Blog Response

Can we be part of the global economy & still retain our own unique tradition and cultures, or will we end up being mini-Americans?

The process of reshaping an economy and trying to fit it into the global market may lead to injecting new elements into the existing social culture,to include more cosmopolitic elements in the culture, especially in the entertainment industry -pop culture- in an economy. The entertainment industry is important because it represents one prominent aspect of human experience of the modern people today.

One of the most important multinational companies that influences culture to a large extent in our society is the MTV. MTV is introducing the American pop music into the local entertainment via many different channels like Youtube on the internet and Facebook advertising. Products authorised or directly produced by MTV are being sold in famous CD shops such as HMV and CD-Rama. Clips of MTV music videos are sometimes seen in public gathering places like McDonald's and inside shopping malls like Junction 8. The MTV not only introduces music, but also the American culture and values that are inherently displayed in most of its music products, and these culture elements- such as pursuit for the American Dream, liberal display of sexuality and individuality of teenagers - are no longer American but also becoming part of our local culture. More and more teenagers are seen wearing shirts featuring American pop singers like Eminem , and many are seen wearing the shirts with the lyric excerpts printed on it. This fashion signalled to us that the content of these musical products are being more and more accepted by local youth, and this to some exent made them mini-Americans because their culture is basically copied from the American pop culture, which is sold them by MNCs like MTV- thanks to globalisation.

Some may argue that local youth is becoming more and more media literate and is able to view these contents critically rather than just to accept all the culture contents blindly. Now, having said that teens are media literate, it is also noteworthy that the underlying assumption for this media literacy to function well in the youth is to provide them with a benchmark to allow them to distinguish the right from the wrong. The fact that local music industry is not as developed as the one in the States, and that not much local musical products that are on display advocates for our uniquely Singaporean culture (except for those special editions on sale during National Day Celebrations) raises the concern that our local youth may be losing their own identity, precisely because there is not enough counterparts in our local industry to offset the overwhelming influence of the American pop culture.

In conclusion, we think that our Singaporean youths are losing their own identity and they are
becoming mini-Americans in this more globalised world.

Chelsia Goh.Tan Kia Ern Michelle. Liu Ruisi. Teng Kersheng.