jkelson
Who is this man?
For this project, I decided to examine how globalization effects culture and causes one powerful culture to leak over into many others. In the original photo, the rather non-traditional Santa is standing on the back of a truck with a Christmas tree beside him. I wondered if the man would still be recognizable as Santa if I changed the color of his clothing and blurred out the Christmas tree, as the rest of the scene does not suggest "Christmastime" to most Americans and Europeans. We expect to see snow, children, presents, reindeer, or at least a smile on Santa's face.
The Levin Institute discusses crossing culture barriers as something that many feel is a negative impact of globalization because it robs the world of originality. In this case, it's a difficult topic to address. Santa's becoming a part of American culture was technically the result of globalization. As people moved and ideas spread, Santa became an accepted part of our culture. Yet when we see a Santa of a different race and in a different climate than we have come to expect, we point fingers at globalization and call it negative. Where does Santa belong? What is negative about Santa being in another country?
In Neuromancer, Case often describes the food he eats in various different countries. Native foods, Gibson suggests, will survive a world otherwise taken over by technology and globalization. Is Santa Claus a worldwide figure in the world of Neuromancer? Or has he completely disappeared because culture has been sterilized?
Who is this man?
For this project, I decided to examine how globalization effects culture and causes one powerful culture to leak over into many others. In the original photo, the rather non-traditional Santa is standing on the back of a truck with a Christmas tree beside him. I wondered if the man would still be recognizable as Santa if I changed the color of his clothing and blurred out the Christmas tree, as the rest of the scene does not suggest "Christmastime" to most Americans and Europeans. We expect to see snow, children, presents, reindeer, or at least a smile on Santa's face.
The Levin Institute discusses crossing culture barriers as something that many feel is a negative impact of globalization because it robs the world of originality. In this case, it's a difficult topic to address. Santa's becoming a part of American culture was technically the result of globalization. As people moved and ideas spread, Santa became an accepted part of our culture. Yet when we see a Santa of a different race and in a different climate than we have come to expect, we point fingers at globalization and call it negative. Where does Santa belong? What is negative about Santa being in another country?
In Neuromancer, Case often describes the food he eats in various different countries. Native foods, Gibson suggests, will survive a world otherwise taken over by technology and globalization. Is Santa Claus a worldwide figure in the world of Neuromancer? Or has he completely disappeared because culture has been sterilized?