The world has been steadily growing in population, but shrinking in both the literal and metaphorical vastness of society. With a boom in technological invention, the world has discovered new ways of international trade, transportation and communication. With this comes the ability to interact closely with other cultures. In an article about globalization, Deborah Knight says “Go to your local supermarket and you can buy grapes from Chile or tomatoes from Mexico. Call the help desk for the computer you just bought, and the person you talk to is in India. Purchase a shirt and it will bear a tag from China, Indonesia or El Salvador. Go through your daily routines and you will almost surely encounter people who have immigrated to the United States …show more content…
Alexie, a Native American himself, was able to illustrate conflicts in a very honest way. One of the central conflicts in the novel is the community’s devotion to maintaining their rich and cherished culture, while trying to keep up with the modern world. Young and guarded white readers most likely have little understanding of what it means to have a desire to keep old traditions alive, but are educated on that topic through this novel. In Reservation Blues, younger generations were greatly influenced by mainstream media with little acknowledgement of their ancestor’s old traditions. Contrary to the younger generations, the older generations showed a great desire for the upkeep of these old traditions. The young band in the novel is greatly influenced by media and yearns to keep up with popular culture. They get caught up in the fame and fortune and realize that they have the potential to do big things. Alexie foreshadowed this event when he wrote, “For the rest of our lives, all we can hear are our names chanted over and over, until we are deaf to everything else” (1995, p. 212). They forget their own culture’s teachings and the idea that music has a purpose of healing the soul. Their elders look down on those who neglect to acknowledge the beauty in their traditions and view it as a demise of their beautiful culture. White Americans haven’t necessarily been too heavily exposed to experiences like this. The United States is so young that it’s traditions are being formed now, as opposed to other countries and cultures who have dated back hundreds, if not thousands of years. The value in reading Sherman Alexie’s Reservation Blues is that story provides readers with the understanding that their are older cultures out there that might not want to form to the
The identity of the modern Native American is not found in simple language or description. Neither does a badge or collection of eagle feathers determine Native American identity. As Alexie demonstrates through the character of Dr. Mather and Wilson, pony-tails and store bought drums are mere materialistic symbols and stereotypes: they have no real value or respect for the history behind a person’s cultural heritage. Hanging out in Indian bars is insufficient. The identity of the Native American is formed in a context of opposition and resistance, of irreversible historical travesty, and of inescapable conflict. Given the complex and lengthy history of U.S. atrocities against the Indians, and the equally violent aggressions of Indians against whites, bloodshed and animosity were the basis original Indian- U.S. relations. The original brutality these relations cannot be underestimated; nor the intricate series of laws and Acts passed throughout the ninteeth and twentieth centuries for the destruction of Indian culture and heritage. Yet, as Alexie argues, the forces of hatred cannot be exclusively emphasized in determining the identity of the Native American.
Regarding “The Age of Globalization” by Alan Brinkley I thought that the reading selection provides good details on timeline of significant events that significantly affected the global economy. The reading selection from the American History textbook starts off with a summary of event of September 11, 2001, and the role they played in the changes within global economy. On the next page we are presented with a timeline of events that will be described later in the reading selection. The purpose of this section is to illustrate how each of those events contributed to the world we live in today, particularly their influence on the global economy.
Globalization is the process of people of different cultures or countries integrating through interacting through trade or the use of social media. In “Point: Globalization Provides a Better Life for All” By Jennifer Graham, she provides a valid point of view of how globalization has benefited society. “Globalization enriches the human experience through increased cultural and economic integration, which promotes diversity by opening society to new technology, communication and ideas...Moreover, globalization helps to break down discrimination against people on the basis of religious beliefs or race” (Para, 11,13). Globalization has an impact on my lifestyle because I am currently surrounded by technology and different cultural food. With globalization I have access to different foods that i would normally never get to try, also technology has allowed me to gain knowledge about different culture I would normally not know, this results in me being more informed and benefited because of globalization bringing the different culture of the world so much closer
Globalization is the process of people of different cultures or countries integrating through interacting through trade or the use of social media. In “Point: Globalization Provides a Better Life for All” By Jennifer Graham, she provides a valid point of view of how globalization has benefited society. “Globalization enriches the human experience through increased cultural and economic integration, which promotes diversity by opening society to new technology, communication and ideas...Moreover, globalization helps to break down discrimination against people on the basis of religious beliefs or race” (Para, 11,13). Globalization has an impact on my lifestyle because I am currently surrounded by technology and different cultural food. With globalization I have access to different foods that I would normally never get to try, also technology has allowed me to gain knowledge about different culture I would normally not know. This results in me being more informed and benefited about the world as a whole because of globalization bringing the different culture of the world so much closer
This in turn provides organizations to gain greater numbers of products, services and consumers. In contrast, globalization can negatively impact cultural diversity including the way of life of a country. Over the years, through social media we find that more and more people are choosing a different way of life compared to what their culture has taught them. This is due to the changes on the views of the world. “Nowadays, everything is different…
It is one of my traditions to call my grandparents and aunts who reside in my natal country (El Salvador) every Sunday. Whenever my mother goes to the store, she prioritizes buying imported Salvadoran products to make a good, typical Salvadoran meal. I miss my country’s traditions and culture, I also miss my family and friends, however, thanks to the new technological innovations, I get the opportunity to communicate with my relatives and remind myself of where I come from. Globalization provides individuals with great general interactive opportunities, without it, many countries would have difficulties progressing and collaborating with each other. In Jared Diamond’s 1997 written work, Guns, Germs, and Steel, he attempts to answer Yali’s question
The frequent use of songs in Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie alludes to the discrimination faced by Indians while providing an outline for what reservation life was like.
