Culture Related

In the last half century, globalization which is the intermixing of cultures, has sharply increased. A writer who has recognized this trend is Todd Gitlin in his book Media Unlimited. Western culture has become an issue of vigorous debate in the fight for cultural identity, national sovereignty, and corpus juris, and freedom in fashion worldwide. This cultural globalization has been seen in the rise of three types of cultures: pop culture such as American music, sports, and McDonald’s industry; folk culture seen in different languages worldwide; and high culture which is seen in fashion and museums all impacted by the rise of technology. The globalization of cultures directly influences how fashion is perceived across the world. A change in trend via a photo in Vogue can have a major influence on the world economy.

Huntington defined civilization as a whole, through cultural means, making a point that cultural identity is important because it, distinguishes humans from other species. He predicted that one day there would be a clash between civilizations on the “cultural fault lines.” Huntington’s idea of what culture was to become could not foresee the progress that society would one day make. The modern day view of culture is far broader than Huntington’s because globalization now includes folk and high culture as well as pop culture. The ultimate clash is less between civilizations than within them. Therefore, although pop culture is a main reason for this clash within civilizations, high culture and folk culture are main reasons as well.

There are many indirect effects that result from popular culture. “Popular culture is the most obvious realm (of the cultures) because there is a pervasive influence of American music, fashion, movies, TV, all tied to open markets and global consumerism.” In Jihad vs. McWorld, Benjamin R. Barber develops the expansion of the “McDonald’s Empire.” The “McDonald’s Empire” or “McWorld” is symbolic of popular culture, driven by expansionistic commerce, which pushes American culture on the foreign state. McDonald’s serves 20,000,000 customers around the world every day and has established 15,000 restaurants around the world, earning close to 45% of all their profits from foreign states. This idea would have outraged thinkers like Machiavelli and Montesquieu. Machiavelli, Montesquieu, and other thinkers argue that a free society could only be one sufficient in itself for food and resources. Todd Gitlin agrees with this that people have become slaves to television and to the media. The societies who have embraced McWorld can never truly be free again.

The rise of technology has greatly contributed to the spread of popular culture. Bill Clinton stated before leaving the presidency that, “In the new century, liberty will be spread by cell phone and cable modem.” With the urbanization of the world by popular culture through technology, the West dominates through the influence of American culture. The rise of technology has bred international globalization.

The spread of popular culture gave rise to the theme park state and the “Disneyfication” of the world. The spread of culture through commercial means has led to the demise of many different cultures. Disney has built an empire of books, movies, television, clothes, stores, and even food. The Disney Corporation manipulates the young people of the world into thinking that having a Disney experience will result in ultimate happiness. This idea of happiness has promulgated the idea that American culture equals happiness. Therefore, if one is not a part of the American culture, one cannot truly be happy.

Many of the concepts of cultural globalization stem from broader concepts of the American metaphor of the cultural “salad bowl” versus the “melting pot.” The metaphor of America as the “melting pot” of cultures connects many cultures that are mixed together to create one westernized culture. This idea of the “melting pot culture” is seen in Mesopotamia, where cultures mixed together in a “melting pot” of ideas. The diversity within the cultural melting pot led to the point where the lack of diversity extended to the weakening of the state. Ultimately, this “cultural melting pot”, led to the fall of the state. The difference between the “cultural melting pot” and the “cultural salad bowl” is that, in the “melting pot” the cultures reflect the past and in the “salad bowl” cultures are dependent on ideas from the past but reflect the future. In contrast to the belief of many people in the world today, the “Americanized” culture is not a “melting pot” but rather is a “salad bowl”. In New York City this can be seen within the distinct areas of the city that celebrate and are home to the different culture groups. The ideas of many cultures are placed in a “salad bowl”, are stolen, “Americanized”, and then used as American culture. Many varied cultures are no longer “melting” but “mixing”, each keeping their distinct difference and flavor but ultimately recognized as western.  The lack of diversity weakens the state, and culture ultimately defines law. It is here, in defiance of law that the westernization of modern day culture will lead to its own self-destruction.

Popular culture and indigenous culture have been highly effective in aiding the westernizing of culture in the world. The best example of high culture is seen with the rise of the “museum state”. If one were to visit a museum in England, one would not only see English art, but French Impressionist art, Italian religious art, Muslim religious art, and many more. There has been an overarching confusion of nationalism in many countries because of this. More than half of the people living in America can only name a piece of art by a Frenchmen. The lack of “artistic differences” undermines the concept of nationalism. Cultural globalization is ever present with the destruction of nationalism. The “museum state,” is globalizing many cultures by bringing the cultures together in one place, promoting acceptance of one ancestry common to all and truly technology is a major cause of this.

