mass media in the context of unbiased and unprejudiced representation of the ethnic minorities.
With respect to the arguments discussed earlier in the paper, can be understood and explained the actions and consequences of H&M’s recent controversial advertisement. Emergence of cultural clash is a major common scenario associated with cultural globalization. The local cultures and the ethnic minorities often face the threat of being endangered due to cultural homogeneity (Seitz & Hite, 2012). In this context, can be said that in the present period of rapid globalization, the ethnic minority groups face the danger of a cultural shock or cultural clash (Lechner, 2009). This is seen through the incident of H&M’s controversial advertisement that has exposed the ethnic black Africans to the threat of cultural clash. This is because cultural globalization brings with itself high chances of intercultural conflicts preparing the way for cultural discrimination.
Furthermore, in the context of mass media’s representation of ethnic minorities there remains the possibility for biased and prejudiced approach (Reich, 2017). Even though the media’s code of ethics requires the media representatives to follow an unbiased, unprejudiced and objective approach towards the ethnic minority groups, every now and then there surfaces events that indicate a serious violation of such ethical conduct (Beck, 2013). In the center of mass media’s ethnic minority representation, remains the problematic issue of the media’s maintenance of intercultural integrity ((Berry, 2013). Many of the times, mass media fails at taking an unbiased and stereotypical approach towards representation of the ethnic minorities and this in turn enables them to fail in protecting the cultural identity and integrity of the minorities (Howitt, 2013). Placing in this respect, the controversial advertisement of H&M can be examined. The advertisement fails to protect the integrity and cultural identity of the African minority and provides way for racial discrimination. The advertisement does not take an unprejudiced approach towards the ethnic minority group of Africa and instead assigns stereotypes to the black race suggesting it to be uncivilized, exotic, wild and violent. Such suggestions evidently points out the crucial and problematic issue of the prejudiced and unethical attitude of the mass media in representing ethnic minorities in world that is economically, socially, technologically and culturally globalized.
Additionally, H&M’s insensitive and racial advertisement can be viewed in relation to Edward Said’s theory of Orientalism. Bearing in mind Said’s explanation of Orientalism and the Other, can be explained the racial implications of the H&M advertisement. Edward Said pointed out the Western view of the Orient or the non-Western as exotic, lazy, foolish, submissive, cowardly, irresponsible, violent, uncivilized, wild and animal-like, and sub-human (Kennedy, 2013). Edward Said had also pointed out the perception of the West about the Westerners being a superior and the most civilized as well as the most developed race. Viewing at the H&M controversial advertisement from Said’s perspective of Orientalism and the Other, it can be said that the advertisement reiterates the truth of Said’s theory. The H&M advertisement, expresses a strict racial discourse through their words printed on the sweatshirts modeled by the black and the white child. The sweatshirt modeled by the black child holds the caption coolest monkey in the jungle. These words echoes Said’s perspective on Orientalism and the Other as the caption promotes the black race as an inferior race that is uncivilized, exotic, sub-human, violent, wild and animal-like. The sweatshirt that holds the caption survival expert along with the image of a lion, is modeled by a white child is again a echo of Said’s view that the West considers the white race as superior, brave, civilized and the most developed (Kennedy, 2013). Hence, the H&M advertisement may be considered to serve as a primary evidence of cultural imperialism and the racial prejudice that functions in the discourse of mass media’s representation of ethnic minorities.
Conclusion
The emergence of globalization has come with shifts in the economic, social and cultural shifts. It is seen that cultural shifts arising from globalization leading to separate discourse of cultural globalization has created certain issues like cultural clash and intercultural conflicts. Viewing from this perspective, cultural globalization has had its effects on the mass media as well. It has led to the formation of media ethics that requires certain instructional behavioral patterns to be followed by the media representatives. At the heart of media ethics lies the major issue of the problematic representation of the ethnic minorities. Often the mass media fails to secure the cultural integrity of the ethnic minorities leading to the fragmentation of the cultural identities of the ethnic groups. Therefore, it can be concluded that the mass media is not always unprejudiced, unbiased and objective in their representation of ethnic minorities in spite of adopting a moral instruction of ethical and impartial approach causing a disruption in the cultural security of the ethnic identity and integrity.
References
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