Global Trade affects Cultural Authenticity

You may not have to leave home and go beyond the borders in order to have a product from a foreign country. If you were to look through your house right now, there is something that is not made in the country you are currently living in. According to our text Beyond Borders “Thinking Critically about Global Issues”, written by Paula S. Rothenberg, foreign markets and trade started with the British with slave trade, of slaves being transferred from Africa to America, in addition to tobacco and cotton. Recognizing the importance of trade “The aim was trade, and particularly trade which exploited the profitability of cheap labor in the overseas territories”, Rothenberg text page ninety four. Rivavalry among others such as the French, the Germans, the Belgians and the Dutch was apparent. Resources had to be pooled in order for this global system of exploitation to be successful. London was a place of key importance for trade issues, an intertwine of bankers, network of credit agencies, those who made commodities, bankers and insurance agencies worked together in order to have a prosperous civilization. Some may argue that the United States can be in comparison of how Britain plundered its wealth of other nations after World War I, in relation to trade, as the United States generally takes the lead in anything that affects the world today, for instance the disaster we have in Haiti at this time. Let it be known that after the buildup of Haiti, which is a good cause, it will be evident that United States and other countries have changed the cultural aspects of the country, by means of instated their laws, visions, goals, products, etc. Obliviously it’s no secret that the countries who trade the most between themselves and other countries are the United States and China. Throughout the world, there is a strong possible that each country culture authencity is ultimately affected due to the massive global trade today in addition to the fight to get money for their country after last year massive recession. Valuable information can be found on the Global Trade Information Services website which boosts information on over seventy reporting countries information of their imports and exports. After looking into this topic, I sort of wish I could be a fly on the wall and listen to the words from meetings of twenty world leaders, during the G20 conferences, concerning the financial crisis. It’s evident that the ability of one’s countries uniqueness is becoming no more, as we continue to merge and bind into a working world.






Article “Global Trade Deal Hopes Dwindle”, found on the BBC News Network website reports that problematic differences among London and Geneva can’t be solved, concerning trade barriers. Our access to foreign items such as food, clothes music art and literature has allowed diversity to prosper and given many a broader understanding of cultures. Many may discuss how influence of others have sparked a creativity process throughout the world, and argue that the process of countries/ cultures influencing one another creates a strong similarity taken away from their individuality of a particular culture/country. Apparently the fact is that cultures lose their distinctiveness and merge into one. Is it true that globalization has taken the identity of individual cultures and merged them together or is that individuals themselves have decided to merge into a different culture for their own benefit? One may argue that we are all individuals and have a right to diversity ourselves. It’s somewhat true that the choices individuals have such as the food they eat and the items they purchase will create a form of similarity among cultures. Who knows maybe there will actually be a Wal-Mart in every country or a McDonald’s and Starbucks littered throughout one’s country if there isn’t already, well not that I went on my own, thank you United States Air Force for sending me to twenty two countries that had a Starbucks. Well from viewing this website http://ictsd.org/ which offers us a brief guideline on how trade throughout the world is guided such as the discussion of Multilateral Trading System, Aid For Trade Programe, Competitiveness and Development Programme, Agricutlure Programme, China Programme, Disputed Settlement and Legal Aspects of International Trade,EPAs and Regionalism Progamme, Global Platform on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainable Energy and Environment with Natural Resources Programme, one could come to a better understanding of the makeup and interaction of trade, which I’m still lost at it. I do know that during last year political debate and according to MSNBC trade was a major concern, articled titled “ Trade, outsourcing and tariffs top’08 concerns’ where the presidential candidates discussing their views on the trade situation in America, perhaps their would be no issue, if we just created our own products, which would possible cause a problem. Although it’s no laughing matter and no offense to the country of China (I’m hopefully visiting the Great Wall this year) sometimes cultural authenticity must be affected/changed for health reasons like the incident of lead poisoning in jewelry, kids toys and other products from China, from viewing in article titled “ Feds Probe Cadmium in Kid’s Jewelry from China. There are numerous reasons that cultural authenticity may be altered.