Pop culture, indigenous culture, and high culture are ultimately leading the self-destruction of entire cultures. In “Techno Logic“, Thomas Friedman discusses how the world has been flattened by technology making it possible for all people to be on the same playing field in regards to competition. He makes the point that it gives the opportunity for all people from both developing world and the already-developed world to work together in unity. The problem with this is that indigenous people think far differently than the industrial world. Many people in the world do not believe everyone is equal. The concept of globalization is contradictory to their very nature and to accept it is to deny their ancestry or die trying to maintain an indigenous or traditional life in a newly globalized technical world. Globalization is a process that cannot be stopped and is one that benefits the western world while the rest of the world begins to lose their identity. The hope is that this process of a loss of identity does not cross over into the creative world and that fashion will still have a voice in the face of globalization.

References:

Barber, B. R. (2003). Jihad vs. McWorld. London: Corgi Books.

Gitlin, T. (2001). Media Unlimited: How the Torrent of Images and Sounds Overwhelms Our Lives. New York: Metropolitan Books.

Lieber, Robert J. and Ruth E. Weisberg, “Globalization, Culture and Identities in Crisis,” International Journal of Politics, Culture and Society, Vol. 16, no. 2, Winter 2002

Friedman, Thomas, “Techno Logic,” Foreign Policy, March/April 2002.

In a Psychodynamic Fashion

Introduction

Something that is very apparent to me is that fashion is a direct reflection of the psychodynamics of orality and written tradition of a particular time period.  The ideal of psychodynamics connotes the idea that there are both a conscious and unconscious impacts, within a certain mentality, that language choices contain. Noam Chomsky believes that coercion has a major impact on these oral and written traditions which he addresses in his, “Manufacturing Consent.” Chomsky claims in his interesting documentary that, “any form of coercion requires justification and any kind is nearly always unjustifiable” (Achbar, 2002). Truly, coercion may perhaps be the love child behind the psychodynamics of oral and written tradition directly shaping the fashion industry.

Written and Oral Traditions 

It is important to first discuss what oral and written traditions are that have such an impact on the way fashion functions in the world. Oral traditions are those which focus on spoken language. Famous examples of oral traditions can be found in the time when, The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer as well as certain books of the Bible, were written. A comparison can be made between these works because they were written to be told from generation to generation. The narratives are poetic and use repetitive words to help people remember the stories during a time where all history and stories were only recorded through the spoken word or possibly some type of script form.
Written traditions are obviously focused on the written word and these stories were written down because of this tradition. Within the written tradition, it is important to note the difference between the alphabet in the written tradition and script. An alphabet is based on phonics while scripts are based on pictures that represent certain words. Thus, in a way, the written tradition and the rise of the alphabet was a tremendous technological advancement. Fashion was greatly influenced by this switch.
With the rise of the written tradition, cultures were going through the process of globalization for the first time. Fashion has gone through the process of being culturally determined, to globally determined. Looks on the runways of Milan and Paris, while they still have a distinguishable look, clearly portray the westernization of cultures. They must, or the looks would not be seen as relevant and no one would purchase them. Let’s face it people, designers have to pay the bills too.

The Media is Influenced

The movie “Outfoxed” addresses an interesting new shift taking place from the written tradition to the oral tradition because of the impact that “the electronic hearth” has had on the populous as a whole. This documentary claims that the Fox news station does not exactly provide a “fair and balanced” viewpoint on the news. However, the topic of the documentary is not necessarily what struck a chord with me as much as the underlining meaning of the documentary itself. As I said, when the oral tradition was prevalent, people used figures and repetition to help people remember important stories. The news media has begun to do this and people have been indirectly coerced to become fearful. Chomsky may have had a point when he discussed the coercion that all people are subjected to because of the news media. I’m not sure if you have noticed, but fashion has gone through many different cycles. Styles have been leaving and returning with a relatively quick turnaround rate (I.e. platforms, stilettos, platform-stilettos and so on). My argument is that with the switch of an increasingly oral tradition to more of a completely written tradition, this will not be the case for long.
With the rise of the internet, I predict a return once again to the written tradition for a little while. I work in the publishing world, so there is no doubt that I have a deep appreciation for the written tradition; however, computer mediated communication has been on the rise. People are using social networking sites more than ever. At the click of a button, people have all the information they could want and there has been a need for literacy more than ever. To me, this means greater creativity in the realm of fashion. People will feel more free to step outside of the box because there is a larger audience that these people may appeal to than ever. Fashion will get out of this box that it has been in for the last 20 years and do some amazingly creative things, if coercion does not get in the way.

