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Asia Pacifc Media Educator

Issue 5 Article 10

7-1-1998

Globalisation and localisation - Dynamic processesof cultural change

I. BanerjeeUniversiti Sains Malaysia

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Recommended CitationBanerjee, I., Globalisation and localisation - Dynamic processes of cultural change,Asia Pacifc MediaEducator, 5, 1998, 119-129.Available at:hp://ro.uow.edu.au/apme/vol1/iss5/10
http://ro.uow.edu.au/apmehttp://ro.uow.edu.au/apme/vol1/iss5http://ro.uow.edu.au/apme/vol1/iss5/10http://ro.uow.edu.au/http://ro.uow.edu.au/apme/vol1/iss5/10http://ro.uow.edu.au/apme/vol1/iss5http://ro.uow.edu.au/apmehttp://ro.uow.edu.au/http://ro.uow.edu.au/


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Cultural ChangeDebates onmedia globalisation and its cultural implications havetakenon a new significance in the face of vast changes in communicationtechnology andeasyaccessibility to diverse information channels. Thisarticle sketches some ofthemajor theoretical perspectives on thestudyofmedia globalisation and its consequences on national cultures, andprovides a critique of the major weaknesses and problems of theseconceptual models. I t concludes with a discussion of frameworks,especially thatofintercultural communication which theauthor contendsis perhaps mostsuitable tounderstand theprocess ofcultural integrationand disintegration.

lndrajit BanerjeeUniversiti Sains MaklysUz

A recent work on contemporary television in Asia contendsthat 'globalization' is a highly contested concept and meansdifferent things in different situations and to different people.(French and Richards, 1996). The term 'globalization' is viewed Iin three distinct categories:

"First is it s corporate form as supra-national businessorganizationswith a structure of ownership and control organized Ito operate on a global basis...second, globalization can be seen ascorporate ideology, not in the sense that its basis lies only in thecorporations, but in the sense of an ideology that has beenestablished to serve the interests of the corporations, and whichsets the terms of the debate such that the growth of global culture Iis accepted as given....the third dimension of globalization is as aprocesswith an empirical dimension -- in otherwords as a process 'which can be observed. Globalization is often characterised bymajor social, cul tural and institutional change, whose tokenpersuasiveness demands inves tiga tion ." (French and IRichards,1996: 33-34) I AsiaPacificEarlier debates on the significance of the term 'global' I MediaEducatorshowed a strong tendency to interpret the term global in its !Issue No.5"homogenization and uniformity" aspect and this has definitely I July -Dec.l998

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INDRAjIT BANERJEE: Globalisation andlocalisation".been the case in the 1970s when most of the media imperialismliterature appeared. (Featherstone, 1990).In this interpretation andunderstanding of the term 'global', international flows ininformation and communicationwere seen to be a one-way, non-reciprocal flow of information and cultural domination emanatingfrom the industrializednations, especially the U.S., and 'imposed'on the Third World.

In the late 19805 and through to the 19905, the term'globalization' was considered in its wider and more dialecticsense. The process of globalization was interpreted as not merelya process of homogenization but simultaneously as a process ofheterogenization. The global cannot be isolated from the local,they sustain each other dialectically. They are both an integral partof the trends of global reality and the shifts that have come tocharacterize the world today. The term globalization, therefore,invokes both the poles of this dialectic relationship and any studyof its implicationswould therefore have to examine the forms andstructure of this dynamic relationship. From this perspective, theterm 'global' naturally modifies the terms of the debate, giving i ta more complex meaning and stressing on the interplay betweenlocalities in a larger context rather than on the one-way, non-reciprocal sense of the term.

