#globalzn1a03

[ianchen0812]

Blog Post #1 - The globalization of movie

Movies are a window into the world, not merely a means of enjoyment. The globalization of films has grown to be a potent force in today's linked world, bringing cultures, narratives, and feelings from all over the world to our screens. This blog article will examine how globalization has helped films transcend boundaries and improve our lives.

Movies appeal to everyone. Stories told on the silver screen connect with audiences worldwide, regardless of the language they are spoken in or the nation they are from. As the center of the film business, Hollywood has long been a significant driver in the globalization of the film industry. Blockbusters like "Titanic" and "Avatar" have won over audiences from Tokyo to Toronto, demonstrating the universality of good narrative.

Foreign films have gained popularity as Hollywood continues to rule the global film industry, enhancing our cinematic experiences with various viewpoints. In addition to receiving critical praise, films like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (China), "Amélie" (France), and "Parasite" (South Korea) have helped us appreciate other cultures and traditions. They demonstrate the influence of cross-cultural dialogue on cinema.

The popularity of streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ has made international films more widely available. These platforms provide a wide selection of foreign films, allowing viewers to learn about various histories, languages, and cultures. The world of cinema is now more accessible and diversified than ever by pressing "play."

Numerous foreign films are presented at film festivals, including Cannes, Sundance, and the Berlin Foreign Film Festival. These celebrations of the filmmaking craft also help spread foreign films worldwide. They provide skilled filmmakers with a stage to tell their tales and interact with a larger audience.

Movies have a particularly effective way of fostering cross-cultural awareness and promoting it. They can make historical occurrences, societal concerns, and personal experiences more transparent that would not otherwise be the case. Across linguistic and cultural boundaries, films like "Schindler's List," "Life Is Beautiful," and "A Separation" have inspired crucial discussions on global challenges.

In conclusion, the globalization of film is evidence of the value of narrative and the need for human connection. Movies are a constant reminder of our common humanity and the shared language of passion and imagination that links us all as they continue to transcend boundaries and provide peeks into the rich fabric of our planet. The magic of film has no bounds, whether you're watching a Hollywood blockbuster or a foreign indie treasure. 

[sw-globalzn1a03]

Rassemblement Nationale - Blog Post #2

Over the last couple decades, we have all seen a rise in globalisation, with companies and states interacting on a more international level. It has led to a general increase in GDP when compared to a century ago. However, with this increase, an anti-globalist movement has also begun to develop. Some political parties see the rise of globalisation as a sort of threat against their respective states. These parties are mostly far-right parties, such as the National Democratic Party of Germany and the Trump administration (Stack, 2016). The main focus of this blog is also one of such parties: Rassemblement Nationale, or the National Rally in English.

To begin with, I should explain how I came across this party and their ideals. I have been aware of the Rassemblement Nationale for a while now, mostly having learned of their existence while doing an exchange in France. I was clueless except from what my host family could translate for me, so I was unaware of all of their ideals until I began researching anti-globalist states.When I put in the National Rally, many articles surfaced. A large number of these articles were about the leader's goal of "defending France from globalisation" (Reuters staff, 2017).

The Rassemblement Nationale is a French far-right political party created in 1972, with anti-globalism being one of their core ideals. Their current leader Marine Le Pen. During the 2017 French Presidential elections, Le Pen had explained globalisation as "manufacturing by slaves for selling to the unemployed." (BBC, 2017). She placed a heavy emphasis on focusing on more local activities, stating that it would benefit the country more than globalisation could. Le Pen has made it clear that she is against economic globalisation, claiming that it is the reason behind "French decline." Her written campaign involved her plans of removing France from the EU, further showing that she was also anti-free trade ( Vinocur, 2017;BBC, 2017).

Her campaign also heavily features anti-immigration ideology, which is another concept learned in class (Stockdale, 2022). She brought up the terrorist attacks that occured during then, connecting them to the "French decline" a well. If elected, she had pledged to "immediately suspend all legal immigrantion" in a bid to fix France's large influx of foreigners (Chrisafis, 2017). This anti-immigration stance also aligns with the 'us vs them' mentality we learned in the lectures (Stockdale, 2022).