Coercive Couture

Chomsky makes a good argument that wherever the media is involved, so are corporations. These corporations want to make money. In fashion, this can be the case to. Corporations often use indirect or direct pressure to keep sales up. Often leading to poor decisions to sell clothes like this one: MOM JEANS. Notice the recognition by the lead singer of the only stores that will sell these type of clothes which are corporate owned. The people who invented these pants must have never stepped foot in an anatomy class. This type of look greatly stifles creativity, but was popular, so the corporations continue to sell this look.
Truly, coercion touches many parts of our everyday lives. The media has been impacted by coercion and so has fashion. Fashion has been subject to coercion that stifles creativity, but it has often used coercion as well. Fashion is a business and one of the biggest ones in the world. If people all decided to stop purchasing clothes, entire economies would collapse. Many people in the fashion world have used coercion to create what the perfect woman would look like. This can be seen dating back to the 17th century, when plump, white women were seen as the model women of the day. Now, abnormally skinny women have been viewed as the perfect model woman which has had a negative impact on the self-esteem of women.

Conclusion

Truly, fashion reflects the psychodynamics of the culture of the day. Often corporate coercion has limited the creativity of the fashion designers, but the hope is that this will change with the rise of the internet age. Our hope is similar to that of Chomsky’s, which is that the common people will be able to have a say in their own lives. That designers and commoners alike will be able to creatively express themselves each day without coercion from another.

References:
Achbar, M. (Director). (2002). Manufacturing Consent - Noam Chomsky and the Media [Documentary]. USA: Zeitgeist Films.

Greenwald, R. (Director). (2004). Outfoxed - Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism [Documentary]. United States: The Disinformation Company.

Technology in a Communicative Fashion

Introduction

Neil Postman and the topic of technology and communications has been on the mind lately. He is a sharp thinker and has a lot of interesting things to say about technology. Technology in the Greek, literally means "art" and "the study of". Technology these days revolves around scientific innovation. In fashion, designers are now able to sketch their designs on a tablet-like computer and upload their sketches into a program. This is really a phenomenal innovation and has been helpful in the process of stirring creative juices in the fashion world. 

Theories for Thought

Postman ultimately believed that technology is destructive for a society.  He utilized an argument called the Faustian bargain to lay the foundation for his belief system.  The argument claims that in order for one to get what they want on the earth, one must bargain with the devil.  This sufficient and necessary argument laid the brick and mortar for the moral dilemma that Postman believed the media embraced.  He claimed that in order for an individual to take part in something, the individual must give up something else.  According to Griffin (2009), “Postman argued that television is detrimental to society because it has led to the loss of serious public discourse” (p. 319).  This could be seen in the public debates aired on television where people are entirely unable to be completely honest because of the large audience the group is performing for. 

Postman also argued that the Faustian bargain applies to all people who are influenced by the media.  While some people may be helped by the media, others are not.  This enforces a problematic dichotomy between those in power and those not in power.  Those who are not in power (the audience) are getting bombarded with advertisements and propaganda, while those who are in power are making money.  Postman argues that this tradeoff means that there will always be a winner and a loser in the world of technology.

The major argument that Postman makes in most of his books is the fact that behind every statement that is made on the television, there is an idea that is being promulgated.  This means that people change what they value because of new technologies.  According to Postman in Amusing Ourselves to Death (2005), "Television is our culture's principal mode of knowing about itself. Therefore -- and this is the critical point -- how television stages the world becomes the model for how the world is properly to be staged. It is not merely that on the television screen entertainment is the metaphor for all discourse. It is that off the screen the same metaphor prevails" (p. 92).  An example can be seen in the way people value the quick access to communication now and the admiration to memorizing things are not as valuable.  Television helps determine the things that people think are important.