A reader of Sherman Alexie’s novel Reservation Blues enters the text with similar assumptions of Native American life, unless of course, he or she is of that particular community. If he or she is not, however, there is the likelihood that the ‘typical’ reader has images of Native Americans based upon long-held social stereotypes of the Lone Ranger’s Tonto and Kevin Costner’s “Dances With Wolves,” possibly chastened with some positive, homey images of the First Thanksgiving as well. However, Alexie’s prose forces one to apprehend Native American life anew, and to see Native Americans as fully-fledged individual characters, with wants and needs and desires, not as those who are simply stoic and ‘other.’
Nederveen, Pieterse Jan P. Globalization and Culture: Global Mélange. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003. Print.
In his book, Sherman Alexie’s main character “Junior” goes through innumerous highs and lows feelings and thoughts. In the first chapters of the book, Junior makes a comparison between the lives of the Indians in the reservation with the outside world, pointing out the enormous struggles he and his people
Encounters between people of different cultural backgrounds have existed forever.People have always thought bout things that were unusual in other cultures. But, those encounters were relatively slim in early days today, they are almost part of everyday life, At the same time, the interchange between cultures has jeopardized their very existence, and the emergence of a diverse culture, a fixation often referred to as globalization..
Overtime, as shown through the shift from Fordist to Post-Fordist ideals for production, it takes long period of time to mix people and nations closer together. This is being done through technological innovation, as technology is helping to dissolve former barriers of time and distance. Factories that used to dominate the United States have now spread throughout the world, providing jobs for people globally. Consumers are also on an international level, as there is a greater awareness and understanding of what is happening everywhere. Globalization, however, also produces economic and social disorders while producing public concerns over job security, the distribution of economic gains, and the impact of instability on people. Many people also worry about a growing focus of economic power, harm to the environment, danger to public health and safety, the breakup of native cultures, and the loss of power and responsibility within government. I believe that as a global citizen, I have to look at all perspectives from people in different situations and realization how current times have come to be. I am a part of an entire world community and all my actions, although in a miniscule amount, contribute to building the world’s community values and practices. By living in the United States and attending UW Madison, I
...to other parts of the world. Of course, globalization does not have unvarying outcomes or create a more homogenous world but it does have diverse outcomes – usually not expected. This not necessarily positive or negative, it is one or the other for the different parties involved. As a result we have seen a global audience for things such as the video game industry, Japan’s anime and manga industry, and Japanese film productions and the cell phone business as well. At times, this technology is conflated in terms of where it was designed, who manufactured it and where, who is using it, and the end result is a blend of multiple cultures. Today cultural boundaries are gradually eroding and cultural differences are no longer invented through exports and imports across national borders but are produced by the acts of consumption in which citizens of the world participate.
Ultimately, Globalization is a powerful force which will try to deprive lesser nations of their culture and identities. However, culture is a powerful force which allows for the contradictions and conflict faced between the globalizing world to be solved and answered. With culture ethnic-Mexicans are able to remain who they are, a rich, diverse culture with a long history. The one positive of globalization has been the ability of cultures to share their greatness with others and spread about the world. However, this comes with caution, as cultures sometimes battle for dominance in an area. Globalization is good for some, terrible for others, but through culture people are able to maintain their identi
In this letter I would like to address an issue present in the phenomenon of globalization. This refers to the increasing integration of economies around the world, particularly through trade and financial flows. Globalization also indicates the movement of people (labor) and knowledge (technology) across international borders that bring broader cultural dimensions. However, globalization is often associated with Americanization, which results of bringing a foreign country under the commercial influence of the United States, yet this can be dangerous because Americanization has the potential of infiltrating and marring another country’s culture such as it has in the Middle East.