Global Village Seminar Reflection
Reactions
During this seminar, we discussed the American stereotype. What does it mean to be living the “All-American” lifestyle? In the article “The Global Village Finally Arrives,” Pico Iyer refers to the American lifestyle as “values of hard work and family closeness and entrepreneurial energy…” As soon as I read this sentence, my first thought was: “Are these common values in the American home anymore?” After thinking about it, I don’t believe that Americans live up to this stereotype anymore. These were the values that older American families used to live by, but as time went on, these values faded from the American lifestyle. Now, families more commonly revolve around television and sports. From Iyer’s point of view, the “American family-based” values are being spread throughout the world. I think that soon, these values will be present in all countries except for America, the country from which these values originated.
Do you think Pico Ayer’s vision of the world is accurate? This was written in 1993. Has what he has predicted come to pass? To what extent?
This article, “The Global Village Finally Arrives” by Pico Iyer, was written in 1993, so enough time has passed that we can re-evaluate Iyer’s opinion. In some ways, Iyer’s predictions have come true, but the world has to evolve a lot more before it can be considered globalized. To begin, quite a few companies, including BP, BMW, and Wal-Mart have spread internationally. Companies that have international locations range from fast food to oil companies. The spreading of companies and stores is not enough to create a globalized world.
Although it is evident that the world is becoming more unified, a lot of progress has yet to be made. The human race still remains segregated in many ways including religion, ethnicity, and nationality. Becoming “a glorious blend of mongrels and mestizos,” one large race, is still very far off. The world has yet to overcome challenges such as creating peace between countries and being “plugged into the same international circuit.” Under what circumstances is this even achievable? The world’s turmoil and violence is uncontrollable and America can’t stay out of war. This process of globalization is already underway, but will only be achieved through a long and tedious process of peacemaking.
Connecting to other topics and texts I’ve studied over the past couple of years.
Thinking back to freshman year, I connected globalization with dystopian societies. The novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley illustrates a world in which all people have become culturally and ethnically equal. Through the process, the otherwise equal people were split up into classes, the lowest classes waiting on the upper classes. Based on this one example, I believe that if globalization does occur, and we all become one race, the equality in our world will not last long. We, as humans, will find other factors, whether it our religion or our jobs, to segregate ourselves from each other. The equality will have been shattered, leaving a world possibly more segregated than before.
Lori’s Choice
The process of globalization is like cancer taking over a body. A company begins working in one spot, just as cancer can begin in a single cell. As soon as a company begins to make enough steady money, it begins spreading out throughout the country. Like this process, cancer begins in one cell and slowly begins to spread throughout the body as the tumor is supplied with blood. Then, as the cancer progresses, it takes over the entire body. This is similar to when a company begins to spread internationally, taking control of it’s industry. These are both slow and steady processes that, once supplied, can take over an entire complex system.
During this seminar, we discussed the American stereotype. What does it mean to be living the “All-American” lifestyle? In the article “The Global Village Finally Arrives,” Pico Iyer refers to the American lifestyle as “values of hard work and family closeness and entrepreneurial energy…” As soon as I read this sentence, my first thought was: “Are these common values in the American home anymore?” After thinking about it, I don’t believe that Americans live up to this stereotype anymore. These were the values that older American families used to live by, but as time went on, these values faded from the American lifestyle. Now, families more commonly revolve around television and sports. From Iyer’s point of view, the “American family-based” values are being spread throughout the world. I think that soon, these values will be present in all countries except for America, the country from which these values originated.
Do you think Pico Ayer’s vision of the world is accurate? This was written in 1993. Has what he has predicted come to pass? To what extent?
This article, “The Global Village Finally Arrives” by Pico Iyer, was written in 1993, so enough time has passed that we can re-evaluate Iyer’s opinion. In some ways, Iyer’s predictions have come true, but the world has to evolve a lot more before it can be considered globalized. To begin, quite a few companies, including BP, BMW, and Wal-Mart have spread internationally. Companies that have international locations range from fast food to oil companies. The spreading of companies and stores is not enough to create a globalized world.
Although it is evident that the world is becoming more unified, a lot of progress has yet to be made. The human race still remains segregated in many ways including religion, ethnicity, and nationality. Becoming “a glorious blend of mongrels and mestizos,” one large race, is still very far off. The world has yet to overcome challenges such as creating peace between countries and being “plugged into the same international circuit.” Under what circumstances is this even achievable? The world’s turmoil and violence is uncontrollable and America can’t stay out of war. This process of globalization is already underway, but will only be achieved through a long and tedious process of peacemaking.
Connecting to other topics and texts I’ve studied over the past couple of years.
Thinking back to freshman year, I connected globalization with dystopian societies. The novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley illustrates a world in which all people have become culturally and ethnically equal. Through the process, the otherwise equal people were split up into classes, the lowest classes waiting on the upper classes. Based on this one example, I believe that if globalization does occur, and we all become one race, the equality in our world will not last long. We, as humans, will find other factors, whether it our religion or our jobs, to segregate ourselves from each other. The equality will have been shattered, leaving a world possibly more segregated than before.
Lori’s Choice
The process of globalization is like cancer taking over a body. A company begins working in one spot, just as cancer can begin in a single cell. As soon as a company begins to make enough steady money, it begins spreading out throughout the country. Like this process, cancer begins in one cell and slowly begins to spread throughout the body as the tumor is supplied with blood. Then, as the cancer progresses, it takes over the entire body. This is similar to when a company begins to spread internationally, taking control of it’s industry. These are both slow and steady processes that, once supplied, can take over an entire complex system.