Conclusion

Technology and media’s normalcy in society concerns Postman.  He believes that media can be ideologically dangerous and should be regulated, but if it is a part of the norm, then people are less likely to think that it is important to regulate.  Postman discusses this in Amusing Ourselves to Death (2005), "Our culture's adjustment to the epistemology of television is by now all but complete; we have so thoroughly accepted its definitions of truth, knowledge and reality that irrelevance seems to us to be filled with import, and incoherence seems eminently sane. And if some of our institutions seem not to fit the template of the times, why it is they and not the template, that seem to us disordered and strange" (p. 80).  Technology should not control every single part of our lives because of the reasons above.

However, I would argue that technology is like its meaning, it is the study of art and can be extremely helpful in all areas of the arts as long as it is used properly. Fashion could only benefit from the use of more technology. Perhaps this use is a bit too far, but is definitely on the cutting edge of what is going to be refined, perfected, and made chic in the fashion world: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoyNqCsksdg&feature=related 

References

Griffin, E. (2009). A First Look at Communication Theory (7 ed.). New York City: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages.

Postman, N. (2005). Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (20 Anv ed.). Boston: Penguin (Non-Classics).

Are scientists and engineers responsible to the culture for their discoveries? Are fashion designers responsible to culture for their discoveries?

Introduction

     Scientists and engineers are responsible to culture for their discoveries. Technology has a major impact on leadership. People have more access to more people and more resources than ever before to make wise decisions. A potential challenge stemming from the rise of technology is information overload. The process of disseminating and receiving has quickened so much that some things may get lost in the shuffle; however scientists, engineers, and fashion designers must be socially aware of the influence their creations have on the globalized world. 

Responsibility to Culture

Technology can often get in the way of the cultivation of indigenous cultures. In general, technology generally leans towards promoting Westernism which has meant the destruction of many cultures in the process (McDonaldization, 2004). In the movie Persepolis, the main character had a difficult time adapting to her culture in Iran as a child because she felt drawn to American rock music. She loved the music and the technology behind it and many people shunned her because of this. This can also be seen in the movie Outsourced where the call center was in the middle of nowhere and had a cow walking around the office. There was a stark contrast between the technology driven society found in Western cultures and the community driven society in India.

Scientists, engineers, and fashion designers need to be sensitive to their audience, but must never cease to push the envelope in terms of what they can do creatively. Here is an excellent example of a fashion designer who is able to be creative and be responsible to the culture she lives in while tactfully pushing the boundaries of what can and what cannot be done: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oif8QBDSLho. After watching this video, one can note the tremendous quality of the garments. 

      Truly, the envelope is being pushed in Sudan. Women used to only be able to wear white head pieces. The fashion designer here was tactful in the way she dressed her models. Pushing the envelope too far in this culture would simply be unsafe. If she through models down the runway looking like some of the models in Paris, the girls and her would be in danger. However, that does not necessarily mean that designers in Paris should limit their creative juices in the name of being culturally aware.

Conclusion

The consequences of technology are greater efficiency. However, along with this greater efficiency comes an information overload which can be detrimental in that it may delay or deter people from making good decisions. The problem that technology has is that it often promotes Westernism and does not cultivate diversity because cultural globalization that is taking place when people from all over the world enter the technological community. People in all areas of life, especially fashion, must always step out of their comfort zone to appreciate other cultures because technology has meant that they are actively responsible to the people around them.

References

Jeffcoat, J. (Director). (2006). Outsourced [Documentary]. United States: Ocean Park Home Entertainment.

Satrapi, M. (Director). (2007). Persepolis [Documentary]. France: Sony Pictures.

Ritzer, G. (2004). The McDonaldization of Society (Rev. new century ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Pine Forge Press.

What is Assumed in “Social Dynamics of Communication and Technology“?

Introduction

With the rise of technology, computer based communication has become a normal part of communication between many different people in may different areas of their lives. Something that is important to note when discussing assumptions is that most assumptions can be wrong, but have some type of innate truth involved in those beliefs. Neil Postman is a brilliant man who has had a lot to say about the rise of communication through technology and the influence this has had on social dynamics.

Neil Postman has had a major impact on the way communication scholars and audiences approach the issue of the media‘s growing influence in society.  Growing up in New York City and spending most of his life there, he was able to see firsthand the rise of the media in every day interactions.  Postman died in 2003, but his ideas and critiques on modern day “technopoly” have made great strides in the academic community.  His academic career, major contributions, and theories are all important pieces to the puzzle that make up the success of this educator and academic in the area of technological communication.