Marine Le Pen ultimately lost by a landslide to Emmanuel Macron. However, she has declared her candidacy for the 2022 French Presidential Elections. From what we have seen happen to the United States under the Trump administration, who happens to share similar views with the Rassemblement Nationale, I do wonder if France will see something similar happen to her if she wins.

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References

BBC. (2017, February 5). France election: Far-right's Le Pen rails against globalisation. BBC. Retrieved March 4, 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38872335

Chrisafis, A. (2017, April 24). Marine Le Pen rails against rampant globalisation after election success. The Guardian. Retrieved March 4, 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/24/marine-le-pen-rails-against-rampant-globalisation-after-election-success

Reuters staff. (2017, April 23). Le Pen says will defend France against globalization. Reuters. Retrieved March 4, 2022, from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-election-le-pen-idUSKBN17P0TW

Stack, L. (2016, November 14). Globalism: A Far-Right Conspiracy Theory Buoyed by Trump (Published 2016). The New York Times. Retrieved March 4, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/us/politics/globalism-right-trump.html

Stockdale, L., Dr. (2022). GLOBALZN 1A03 week 3.

Vinocur, N. (2017, February 5). Marine Le Pen makes globalization the enemy. POLITICO. Retrieved March 4, 2022, from https://www.politico.eu/article/marine-le-pen-globalization-campaign-launch-french-politics-news-lyon-islam/

Image from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/01/marine-le-pen-rebrands-front-national-in-push-for-support

[sw-globalzn1a03]

Genshin Impact - Blog post #1

Throughout the ages, globalisation has played a huge part in my life. Being of mixed descent, it has been present even before I was born. I grew up outside of  Japan - where my mother is from - but I still had access to many Japanese things. One of which was Nintendo games. They were a very significant part of my upbringing. Their games are very important to me. It was what I played with my brothers growing up, and it was what introduced me to the world of gaming. As I grew older, I began exploring and playing other games such as Fantage, PubG, Sims, Valorant and more. All of them had some form of system that allowed for players to interact with each other. During the pandemic, I began playing Genshin Impact at my friend's insistence. Needless to say, it quickly became my favourite game. In addition, the game has very close ties to globalisation.

Genshin Impact is an RPG game created by miHoYo, a Chinese game developing company. Although the game was made by a Chinese company, it is accessible internationally through four servers: America, Asia, Europe, and TW, HK, MO.  I mainly play on the American server but I have an account on the Asia server as well. Ther servers are not limited to an individual's location. This gives me the opportunity to play with both my friends in the Americas and Asia. I have chosen to write about the game because it is heavily influenced by globalisation.

The game has a co-op and friend system. The co-op system allows for players to enter each other's worlds and make friends or just play together. I have made some good friends and we join one another's world whenever we feel like it. There is also an in-game chat system which has preset emoticons. This comes in handy when there is an occasional language barrier as the emoticons still let us express things what we want to do or how we are feeling to each other.

Teyvat is the name of the world in Genshin and it is separated into seven different nations with each nation being home to the Archon of a specific element. The nations are inspired by real life societies. Currently, only three nations have been released: Mondstat, Liyue and Inazuma. Mondstat is based off of Germany. In addition to the German sounding name, it also has an overwhelming amount of European and Tudor styled buildings. They are famous for their alcohol, similar to their real world counterpart. I really enjoyed Mondstat as the buildings reminded me of the ones I saw while travelling around Germany. Liyue(璃月)  is based off of China and Inazuma(稲妻) is based off of Japan. Both names are rooted in the language of their real world counterparts. It felt nice wandering around Inazuma and laughing with some of my Japanese friends over NPC names that we share. I share a name with a shogunate soldier which I find hilarious as my name originates from a samurai clan.

Genshin Impact is related to globalisation in every aspect. From the way players from all around the world can easily play together and chat together to introducing a country's culture - even if it is the most basic parts of it - to an international audience. It shows how easy it is to connect with others and how simple it is to learn about other countries and places through a game.

(Photos are all screenshots)

[kathrynvstheglobe]

Blog Post #4: Zero Dark Thirty, the War on Terror, and Torture

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine that you are in a dark, unfamiliar room. You are exhausted, and you want to sleep––but you cannot. Your arms are attached to ropes hanging from the ceiling, music blares non-stop throughout the room, and you are covered in bruises. You stay awake, not because you want to, but because your captors have made it impossible to fall asleep.

