on this topic, i suggest you look at Zia Sardar's new book,
Postmodernism and the Other (Pluto 1998, L14.99 or $20.95). I
just got it and haven't read it yet but it covers many of these
concerns about media and their effects on the non-west, and
Zia's work is generally good stuff. Paraphrasing the blurb, he
offers a 'radical critique' of 'the salient spheres of
postmodernism - from architecture, film, television and pop
music, to philosophy, consumer liefstyles and new-age religions'
and 'reveals that postmodernism in fact operates to marginalise
the reality of the non-west and confound its aspirations.' AND
he offers 'ways in which the people of the non-west can counter
the postmodern assault and survive with their identities,
histories and cultures intact.' What could be better?
Denis O'Hearn, Ollscoil na Riona Beal Feirste
> ----------
> Sent: Friday, January 02, 1998 11:34 PM
> To: WORLD SYSTEMS NETWORK
> Subject: Media as Hegemonic Tool
>
> Does anyone know if any work has been done regarding Western
media as
> a
> hegemonic tool in the cultivation of, say, consumeristic (and
other
> capitalist-friendly) attitudes in the developing world? I'm a
> graduate
> student in cultural anthropology looking for a thesis topic,
and, as
> many people in the field have noticed, this decade has seen a
> striking
> proliferation of satellite dishes in less-populated areas
which
> previously had no access to television. In Polynesia it has
been
> blamed
> for stopping the night time tradition of story telling in
which
> elders
> pass on the myths, beliefs, etc., of their culture to the
younger
> generations. The younger generations now watch TV. I think we
all
> know
> what it's teaching them.
>
> Anyway, I'm sure there's been plenty of work done on
television's
> powers
> of persuasion here in the core, but I wasn't able to turn up
much
> about
> its use and effects in the periphery (I plan on doing my
fieldwork in
> Indonesia, perhaps Sulawesi). The appearance of the satellite
dish
> has
> made a serious difference in the spread of Western media away
from
> urban
> centers, to which it had previously been confined to a greater
> degree.
> In a large, spread out country like Indonesia and in other
island
> nations, this can make a big difference. It might be
interesting to
> study its effects on a rural village.
>
> Any references, ideas or comments would be greatly
appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Gareth Barkin
>
> Campus Box 1114
> Department of Anthropology
> Washington University in St. Louis
> gsbarkin@artsci.wustl.edu
>
>