Chapter 3Identity, the Media, and Communication Technology

To what extent is identity affected by communication technology and the media in a globalizing world?

Voices . . . Who said it?What perspectives/points of view do you hear?

1. “Media coverage of the 26 December tsunami dominated headlines worldwide well into January – much longer than any other disaster in modern history. After the tsunami came a metaphorical tidal wave of donations. Aid workers worried that the tsunami would divert donor money and media attention away from the world’s “hidden disasters.”

• “All media, from the phonetic alphabet to the computer, are extensions of man that cause deep and lasting changes in him and transform his environment.”

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Marshall McLuhan, philosopher and commentator on the media

RYWK

1. Digital divide

2. Propaganda

3. Pop culture

4. Universalization

5. hybridization

Digital Divide • The digital divide is the gap that separates people who do –

and do not – have access to up-to-date digital technology. Even in countries like Canada, a digital divide exists.• Some rural areas do not have access to high speed internet• Money is a barrier for some people• Language factors in – few web sites are available in aboriginal

languages for example

PropagandaPropaganda is ideas and information spread for the purpose of achieving a specific goal. Some people believe that Al-Jazeera (an Arabic TV station broadcasting internationally from Qatar) provides nothing but propaganda. Where is this today?

Pop Culture• Pop culture is short for “popular culture” and maeans the

culture of the people. This term often refers to current cultural trends that are spread by commercial mass media.

• Many people equate “pop culture” with “American culture” because they believe the commercial mass media are controlled by American transnational corporations, suc as Disney ad Time Warner.

• Critics of globalization say the American media giants have the resources to dictate what become popular around the world. In this process, other voices are lost.

Universalization• Global media and communication technologies enable the

creators of pop culture to sell their products anywhere in the world.

• This has led to the universalization of pop culture. Everyone with access to a TV, computer with Internet can share in cultural events and trends.

• Some people warn that this universalization leads to cultural homogenization because so much of pop culture is produced in the United States and exported around the world.

Do you Know?

What were some of the top pop culture advertising symbols of the 20th century.

Energizer Bunny! Ronald McDonald Tony the Tiger!

Hybridization • Hybridization mixes elements of different cultures.

• Sesame Street has become a global enterprise. In 2005, it was seen by children in 120 countries. Sometimes the shows are dubbed into local languages and other times, new shows are co-produced by local media companies. This is hybridization.

•

In China, local experts in child development, education, and media helped co-producers, re-present the Sesame Street program. They called it Zhima Jie - in Mandarin and marketed it for the Chinese market.

Sesame Street shows shown in countries outside of the U.S., bring revenue to Sesame Workshop’s New York headquarters. Merchandising arrangements for Sesame Street books and toys bring in even more revenue.

According to a Beijing newspaper, “Exporting American culture often is greeted with skepticism or even hostility; yet Sesame Street seems to find a warm reception wherever it goes.”

Think & communicate • Whose news are you watching, reading, and listening to? • The list of those who shape and deliver the news is long – and

not always obvious. • There is the editor who cuts and assembles the images for TV

reports, and the photo editor who decides which photographs to print with a newspaper story. Then there are the reporters, who decide whose voices will be heard in stories. There are also advertisers, whom media owners must please. And in some countries, government policy can dictate the point of view a story must take.

• Pg 86 # 2