Global MediaAnd ThirdWorldDevelopment

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GeraldSussman and John Lent noted that "publishedworkon the role ofcommunication and informationsystems in the ThirdWorld has been dominated since the end of World War IT by a'developmentalist'bias, originatingprimarily in theUnited States,thatviewed mass media, and later telecommunications, as centralto the reproduction of the 'developed' political, economic, culturaland institutional behavioural structures of the West" (Sussmanand Lent, eds,1991:2). Debates on the cultural impact of mediaglobalization stem from Third World criticisms of the Westerntreatment of the media as instrumental in catalysing economicdevelopment. I twas theorised thatby facilitating the ThirdWorldaccess to Western values, Western ideas and technologies via themedia, the traditional and backward societies of the Third Worldcould be better prepared for the process of modernisation.

This perspective, based on conventional economicdevelopment theory, has come under serious criticism (seeGunarMyrdal, 1972) primarily for the fai lure by planners to considersocial and cultural factors as significant to the process of economicdevelopment. (Hartmann et al., 1989: 20). As a number of criticshave illustrated through detailed case studies, economic modelsand concepts appropriate to industralizedWesternnations do notalways fit in with the conditions prevailing inAsian and other

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contexts. Moreover, traditional and largely rural societies havevery complex institutions and social situations which playadecisive role in the process of development.

In their case study of the impact of the mass media onvillage life in Ind ia and the implications for development,Hartmann and his colleagues (1989) noted that in most aspectsmass communications are far less important sources ofinformation than interpersonal communication. Their studyrevealed that generally, the exposure of villagers to masscommunicationswas fairly low, thereby underlining the fact thataccess to media is also not as widespread as imagined.In the Asian cultural context, it is necessary to distinguish :between audiences and to examine carefully their socialsurroundings and cultural practices in their specificity. I t istheoretically flawed to assume that all cultures have the sameaccess to media or that they have similar representation in themedia or modes of media consumption. In India, for example,social structure and structural conflict are powerful agents forconditioning cultural attitudes and behaviour. Asian countriesevenbetween themselves are markedby great cultural, social andeconomic differences.A micro-analysis of social structure and economic factorsis thus relevant to the studyof the globalmedia impacton nationalcultures. The cultural imperialism position, much touted in the1970s at the height of debates for a New World Information andCommunication Order, did not undertake these detailed microsocial analysis and tended to see audiences in Western EuropeandAsia inthesamemanner.Atbest they groupedAsiancountriesunder the label "traditional societies", occasionally distinguisingthe audiences between rural and urban. As Hartmann and hiscolleagues argue: "Too often such discussions treat the people asan amorphous mass; where distinction is made between socialstrata, it is usually between the city-based elite and the rural Imasses. This leads easily to the assumption of a harmony ofinterests among the rural population. There is little warrant forsuch an assumption in history or ongeneral sociological groundsand ... our village studies illustrate well that village society ishighly differentiated in terms of access to resources and by casteand other divisions, and that village society is characterised bycompetition for resources among different interest groups".(Hartmann et al., 1989: 256).

Hartmann andhis colleagues note: "Information,ideas andvalues originating in the media acquire currency by a process ofdiffusion. This process is neither automatic nor indiscriminate; Idiffusion tends to follow the pattern of social interaction alreadystructured by caste, class, age and sex. Information and ideas onAsiaPacific MediaEducator, Issue No.5, July-December 1998 121


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their own are seldom sufficient to alter these structures. The effectsof communication should not be thought of only in terms of thespread of information. One of the more important effects is togradually alter the cultural climate and to introduce new valuesin a slow, diffuse way". (Hartmann et al., 1989:263).

Research in international communication has also beenmarked by a paradigm shift from the determination of mediastructure and content to an emphasis on the critical importance ofaudiences in the process ofmedia consumption and interpretation.The user-centred communication model asserts the need to shiftthe focus of study from the unbalanced flow of information to thesearch for the meaning that a group of people assign toinformation. Audiences are perceived to be active 'interpretors'ofmedia contents and messages and not as passive receiverswhocan be easily manipulated. The process of decoding mediamessages and the audience's capacity to generate their ownmeanings is considered here as a primordial fa cto r forunderstanding the impact of media on culture (seeMorley, 1986;Ang,1985).