When countries are developing, they often lack their own individuality because they have received help from another country or pulled from others own their own. Honestly, I can’t pinpoint where certain items originated from just by looking at them and I’m sure the majority of Americans can not either, without looking at that tag on their shirt or reading the label on the back of a food product or other consumer good. The fact that our world has becoming, so intertwine does not give any country or culture a chance to be truly different, because a twist is put on everything. For instance the type of food one eats is the same but may have a different flavor, does that make it unique or are people just being creative, because I can guarantee, that same recipe will not taste the same at a restaurant down the road in the same country. I can only pinpoint possibly vacation spots due to their location, makes a place different, but the goods that are their can be found in a different country. Although America is truly a diverse place to live, its roots lie with the millions of immigrants who have truly formed our nation, to be the one that it is. In terms of trade goods similarity and attraction played a key role. The economic competition for a nation to better than the other has truly spark the interest of many, in terms of finding cheap labor, parts, shipment cost and overall annual cost, countries like Korea, Japan and China are competing against one another, so that the American culture can buy from them. I can recall from my past visits of those particular countries, there are tons of products in country that they ship to the United States and from looking in my house, also shopping at Wal-Mart; it’s again evident that I don’t have to leave my house in order to find a product from another country. Many people may want an authentic item from a particular country as my relatives do when the visit Hawaii for the first time, it’s truly hard to have cultural differentiation in today’s world. When my visitors do come from “the mainland” and I take them for the island visitation, it’s honestly hard for me to distinguish certain things that are orginaly from Samoa or Fiji. Perhaps it’s because “Numerous studies have explored the extent to which a person likes others because of similar attitudes, values, beliefs, social status, or physical appearance”, Parrillo textbook pg 3 that has caused many countries to copy one another. The only suggestion that I can think of to solve cultural authenticity is that when trading products, restrictions of certain distinguish items be kept like they are, which details their uniqueness, almost as if they were going to a museum.




Reference Articles:

http://www.gtis.com/english/GTIS_WTA.html

http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/14/news/economy/g20_powerplay/index.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4422976.stm

http://ictsd.org/

http://rss.msnbc.msn.com/id/26011549/ns/politics-briefing_book_issues_08/page/2/

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,582734,00.html

Football Drama

A black foster kid, who’s talented in football, gets adopted by a wealthy white family. Not so out of the ordinary in today’s society, but during the time the movie was film, it was, especially because the kid was drafted into the National Football League. The controversy in the film starts when Michael meets with a representative from the National Collegiate Athletic Association who suspects that the Tuohys forced Michael to select Mississippi, due to their ties with the university, rather than Tennessee, which is home-state team. Of course make a movie out it, it will sell, but be warn the story will lead to much talk on social class and racism.
This film “The Blind Side” was written and directed by John Lee Hancock. The main characters are Michael Oher, Leigh Ann Tuohy, Miss Sue and SJ. Michael, the young poor black troubled foster kid, who becomes a high school star football athlete, accepts an Ole Miss Scholarship and then drafted into the NFL. Leigh Anne Tuohy an obliviously wealthy white interior designer, offers guidance and assistance to Michael in form of adoption, she sees his potential as a football player and ensures he will be successful. Miss Sue, Michael’s tutor, boosts his knowledge confidence and secretly coasts him into going to Ole Miss as she mentions to him that the FBI buries body parts of unrecognized dead people under the University of Tennessee. SJ an energetic motivator throughout the film helps Michael with his practices and discusses negations with the coaches.
Cultural stereotypes in this film, show and tell of the various socioeconomic differences in the storyline and show the influential nature of someone for personal gain. The NCAA representative questions Michael college choice; his association with the Tuohy family, due to racial and social backgrounds. Examples that stand out in my mind are the way Michael looks (big and black), the status of his mother, the runaway father, the location of where he is from and the showing of only negative aspect of black people like partying, drinking, drama in this film in-comparison to the positive aspects of the suburbanized Tuohy family. The Minority –Group characteristics are evident in the film, “The group is easily identifiable because of distinguishing physical or cultural characteristics that are held in low esteem”, Parillo text page 15. Many may argue that an important factor is that the success of another race is dependent upon a superior race and it’s shown in this film.
My personal opinion of this film is yes that there were obvious varying socioeconomic differences, but the film was a great one. I feel the film sums up the differences in a statement by Michael when he spoke with the investigator and tells her that the only reason he chose Mississippi was because his whole family has always gone to school at Mississippi. The ability to captivate an audience is a gift and no matter what the feature film may be, there will be a form of criticism, sometimes it takes bringing things to light in order to tell the story. Yes it’s true that “Media has a tremendous impact on the shaping of our personal and group identities” Parillo text page 92, but we must not be drawn to such beliefs that all is true.

What a fashion image?

What are the guidelines to publish images that sell products? I must find out, but first I looked at a few images that are not so positive.

