I recently found a cartoon program from 2008 called “Fireball” in English and originally shown in Japan as a series of CGI anime shorts, developed by the Disney Corporation.
Aside from the fact that I am entertained by this program, and find its humor quirky and to my taste, I noticed that some of the jokes rely on references to western cultural traditions not normally associated with this kind of work (literary and film references that are somewhat cryptic pop up every now and then).
Now, additionally it should come as no surprise to anyone that Western film and web media of the past ten years has taken on an increasing adaptation of Asian culture, Korean and Vietnamese films made twenty years ago (and even more recently) are being remade by western artist in various media including feature films, internet media and graphic novels.
So this got me to thinking, historically cultures are homogenized through the movement of peoples and the rise and fall of ruling classes (Etruscan to Roman culture is a simplified example) but today we have, what seems to me to be, more powerful and innocuous ways for cultures to come into contact with one another and for the cross mingling of cultural ideas.
Is the homogenization of all cultures inevitable?
What might the homogenized cultures of the 22nd century be like?
No.
Cultures are not homogenous, never were, never will be.
I think you're wrong, Fabius. Compare any two european countries 1900 to what they have become culturally since. The differences are shrinking by the decade.
Cultures always have been multi-faceted, with a selection of smaller sub-cultures intersecting.
Cultures also have always been subject to change and influence by each other. Of course, with modern communication technology, this exchange of ideas happens faster and faster, and some ideas are stronger than others. But that doesn't mean it will end up in homogenization.
perhaps I missused the word homogenized?
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Not a good time to break out a copy of mein kamph and wave hitlers concerns over multiculturalism and the lack of enough Germans to govern them all.
I do suspect that multiculturalism is more about cultural expansionism than homogenization. One culture might strip off the functional cultural aspects of other incompatible cultures and add them to its own Like the Roman empire absorbing external religious beliefs into the state right up to the point where they run into Christians who declare the one god and start waging a terrorist war on any one else.
The people will all run on linux!
Some cultures have "taking the best of what other cultures have to offer" as a cultural value. And some have the exact opposite. So I think you will eventually have a large sea of largely inter-compatible cultures (united more by technology than language, unless everybody adopts Esperanto or something) with islands of isolationist culture.
I would take issue with your specific example being indicative of any larger trend because Disney probably intended it to have crossover appeal. A lot of big-studio entertainment is made with an eye as to how well it plays in foreign markets.
Also influence of art in film, graphic novels, etc. is just a tiny part of "culture". If American animation and graphic design are including some Japanese influence I don't think that says much about "culture" per se.
I think you're wrong, Fabius. Compare any two european countries 1900 to what they have become culturally since. The differences are shrinking by the decade.
Maybe on the surface. But I find that once you get just a little bit past that, things are still very culturally distinct. We tend to adopt what is cool and 'in vogue' from other cultures, but we generally end up giving it a more localized slant to the point where someone from the parent culture may have a hard time recognizing it.
(Heck, Pizza Hut had to throw in the towel and abandon this market. :p)
The United States, despite its best efforts, has never accomplished having a truly homogenous culture.
If a single nation actively making the effort can't manage it, I don't believe the rest of the world will either. You will likely see homogenization of cultural groups, but that's as far as I think it will go.
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The United States, despite its best efforts, has never accomplished having a truly homogenous culture.
If a single nation actively making the effort can't manage it, I don't believe the rest of the world will either. You will likely see homogenization of cultural groups, but that's as far as I think it will go.
Actually, the US is more a mix of communities living side by side than a true "melting-pot".
What struck me is that many people in many countries complain about their home culture becoming too US-like. Actually what happens is that, through exposure to other cultures, some outdated aspects of the cultures fall by the wayside.
We will never have a truly homogenous culture IMO (heck, you cannot even find one in a city), but a convergence of most cultures, as lived and experienced everyday by most people.
What struck me is that many people in many countries complain about their home culture becoming too US-like. Actually what happens is that, through exposure to other cultures, some outdated aspects of the cultures fall by the wayside.
To be replaced by outdated aspects of other cultures. ;)
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Some cultures have "taking the best of what other cultures have to offer" as a cultural value. And some have the exact opposite. So I think you will eventually have a large sea of largely inter-compatible cultures (united more by technology than language, unless everybody adopts Esperanto or something) with islands of isolationist culture.
I would take issue with your specific example being indicative of any larger trend because Disney probably intended it to have crossover appeal. A lot of big-studio entertainment is made with an eye as to how well it plays in foreign markets.
Also influence of art in film, graphic novels, etc. is just a tiny part of "culture". If American animation and graphic design are including some Japanese influence I don't think that says much about "culture" per se.
Well, if Disney is intentionally using foreign culteral references to get crossover appeal, then those references will slowly become commonplace and gain cultural value in the starting country. That bleed, over time, will tend to make cultures more similar.
That being said, we still have regional differences with cities. So while at high level I see us becoming more similar, it really depends on the granularity you want to go down to.
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What struck me is that many people in many countries complain about their home culture becoming too US-like. Actually what happens is that, through exposure to other cultures, some outdated aspects of the cultures fall by the wayside.To be replaced by outdated aspects of other cultures. ;)
I would really like an example of this. Since I believe that cultural traditions actually follow the harsh rule of evolution : what becomes a hindrance falls to the wayside in time :-)
So this got me to thinking, historically cultures are homogenized through the movement of peoples and the rise and fall of ruling classes (Etruscan to Roman culture is a simplified example) but today we have, what seems to me to be, more powerful and innocuous ways for cultures to come into contact with one another and for the cross mingling of cultural ideas.Is the homogenization of all cultures inevitable?