The same media contents are interpreted in very differentways by various audiences. (Liebes and Katz,1993). Receptionstudies in fact have pointed out that media users tend to selectivelyassimilate media messages and that this process of selection andinterpretation is operated through the ir own specific culturalperceptions and experience. Essentially, this school of thought orapproach has stressed on the need to understand the experiencesof an audience rather than just assuming the influence of mediamessages on them.

Studies have also revealed the existence of strong nationaland local cultural resistance to global or international mediaprogramming. (See Dowmunt, ed., 1993). Others have alsodemonstrated that global media have often helped to revitalizenational and local cultures through a process of re-embedding (seeSahin and Aksoy, 1993;Mohammadi, 1990).

An emerging theory of 'glocalisation' is being adopted toexplore the dynamic interplay between the global and the local.Originating from the notion of global localization, a strongly usedbusiness strategy in Japan, the glocalization theory provides "aviable alternative to the thesis ofmedia imperialism ... (and) seemsto point out a path to a nuanced understanding of the nature andprocess of media flow and cultural change in the contemporaryworld". (Wang, 1997: 19). This theoretical position refutes thedichotomies that have marked the understanding of the globaland the local and perceives these two forces as being inextricablybound together. "Ethnicand cultural fragmentation andmodernist

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i Inter-CulturalCommApproach

homogenization are not two arguments, two opposing views ofwhat is happening in theworld today,but two constitutive trendsof global reality". (Friedman, 1990: 311).

The term 'glocalization' does not signify only the narrowernotion of homogenization but captures the dialectical process Iwhich characterizes the tensions between the globaland the local.One of the main proponents of the glocalization thesis, RolandRobertson explains : "The global is not in and of itselfcounterpoised to the local ...rather,what is often referred to as thelocal is essentially includedwithin the global", (Robertson, 1995: I35). The concept of glocalization thus becomes useful to examineprocesses of globalizationand localizationwhich characterize theworld today. Glocalization could be defined as "the dialecticmoment of globalization and localization in social and culturalchange". (Wang, 1997: 20).

What is clear with these emerging theoretical perspectiveis that cultural changehas to be conceived of in terms of processesof dynamic integration and disintegration which occur not onlyat an inter-state level but transcend the state society unit(Featherstone, 1990: 1). Globalization essentially involves transnational or trans-societal cultural processes which take differentforms. Localization involves intra-societal or intra-nationalcultural processes which define and strengthen local culturalpractices. Sometimes, these practices are those that have alreadyexisted over a long period of time but there are also instanceswhere dormant local cultural forms and traditions are revived Iand redefined. Thus, the weakness of the cultural imperialismthesis lies in its conceptual neglect of the rich diversityof popularlocal discourses, codes and practiceswhich are an integral part ofthe present cultural scenario.

The interconnections and communicationbetween culturesis an integralpart of the culturalmap of theworld today. Althoughthere are areas on the world cultural map which still remainrelatively free from external cultural influence and interaction,these areas constitute the exception rather than the rule. In thiscontext, a useful theoretical framework for analyzing the processof media globalization and cultural change is the intercultural Icommunication approach.Beginning in the late 60s, intercultural communicationhasdeveloped as a powerful framework for understanding themeeting and interaction between cultures (see Gessner andSchade, 1990; Banerjee, 1994).Cultural pluralism and interactionis an uncontested reality today and it is necessary to examine thenature and consequences of this interaction. The problem withAsiaPacific MediaEducator, Issue No.5, July-December 1998 123


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the global/local terminology and conceptual models is that theytend to be too general for clarifying the articulations betweendifferent cultures. Even seen in their dialectic dynamics, they tendto polarize the cultural process in two extreme movements.

In recent years, global and local cultures have become sointertwined that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish betweenthem. Often, global cultural practices are appropriations orextractions of certain local cultural practices which have beendecontextualized and spatialized. The same happens to localcultures which in their interaction with other cultural practicesand forms, imbibe and inherit new forms which revitalize andmodify them.