This was just part of the reality of the torture committed by the CIA against detainees in Pakistan during the manhunt for Osama Bin-Laden, the orchestrator of the 9/11 terror attacks, as depicted in the 2012 film Zero Dark Thirty. However, critics of the film condemned it for its depiction of torture, also known as “enhanced interrogation techniques”. Journalists and authors including Emily Bazelon, Michael Wolff, Frank Bruni, Karen J. Greenberg, and Jane Mayer described the film as presenting a pro-torture stance, with the torture of detainees being presented as a necessary evil for the CIA to track down Bin Laden. Notably, John McCain, a U.S. Senator who once suffered torture as a prisoner of war, objected to the film by stating that the portrayal of torture as an effective interrogation method was inaccurate and that the torture committed in the Bin Laden manhunt often produced misleading or false information. 

The controversial portrayal of torture in Zero Dark Thirty as a necessary and effective interrogation method provides a lens onto the issue of globalization in a post-9/11 world. Since 9/11 and the resulting War on Terror, discussions of terrorism, especially Islamic terrorism from the Middle East, have dominated discourse and turned globalization into an issue of national security from international threats. A consequence of this development has been the injection of themes from the War on Terror, including the normalization of torture against those deemed potential terrorists, into popular media, including film. While some may argue that Zero Dark Thirty is simply a product of its time, it is nonetheless reflective of patterns in the discourse of terrorism and globalization that persist to this day. 

[alymac]

Blog #4 - My Changed Opinion

The semester is almost done and the course material is coming to an end, my thoughts on globalization have become ongoing when it comes to watching the news, or talking to my friends about political or global issues. This course has really given me the ability to think about the content outside of the class and in my everyday life. I do have to say my views, opinions and perspectives have changed since the start of the course, so I will dive into more detail and list a couple. I found every week of the course interesting, but I do have to say my opinions towards global sporting spectacles have slightly changed. Watching the Olympics is something I have always looked forward too, my family and I sit down and watch as many events as we can, it is always memorable. Unfortunately I never knew what happens behind the scenes of these massive events that take place every two years, and are viewed by individuals across the globe. I never knew the likelihood of struggle that some countries have experienced over the years; for example, countries going into debt and taking loans so they can afford to build facilities that they may never use again; this is a fine example of the Olympics in Greece in 2004, who hosted the most expensive Olympic Games with a cost of approximately $15 billion US dollars. Now when I think about the Olympics, I see the negative side where it really only benefits the rich and powerful and leaves countries with longterm debt to take care of. I am not saying I will never watch the Olympics ever again, I just think its good to see the other side to it so you are self-aware and knowledgeable of what happens in the shadows. Another opinion of mine that has strengthened was the idea of “voluntourism”; volunteering and tourism mixed together. I never had thought negatively of voluntourism, because most of my friends who did it went with a purpose and not for a simple Instagram photo; However, after learning about it, it wouldn’t be on my bucket list anymore, now that I know the more controversial side of it. Yes, young students or recent graduates, come with a purpose to help out in a country that is struggling, but how are they helping when they are only a temporary fix to the struggle? Voluntourism lacks the idea that it is most important and effective to teach the locals how to provide and help themselves rather than doing it for them; for example, teaching them to build their own house. The contribution can have limited effectiveness and will create an attachment amongst the volunteers and the kids, who gain strong connections with the volunteers who aren’t their permanently. Once again, I am not bashing the system, I just believe it could be much more powerful if it had a different purpose and objective than it does right now. Throughout this course I began to make even more connections to the content and the real world, I would watch the news and then realize, “Dr. Stockdale talked about this term last week”, and then I would tell my parents or ask for their opinions. There are other ideas I would have loved to list, but then it wouldn’t be a blog post, rather an essay, but those were a couple of topics that had the ability to change my perspective.

