situation of face-to-faceinteraction. In conditions of modernity ,..
locales are thoroughly penetrated by and shaped in terms of social
influe~cesquite distant &omthem. What structures the locale is not
simply that which is present on the scene;the 'visible form' of the
locale conceals the distanced relations which determine its nature,
(Giddens, 1990,p.18)
Places remain h e d ; they are where we have 'roots'. Yet space can be
'crossed' in the W i n g of an eye -by jet, fax or satellite, Harvey
calls this %the annihilation of space through time' (1989,p.205).
4.2 TOWARDS THE GLOBAL POST-MODERN?
'some theorists argue that the general effect of these globalizing
processes has been to weaken or undermine national forms of cultural
identity. They argue that there is evidence of a loosening of sfrong
identihations with the national culture, and a strengthening af other
dtural ties and allegiances,'above' and 'below' the level of the nation-
state. National identities remain strong, especially with respect ta such
things as legal and citizenship rights, but local, regional and community
identities have become more significant. Above the level of the national
culture, 'global' identifications begin to displace, and sametimes over-
ride, national ones.
Some cultural theorists argue that the trend towards greater global
interdependence is leading to thebreak-do& of all strong cultural
identities and is producing that fragmentation of cultural codes, that
multiplicity of styles, emphasis on the ephemeral, the fleeting, the
impermanent, and on difference and cultural pluralism which Kenneth
Thompson described in Chapter 5 , but on a global scale -what w e
might call the global past-modern. Cultural flows and global
consumerism between nations create the possibilities of 'shared
identities' -as 'customers' for the same goods, 'clients' for the same
services, 'audiences' for the same messages and images,- between
people who are far removed from one another in time and space. As
national culturesbecome more exposed to outside influences it is
difficuIt to preserve cuItural identities intact, or to prevent them from
becoming weakened through cultural bombardment and filtration.
People in small, apparently remate villages in poor, 'ThirdWorld'
c o m ~ e scan receive inthe privacy of their homes the messages and
images of the rich, consumer cultures of the West, purveyed through TV
seb or the bansistor radio, which bind them into the 'global village' of
the new communications networks, Jeansand trainers -the 'uniform'
of the young in Western youth culture -are as ubiquitous in South-
East Asia as in Europe or the US, not only because of the growth of the
worId-wide marketing af the youth consumer image, but because they
are offen actually produced in Taiwan or Hong Kong or Souih Korea for
the New York,Los Angeles, London or Rome high:street shop. It is hard
to thinkof 'Indiancooking' as something distinctive of the ethnic
CHAPTER B THE QUESTIONOF CULTURAL IDENTITY 303
Enteringthe 'global village'
traditions of the Asian sub-continent when there is an Indian restaurant
inthe centre of every city and town in Britain.
The more social life becomes mediated by the global marketing of
I
styles, places and images, by international bavel, and by globally
networked media images and communications systems, the more
idenfitiesbecome detached -disembedded -&om speci6c times,
places, histories, and traditions, and appear 'fiee-floating'. We are
conbnted by a range of different identities, each appealingto us, or
rather to differentparts of ourselves,horn which it seems possible to
choose. It is the spread of consumerism,whether as reality or dream,
which has contributed to this 'cul~urdsupermarket' effect;Within,the
discourse of global consumerism, differences and cultural distinctions
which hitherto d e k e d identitybecome reducible to a sort of
international linguafranc0 or global currency into which dl specSc
traditions and distinct identities can be banslated. This phenomenon is
known as 'cultural homogenization'.
ACTIVITY 1 You should now read Reading A, 'Global culture',by Kevin Robins,
which you will find at the end of this chapter. As you read, note:
First, the account Robins offers of trends towards 'global
standardization';
Then, tlle turn in the argument: 'global standardization' also involves
the 'marketing' of difference;
Finally, what Robins then says about the growth of a new global-
local nexus,