Historically, we have been used to conceiving cultureI territorially or confined to a definite geographic space. Thisterritoriallybound notion of culturebecomes problematicbecausesocial relationships and interactions, which constitute thefoundations of any culture, are becoming more and morespatialized and transnational. "The less social relationships areconfined within territorial boundaries, the less so is also culture;and in our time especially! we can contrast in gross terms thosecultures which are territorially defined (in te rms of nations,regions, or localities) with those which are carried as collectivestructures of meaning by networks more extended in space,transnational or even global". (Hannerz, 1990: 239).

I t is important to understand that i f there is an accelerationand multiplication of contacts and exchanges between cultures,the same process is also occurring within the boundaries of anygiven cul ture . The explosion of the nation-state as the strictboundary of a culture has given rise not only to trans-nationalcultural forms and processes but also to local cultural forms whichseem to be asserting themselves and seeking for their soul andidentity. I t is this rapid diversification and emergence of newcul tural spaces and their interaction which has led to theambivalence of cultural processes and their analysis.

The intercultural communication approach or perspectiveis usefulbecause it permits us to lookinto the interactionbetweencultures and examine the dynamic processes and forms that arecreated through this interaction. Using this theoreticalperspective,it is possible to conceptualize the contemporary cultural scenarioas an interplay between two major trends or processes. On theone hand, there is a rapid progression all over the world of a certainnumber of common cultural practices. These practices, which Irefer to as the "transcultural" dimension of culture, are relativelyindependent from the culture to which one belongs or to one'snative culture and comprises leisure activities, mediaconsumption, eating habits, dressing habits, etc.

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INDRAJIT BANERJEE: Globalisation andlocalisation...The term 'transcultural'has also beencalled 'transnational' cultureor 'third' culture by some theorists. On the otherhand, there is anincreasing embedding of local and singular cultural practiceswhich are linked to historical processes and the inculcation ofvalues and codes, which are by definition difficult to share bythosewho have not imbibed them as their cultural heritage. I referto these practices or this dimension of culture as "patrimonial"culture (Banerjee, 1994).

The process of globalization in its larger sense can beconceived as the dynamic articulation between the transculturaland the patrimonial. Everywhere in the world, this articulation isbeing experienced and witnessed and in order to comprehendthe phenomenon of media globalization and its impact onculture(s), it is crucial to examine these interconnections,interactions and articulations. The internationalmedia landscapeclearly supports this theoretical position and, unlike what wasbelieved for a long period of time, globalmedia players and theirchannels and products have not been able to ignore thesearticulations. The regionalisation of satellite TV channels in theAsian context has proved once again that globalization does notentail a homogenization of cultures. In fact, i t is the satellite TVchannels (for example, STARTV) which have had to adapt theirprogrammes and strategies to the various national audiences'needs, expectations and specificities.

While a certain number of transcultural trends havecertainly emerged in Asian societies and TV programs such as"Baywatch" have captured a certain part of the Asian audience,cultural specificity, whether i t be at the local or national levels,has not disappeared. As a number of micro-social analysis andvarious studies have indicated (Hartmann et al.,1989;Dowmunt,ed.,1993;Banerjee,1994), transnationalmedia have been forced tochange their initial strategies which were based exclusively onforeign programming and content in order to use local material,programming and content more adapted to specific national orlocal cultural audiences. Most transnational televisionbroadcasters and media channels have in fact been forced to takeinto accountboth the specificities of national audiences as well asthe emergence of transcultural trends and forms.

In today's process of time/space compression and humanmovement, i t is difficult to determine the future of nationalcultures. The cultural house is thus open and we are beingsomewhat forced to become cultural travellers, livingon differentfloors at different times. However, these changes have underlinedmore than ever before, the importance of national cultural andAsiaPacific MediaEducator, Issue No.5, July-December 1998

I CulturalI Mediai PolicyI

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INDRAjIT BANERJEE: Globalisation andlocalisation...media policy. Cultural change does not occur without culturalconflict. Every culture seems threatened, not necessarily for itssurvival, but for finding a new synthes is and identity in thismoment of change. Once exposed to foreign cultures and mediacontents, national and local cultural spaces are forced to questionthemselves and perform some soul searching. In this situation,the means of expression available to a culture to seek itself anddisseminate its forms and essencebecomes crucial. This, especiallyat a time when the traditional means and modes of culturalappropriation and constitution have undergone a significantdecline. The family, school, religion as well as other means ofsocialisation are no longer what they used to be : guardians ofpractices and values, promoters and protectors oflong establishedcodes and symbols. The turn towards the media as a vitalcomponent of cultural continuity and development is inevitableespecially in the dawn of the digital age.

