Hello all! On behalf of the group, I'm just going to upload the 5 photographs that we took in school the other day that represent globalisation in one way or another. As we all know, there are 5 main themes in globalisation-
1. The development of technologies and the shrinking of the world
2. Ecological interdependence
3. The development of the world market-economical interdependence and dominance
4. The crumbling of national boundaries
5. Cultural homogenization
So we tried to bring out each individual theme in the 5 photographs, and here they are!
This photograph obviously depicts the development of technologies and the shrinking of the world. Gadgets like these-computers, the world wide web and instant messaging; hand phones and the short message system (SMS), enable us to access information from all over the world and allow us to express our views freely. Technology empowers us and we are able to interact with people all around the world, at any time of the day.
This photograph is a representation of ecological interdependence. The man-made structure and the natural greenery coexist together in the photograph, and this is exactly what our globalized world has become. Our lives are affected by natural disasters happening in different parts of the world, such as the haze in Indonesia. Our actions, in turn, have an effect on nature. For example, the cutting down of trees for timber shipment to other countries by Thailand and Malaysia could lead to massive deforestation.
This photograph, of course, represents the development of the world market-economical interdependence and dominance. What would happen if food from one of these stalls caused a student to have food poisoning? (Not that I'm implying that any of the stalls sell unhygienic food:D) Students would no longer patronise the stall, and the business of other stalls would be affected as well, since some students might cautiously choose to stay away from the canteen completely and eat at the hawker centre opposite TJC instead. In a similar way, in today's globalized world, different world markets are dependent on one another. If Wall Street crashed tomorrow, there would be disastrous consequences for the economies and stock markets of other countries.
Ahh. The crumbling of national boundaries. Nothing says it more perfectly than a Chinese boy eating Malay food, as you see in the photograph above. With globalization, we are exposed to many different cultures around the world, and slowly but surely, we incorporate elements of these different cultures into our daily lives. A non-Chinese person many be rocking out to a Chinese pop song, while a Westerner enjoys his favourite roti prata meal.
And finally, the last photograph! This point and the last point are sort of linked. The crumbling of national boundaries in turn leads to cultural homogenization, which is what this image is all about. The world gradually morphs into one that has a similar culture, one underlying culture. In this case, we think Western culture is the most predominant. You find Starbucks and McDonalds (heh heh) outlets even in China, and shoe brands like the ones being shown above (Nike, Reebok and New Balance) are found all over the world.
So all hail the powers of globalisation! And our expert photo taking skills! Till next time then, McDonald's Crew!
Posted by: Xiu Qing
10:16 AM