A better question, IMHO, is "is the homogenization of all cultures possible?" All the hard evidence that I've seen suggests that cultures are getting more distinct, not less.
For example, there was a study (by Patrick Juola, IIRC) that looked at US English and UK English and the degree of difference over time, as measured by the Google books database -- he found that the difference had actually increased over the 20th century --- UK English and US English were farther apart in 2010 (or whenever the study ended) than they had been at any point previously.
I would really like an example of this. Since I believe that cultural traditions actually follow the harsh rule of evolution : what becomes a hindrance falls to the wayside in time :-)What struck me is that many people in many countries complain about their home culture becoming too US-like. Actually what happens is that, through exposure to other cultures, some outdated aspects of the cultures fall by the wayside.To be replaced by outdated aspects of other cultures. ;)
True, to a degree. Culture is also a source of identity. While there are positive, generous parts of every culture (that is why we have them), every single one also have negative, costly parts (to prevent freeriders). Interestingly, the costly parts of cultures are MORE identity-giving than the generous parts, and when people feel threatened, every source of identity becomes vital to them. Thus, they will retain mostly the costly parts, even if other parts are allowed to slide. Further opposition at this point will reaffirm their dedication to keeping their culture intact, perhaps even to the death. Maslow is wrong; there are many things worth dying for out there.
True, to a degree. Culture is also a source of identity. While there are positive, generous parts of every culture (that is why we have them), every single one also have negative, costly parts (to prevent freeriders). Interestingly, the costly parts of cultures are MORE identity-giving than the generous parts, and when people feel threatened, every source of identity becomes vital to them. Thus, they will retain mostly the costly parts, even if other parts are allowed to slide. Further opposition at this point will reaffirm their dedication to keeping their culture intact, perhaps even to the death. Maslow is wrong; there are many things worth dying for out there.I would really like an example of this. Since I believe that cultural traditions actually follow the harsh rule of evolution : what becomes a hindrance falls to the wayside in time :-)What struck me is that many people in many countries complain about their home culture becoming too US-like. Actually what happens is that, through exposure to other cultures, some outdated aspects of the cultures fall by the wayside.To be replaced by outdated aspects of other cultures. ;)
The problem with this is, of course, that people have sometimes wildly differing definitions what their culture is all about. Which is an indication of how varied cultures are within themselves.
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Aside from the fact that I am entertained by this program, and find its humor quirky and to my taste, I noticed that some of the jokes rely on references to western cultural traditions not normally associated with this kind of work (literary and film references that are somewhat cryptic pop up every now and then).
My first thought is; you're presumably watching the English dub, or with English subtitles?
While the visual jokes and references will take place in both English and Japanese versions, you don't know what dialogue, narration or exposition will fill the equivalent space in the Japanese version of the cartoon. Those western references may be lampshaded, explained to the audience as 'those wacky gaijin!', or totally absent.
Mrs Snorter and I watched the director's commentary on several anime, and the English crew usually admit they rewrote most of the dialogue to match the animated mouth-flaps, and often would rewrite major elements of the plot.
So finding Western references in an anime is no surprise, since they were put there for your benefit.
Aside from the fact that I am entertained by this program, and find its humor quirky and to my taste, I noticed that some of the jokes rely on references to western cultural traditions not normally associated with this kind of work (literary and film references that are somewhat cryptic pop up every now and then).My first thought is; you're presumably watching the English dub, or with English subtitles?
While the visual jokes and references will take place in both English and Japanese versions, you don't know what dialogue, narration or exposition will fill the equivalent space in the Japanese version of the cartoon. Those western references may be lampshaded, explained to the audience as 'those wacky gaijin!', or totally absent.
Mrs Snorter and I watched the director's commentary on several anime, and the English crew usually admit they rewrote most of the dialogue to match the animated mouth-flaps, and often would rewrite major elements of the plot.
So finding Western references in an anime is no surprise, since they were put there for your benefit.
I'm not familiar with this particular anime, but, considering I have seen these kinds of things with fan subs, I wouldn't write it off so easily.
It is a strange little show, not technically anime, but certainly in the genre, and I watched the Japanese language (with and then without subtitles) and found it curious that Drossel addresses her servant by names from western literature, in spoken Japanese.
The defense of culture (take Pacific Islander as an example) is facinating to me, because it seems you will find people who "defend" a cultural identity that is traditional, at times, and then you will see people defended a more blended culture, and I wonder just how much the traditional culture really is traditional after all and how much of that concept is actually a blended culture itself.
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In the future we will all wear unitards! I hope we still have the option to accessorize with hats.
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Japan has had a thing for western culture and blending it and Japanese culture since at least the Meiji Restoration.
Remember that they stole the magical girl from Hollywood (Bewitched) and the standard magical girlfriend is descended more from I Dream of Genie then Kuzunoha.
Actually, as opposed to many western countries (and especially my own dear France), Japan is very secure in the knowledge that japanese culture is eternal , as in "always was, always will be".
Paradoxically, this makes Japan far more open to inroads from other cultures as the japanese people just do not fear that their culture will be contaminated, or even destroyed, by other cultures. Such a thing is literally unthinkable.
Also, the ability of Japan to adopt and adapt foreign elements is quite old.
The katana and the short bow were copied from the weapons of the dead Mongol soldiers that washed up on the shores of Japan after the Kami Kaze destroyed their invasion armada. IIRC that is how the japanese samurai got their horses too ;-)