Image # 1 is of a combination of colors and that of also disappoint too many that it appear in a high end fashion magazine that goes by the name Vogue. The image is of a Indian lady holding a child with a Fendi bib on, she is toothless and obviously poor, a little girl is sadden in the background with her un-comb hair. This picture makes fun of the race of individual. Image location @ http://contexts.org/socimages/2008/09/04/privilege-and-poverty-in-vogue-india/
Image discriminates within society, by portraying people from India as being extremely poor and careless about their appearance. When a person whom is consider an immigrant in America such as people from India they are spoken to in mocking of their speech, some people have a tendency to change their tone to mimic that of a person from India such as how characters of “The Simpsons” cartoon show mock the character Apu.

Image # 2 is apparently proposing that if you wear these shoes, you’ll be able to tie you up a seductive sexually Asian lady. It’s a picture of a black Max Style Shoe with an Asian lady in floral print roped by laces atop the shoe. This picture could be considered a sexually seductive ad.
Image discriminates within society, because it’s portraying Asian women as sexual materialistic people and also saying that if you don’t have a nice pair of shoes, you just might not get the lady. I have noticed, especially from hearing military guys, view that Asian women are materialistic fashion people and that they like to be tied up during sex. Image location @ http://contexts.org/socimages/2009/09/24/power-sex-and-shoelaces/

Image # 3 is of a girl who is sitting on the street corner atop of white torn shopping bags, wearing a high fashion out-fit, her skin tone is of a ghostly white, obsiviously she looks dead. Apparently they are advertising that people of her skin color or look can only wear their product.
Image discriminates within society, if you look at the high fashion magazines, the majority of the models are of the same skin tone, is that there are no other qualified models or are they targeting a particular group of people, I think they are targeting a particular group of people. I walked through Neiman Marcus Once only because it was raining and my car was parked near the store, while I strolled I notice that the girls on their poster was of fair white ghost like skin, perhaps they were targeting Caucasian women. Image location @ http://contexts.org/socimages/2009/08/28/dead-ish-looking-women-with-cats/

Images like these continue to appear Hanen’s law will stay true to it’s belief. One thing that we all must realize is that social capital of ethnic communities does vary from being poor to rich. With the way things are going in the world today perhaps the advertising community will move towards having ads that promote multiculturalism. I feel if a person continues to see an image, they truly believe it, when it is not necessarily true.

Flowers that bloom Exploitation

When I purchase flowers, I only think of the smile it will bring to the receivers face, not the agony the same flowers may have caused someone. Within the area of Colombia, a woman describes her view as a flower picker discussing the conditions and health hazards. Being the second largest country who exports flowers, Columbia has its issues. Environmental issues are present. Although jobs have been created within the flowers trade, the wages that a flower picker receives for the day are less than the common bundle of flowers purchased here in the United States. Carcinogens that have been restricted for health reasons in the United States are used to produce these flowers in Columbia. Women workers have testified that they do not have sufficient protective clothing to carry out their duties. The exposure within the flower industry creates crave health risks to its employees. “Colombian law provides wide-ranging maternity rights and social welfare rights, these count for nothing in the greenhouse economy” Efforts are being made to assist with the conditions, but the Colombian government fails to enforce basic labor rights. “In many ways Colombia is a microcosm of globalization applied to flowers.” When I also think of the word exploitation, flowers don’t even come close, but the treatment of these workers under these conditions, isn’t called for.
International trade isn’t as pretty as the flowers we see in the market. One would think that by being the second largest exporter of flowers, Colombia would have a different set of rules in regards to production of flowers and treatment of its workers. In regards to flowers, I’m not trying to stereotype anyone, but in Colombia, women are the primary workers within the flower trade. I don’t think occupational mobility is a factor within the flower system, although those who join unions or become pregnant are treated un-fairly. Although, flower factories, created thousand of jobs, the women who worked the flower fields, receive a small salary which mostly likely results in relative deprivation for them. Exposure to various hazardous chemicals with insufficient protective gear creates health problems for all. Some may argue that flower workers, could be considered scapegoats. I’m at a lost at why the government doesn’t tighten the rules on the treatment of these individuals as this country is a large producer of the flowers we may purchase in the store. In my opinion: It takes awareness of any issue for it to be truly brought to light, someone has to speak out, otherwise conditions may worsen, the way things are going in this world today. I will do more research on this topic and look for an update on this topic to my blog by 06 JAN 2009. For now if you’re looking at purchasing flowers in the near future, please think twice.


Reference Below:
Article Titled: “Deadly Blooms: Colombia's flower industry is based on the exploitation of women workers”
Date of publication: August 29, 2001
Source: The Guardian
olombia's flower industry is based on the exploitation of its women workers
By Kevin Watkins