I t is here that cultural and media policy intervenes. Theobjective of such a policy should be clear and simple : to let thewinds of all the cultures blow freely across the cultural house,without dinuning out the lights on any of the the floors. Policy inthese areas should consist of H a concerted effort, based on a clearlydefinednational cultural policy to disseminateat the national levelthe local, indigeneous, authentic cultural values, so that theexternal values which inevitably filter into the society throughthe pervasive mass media will come to enrich and supplementthe cultural heritage rather than supplant or subvert them withal l their alienating consequences". (Ansah, 1988: 10).Faced with competition from transnational media, mostAsian broadcasters and policy makers have reacted and takenhastymeasures to combat or competewith these powerful mediaoperators. They have neither the means nor the technologicalknow-how to indulge in such competition and the result has oftenbeen a systematic commercialization of public servicebroadcastingand a degeneration of the qua li ty of it s services. Instead ofattracting audienceswith low-quality, easy-to-digest conunercialfare, they should have opted for developing national and localprogramming. The strength ofpublic service broadcasters inmostcountries lie in their access to and knowledge of local and nationalculturalpractices, traditions and cultural forms. It ishere that theycan make a significant contribution and difference.Unfortunately, inmostAsian countries, public servicemediahave been used by governments as tools for propaganda and selfpromotion. Cultural policy also has been short-sighted and hasgenerally been used to promote the interests of dominant classesand dominant cultural groups. This has had a negative effect onthe growth and development ofall the local and minority cultures

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which are an integral part ofwhat has come to constitute nationalcultures. In many Asian nations, the const itut ion of a nationalculturehas been achieved through the suppressionoflocal culturesand this has led to the impoverishment of national culture as awhole. The enrichment of a national culture canonlybe achievedby the promotion and development of all its diverse cultural Iconstituents.

The principalobjective of regulatory authorities and policymakers at the national or local levels should be to boost anddynamically activate the national and local content ofprogramming industries. Regulation, restriction and a policy ofprotection are certainly not themost effective means for the longterm development of national cultural industries. It has been Iobserved in a number of studies that in general, audiences prefernational or local programming to foreign content. This, however,does not imply that public servicemedia can continue to provideaudiences with uninteresting and irrelevant programming. Thishas in fact been the principal weakness of most public servicebroadcasters who have contented themselves in transmitting Imediocre and often trivial television programs.

In the present contextwhere audiences have the choice notonly between a variety of national or local channels but also anumber of transnational or foreign television programs (whichthemselves are increasingly turning towards the regionalizationof their programs) public service broadcasters are being forced toquestion their approach and strategies and wake up from theirstupor. Some national broadcasters have resorted to protectiveand regulatory measures to get some respite, but this can only bea short-term solution.Others have adopted the commercial stanceand are trying to take advantage of their established experienceof localmarkets to keep the transnational broadcastersat bay.Only Ia few public service broadcastershavebeen able to make the rightdiagnosis of the problem and strive to develop national culturalindustries and are providing audiences with interesting localcultural programming. The considerable success of Doordarshan,the public service broadcaster in India, is an interesting exampleof this approach (Banerjee, 1996).

The process of globalization can only be meaningful i f itenriches national and local cultures. 'Patrimonial' cultures shouldblossom and flourish while transcultural practices and forms ofexpression develop. As I have argued, this process will not beautomatic or natural and needs a significant effort on the part ofnational cultural industries and governments.Cultures resist, butsome cultures have also perished in the evolutionary march ofhuman society. The house of culture will stand the test of time,but in what form and in what structure is a question which willAsiaPacific MediaEducator, Issue No.5, july-December 1998 127


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INDRAjIT BANERJEE: Glabalisanoll andlocalisation ...provide theorists with mystical puzzles and questions for a longtime to come.

