What Is the Relationship Between Culture and Globalization?-Sun Jiayi

Summary of the Reading

In this reading, the author explores the relationship between culture and globalization, and clearly points out that cultural globalization cannot be simply understood as the becoming more and more the same global culture. Unlike the view of "cultural homogenization" or "Western cultural diffusion", the author pays more attention to how culture is experienced, understood and re-meaninged by people under the background of deepening global connections.
From this perspective, cultural globalization is not only reflected in the global dissemination of cultural products such as movies, music or social media, but also in the changes in people's daily life, values and identity. Foreign culture does not simply replace local culture, but interacts, collides and integrates with local culture after entering different social contexts. Therefore, cultural globalization is more like a continuous process. In this process, the meaning of culture is not fixed, but constantly reinterpreted.
At the same time, the author opposes equating cultural globalization with a single narrative of "Western culture dominating the world". Even if it seems to be a globally unified cultural form, it will be given different understandings in different countries and regions. People do not passively accept global culture, but will selectively absorb and recreate these cultural contents in combination with their own life experience, social background and cultural traditions. Therefore, cultural influence is not a one-way flow, but there is a complex interaction.

Reflection

The most rethinking point in this reading is that culture is not just a "content", but also closely related to people's identity and sense of belonging. In the past, it was easier for me to understand cultural globalization from surface phenomena, such as similar entertainment patterns or consumption habits around the world. But after reading it, I realized that the more important problem is how people understand where they belong in a multicultural environment and how to define their cultural position.
At the same time, I also have some thoughts on the possible impact of cultural globalization. On the one hand, the deepening of global cultural exchanges is indeed conducive to mutual understanding between different cultures, and also provides people with more space for contact and choice. But on the other hand, when culture becomes more open and fluid, stable cultural identity may also face challenges. In reality, some countries have begun to be wary of the expansion of foreign cultures, which to some extent reflects the concern about "cultural invasion".
In my opinion, cultural globalization itself does not necessarily lead to the weakening of cultural identity. The key question is whether we can maintain and continue to inherit the values and traditions of local culture while understanding other cultures in the process of deepening cultural exchanges. This balance is not easy to achieve, but it is a problem that cannot be avoided in the context of cultural globalization.

Question for Further Consideration

Based on the above discussion, the question I want to think about further is: under the background of the continuous development of cultural globalization, is the way people form cultural identity and sense of belonging changing? When cultural choices become more diverse, is this change expanding the free space of individuals or weakening the cultural foundation that has established a stable identity for a long time?
There is no simple answer to this question, but it reminds us that cultural globalization is not only a macro-level phenomenon, but also deeply affects how individuals understand themselves, others, and the social environment they are in.

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