[ericglobalizationblog]

Westernization and its Effects

Westernization is a term used to describe the adoption of western cultures, philosophies and trends. As everyone is entitled to their own opinions, many argue that westernization threatens the conservation of orthodox doctrines and principles. It endangers the long-standing cultures that originated way before the development of the West as a whole. First world countries like the U.S, almost have made their goal to provide aid to struggling countries. Oftentimes, as history has shown, those struggles arose from the involvement of the West. These countries face the dilemma of adopting western values, thus losing substantial amounts of their own culture. The most common example of westernization is the use of western trends to influence the wardrobe, entertainment and the cuisine, custom to the specific culture. American apparel and food-service giants can be found everywhere around the world today. These corporations kill the local market and native business, disrupting the economy of the state. These factors lead to the elimination of the country's  values and traditions that define it. These traditions and values are not only the foundational pillars, but are also essential elements to the country’s sustainability. When examined carefully, colonialism and westernization are not too far apart, in regards to their common philosophies. The West as a whole should stop rescuing people from themselves. The U.S should stop imposing its ideologies onto other countries, because let’s be honest, it does not have much to offer. Instead, it should focus on itself and mend the severe inequalities and corruptions people face within its borders. “Do not fix yourself by breaking someone else''. The truth is, as globalization gains more supporters, westernization becomes more and more inevitable.

[kathrynvstheglobe]

Blog Post #3: Video Games, Anime, and Transnational Protest Symbols

On October 6, 2019, Taiwanese Hearthstone player Ng “blitzchung” Wai Chung was granted an interview in a Blizzard Entertainment eSports tournament. In the broadcasted interview, he wore a gas mask and said “liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time”, both the mask and the slogan referencing anti-Chinese government protests in Hong Kong. Blizzard Entertainment suspended blitzchung from the tournament, resulting in international outrage at Blizzard and support for blitzchung and the Hong Kong protestors. Amidst the backlash, protestors began to make protest signs and fan-art of Mei (a character from another Blizzard game titled Overwatch) in an attempt to get Overwatch banned in China and hurt Blizzard’s sales. Overwatch fans from around the world joined in, posting fan-art online of Mei dressed as a protestor and spreading the hashtag #BoycottBlizzard.

Around the time of the Blizzard controversy, anti-government protests in Chile were also taking place. The protests began in response to increased train fare prices, but later evolved into riots over rising financial inequality. The 2019 Japanese anime Demon Slayer had also gained considerable popularity in Chile before the protests. One of the anime’s characters is Inosuke Hashibira, an aggressive young man wearing a boar’s head who has little regard for authority and even head-butts a train in one scene. These characteristics turned Inosuke into a symbol of resistance for protestors, including fan-art depicting him resisting arrest from Chilean police and evading train ticket barriers.

The transnational spread of pop culture such as video games and anime is a side-effect of technological globalization. With the rise of the internet, MMORPGs in which players can game and interact with other players from around the world are now possible and widely accessible. As well, TV shows can be easily distributed and accessed online via streaming services. As a result of media’s global spread, pop culture is no longer limited to its country of origin. Without technological globalization, a character in an American-made game would have never been a protest symbol in Hong kong, and a character in a Japanese anime would have never been a symbol of resistance for protestors in Chile.

[ericglobalizationblog]

What is Cultural Appropriation and how to avoid it.

The term “cultural appropriation” was mostly used in the 1980s as more people were discussing colonialism and minority cultural treatments. As social media took over daily life, more awareness was brought to this subject. Cultural appropriation is when one misuses aspects of another’s culture. Sometimes, this happens without the person even realizing it. Usually, African-American and Native-American cultures are the ones most known to be appropriated. 

Many celebrities have been accused of this, whether it is on a red carpet or in front of the ferris wheel at Coachella. Recently, Kim Kardashian was accused of stealing appearances from African-American culture for her cosmetic company photoshoots and appropriating Asian cultures by naming her shapewear line ‘Kimono'. Many celebrities also have been accused of appropriating Hip Hop culture, developed by American-African and Latino-American inner-city communities.  Big corporations, especially in the beauty industry, have been accused of cultural appropriation. Non African-American community members adopting ‘Black’ hairstyles is one of the most discussed examples when it comes to cultural appropriation. Oftentimes, companies or celebrities try to come off as ‘exotic’ to present a trend or their “different side” to the public. But this always backfires. So why is this so important? Well, appropriating one’s culture is not only offensive but it also perpetuates harmful and dangerous stereotypes.  A solution to this problem is to appreciate and not appropriate. By educating yourself and cautiously showcase one’s culture with manners, you can avoid cultural appropriation.