Major Contributions

The most famous of Postman’s books is Amusing Ourselves to Death.  His major argument is that television is meant purely for entertainment and any attempt to make it anything other than that in vain.  Much of his emphasis is placed on the problem with public discourse in the media.  His claim is that nothing can truly be honest when the people have to perform in front of an audience. This has taken a toll in many ways in the fashion world. The TV show Project Runway is a perfect example of this. The larger the demographic that the show reaches, the more the designers have intense pressure to be "creative" and appealing to the masses. Many designers on the show crack under the pressure of having to relate to and create in a way to impress the millions of viewers watching the show. Postman would say that something that is assumed in social dynamics of communication and technology is that there has been  major shift in the way people relate with one another from a face-to-face communication to computer mediated communication.

Postman gave a well-known speech called Informing Ourselves to Death, a couple years before writing his famous book “Technopoly”.  This speech echoed sentiments about the problem of mankind viewing efficiency as more important than knowledge.  He famously said, "Information is now a commodity that can be bought and sold, or used as a form of entertainment, or worn like a garment to enhance one's status.”  Postman was speaking to the German Informatics Society about the negative influence that technology has had on public discourse.  He goes on to say that, “It [information] comes indiscriminately, directed at no one in particular, disconnected from usefulness; we are glutted with information, drowning in information, have no control over it, don't know what to do with it."  Postman openly discussed how the overflow of information negatively effects the way that people communicate with one another and ultimately means that there is less learning going on.  With so much information available, many people are unsure of how to use it properly and effectively to positively influence society.

Conclusions and Fashion

Postman’s work remains just as relevant, if not increasingly so, today as a new generation makes use of an astonishing array of new technologies.  We have become a more technological generation and there is only a rise in different types of technology every day.  It is great to know about a fresh prospective about the media and technology when approaching how media affects our every day lives.  Postman makes an important step for academics in the direction of noticing power relations within the media. He was not alive to see how popular social networking sites were to become. However, I think that while he is brilliant, I personally believe that efficiency means that society both progressing and digressing (not just digressing).

In the case of fashion, prints are now made using technology, the obsession with efficiency has meant the outsourcing of jobs to poor areas where the working conditions are horrible human rights violations, there are more people connected than ever to have a say about designers’ choices (fabric, style, etc.). Technology in the fashion world has meant creating and sustaining the need for haute couture and everyday clothing. People are “connected” with more people than ever because of social networking sites and more people than ever feel an imperative to reinvent themselves through how they choose to express themselves in dress. Fashion has never been one dimensional, but in this technological age, fashion touches more areas of the world every day growing with technology, influencing new ways that people relate with one another through social dynamics.


References
Postman, N. (n.d.). Neil Postman: Informing Ourselves to Death. Departamento de Matem_°ticas. Retrieved September 21, 2010, from http://www.mat.upm.es/~jcm/postman-informing.html

Postman, N. (n.d.). Neil Postman: Five Things We Need to Know About Technological Change. Departamento de Matem_°ticas. Retrieved September 21, 2010, from http://www.mat.upm.es/~jcm/neil-postman--five-things.html

Postman, N. (1993). Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology. New York: Vintage.

Postman, N. (2005). Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (20 Anv ed.). Boston: Penguin (Non-Classics).

Saxon, W. (2003, October 9). Neil Postman, 72, Mass Media Critic, Dies. The New York Times. Retrieved September 19, 2010, from http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/09/obituaries/09POST.html?ex=1381032000&en=b8599f343b896c35&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND

Fashion ≥ Communication

Fashion tells the greatest tale that one can tell about the complex life that one has lived as well as the state of being an individual is currently in, through intentional and unintentional communication. Malcolm Barnard sparked my interest in this topic of fashion's seemingly monogamous relationship with communication in his book Fashion As Communication. Bernard makes the culturally shocking statement that, "From one side, fashion and clothing represent objects that are desirable and sexy and practices that are both glamorous and respectable. From the other side, they represent deceitful, exploitative to be pursued only by the intellectually challenged" (p. 4). The intellectually pretentious would surely claim that those interested in this topic truly are "intellectually challenged"; however, I agree with Bernard's belief that the topic of fashion as communication is a worthwhile study to embark on.

Join me on this journey.

References:
Barnard, M. (1996). Fashion as Communication. London: Routledge.