REFERENCESAng, I. (1985) Watching 'Dallas'. London: Methuen.Ansah, P.A.v. (1988)Mass Communication and Cultural Identity: Dilemmas

and Prospectsfor Developing Countries. Paper presented at the IAMCRConference, Barcelona, July 1988.Banerjee, I. (1994) The Internationalization of Television and Problems of

Intercultural Communication - A Case Study of Canal Plus and it sInternational Develapment (title translated from French). UnpublishedPh.D Thesis. Sorbonne University, France.

Banerjee, 1. (1996) 'Media Ownership and Control in India.' In MediaOwnership and Control in the Age of Convergence, pp. 97-113. London:International Institute of Communications.

Dowmunl, T. (ed.). (1993) Channels of Resistance - Global Television andLocalEmpowerment. London: British Film Institute and Channel FourTelevision.

Featherstone, M. (ed.). (1990) Global Culture: Nationalism, Globalizationand Modernity. London: Sage.

French,D. and Richards, M. (eds.), (1996) Contemporary Television: EasternPerspectives. New Delhi: Sage.

Friedman, J. (1990) 'Being in the World: Globalization and Localization.'Theory, Culture and Society 7, pp. 311-28.Gerbner,G., Mowlana, H. and Nordenstreng, K. (eds.). (1993) TheGlobalMedia Debate: Its Rise, Falland Renewal. Norwood, NJ : Ablex.

Hannerz, U. (1990) 'Cosmopolitans and Locals in World Culture.' InFeatherstone, M. (ed.), Global Culture: Nationalism, Globalization andModernity, pp. 237-51. London: Sage.

Hartmann, P., Patil, B.R. and Dighe, A. (1989) The Mass Media and VillageLife: An Indian Study. New Delhi: Sage.

Liebes, T. and Katz, E. (1990) The Export of Meaning : Cross-CulturalReadings of Dallas. New York: Oxford university Press.

Mohammadi, A. (1990) 'Cultural Imperialism and Cultural Identity.' InDowning, J.,Mohammadia, A. and Sreberny-Mohammadi,A. (eds.).Questioning the Media : A Critical Introduction. Newbury Park, CA :Sage.Morley, D. (1986) Family Television: Cultural Power and Domestic Leisure.London: Comedia.

Myrdal, G. (1972) Asian Drama.Harmondsworth : Penguin.Robertson, R. (1995) 'Glocalization : Time-Space and HomogeneityHeterogeneity.' In Featherstone,M., Lash,S. and Robertson, R. (eds.).

GlobalModernities, pp . 25-44. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Sahin, H. and Aksoy, A. (1993) 'Global Media and Cultural Identity inTurkey.' Journal ofCommunication, 43(2), pp . 31-40.Schiller, H.I. (1969) Mass Communication and American Empire. New York: Kelley.Sebstrup,P.(1988)'Transnationalization of TelevisioninWestern Europe.'

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INDRAjIT BANERJEE: Globalisation andlocalisation...Sussman,G. and Lent, J.A. (1991). 'Introduction:Critical Perspectives on

Communication and Third World Development.' In Sussman, G. andLent,J.A. (eds.). TransnationalCommunications: Wiring the Third World,pp.1-23. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Tomlinson,J. (1992)Cultural Imperialism: A Critical Introduction. (2nd Ed.).MD :The John Hopkins University Press.

Wang, J. (1997) 'Global Media and Cultural Change.' Media Asia 24(1),pp.15-22.

INDRA/IT BANERJEE, PhD, lectures at the School of Communication,Universiti Sains Malaysia. A longer version of this paper was presented atthe "Issues and Images - New Communication Research" conference,organized by the Department of English, City University ofHong Kong, onApril 3, 1998". E-mail: [email protected]@pd.jaring.my

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