3.2.1. Comprehension Questions

1. Why does globalization often mean “Americanization”?

2. How do U.S. restaurant chains affect local eating habits and traditions?

3. What traditions have changed in China as a result of the marketing strategy of McDonald’s?

4. How does the French government protect local cultural industries?

5. Why does the United States play the leading role in cultural globalization?

6. What factors put the U.S. movie industry in a dominant position?

3.2.2. Key Vocabulary

ENTRY	TRANSLATION	EXAMPLES AND NOTES
versus prep, Latin (сокр. v. или vs.)	против (юр., спорт.)	Liverpool vs. London – матч между командами Ливерпуля и Лондона
viability n	жизнеспособность; живучесть, жизнестойкость	viability of locally made products – жизнеспособность товаров, производимых внутри страны Syn. vitality
displace v	вытеснять, замещать; отстранять, смещать	A floating object displaces water. – Плавающий предмет вытесняет воду
disrupt v	разбить(вдребезги), разрывать, разрушать; подрывать, нарушать	the ground was disrupted by an earthquake – землетрясение раскололо землю to disrupt radio communication – нарушить радиосвязь
exposure n (to smth)	подвергание внешнему воздействию; контакт, соприкосновение	avoid exposure to cold – берегитесь переохлаждения his face was brown from exposure to the weather – его лицо обветрело и загорело Exposure to lead damages the brains of young children – Воздействие свинца разрушает клетки головного мозга у маленьких детей
identity n	индивидуальность, своеобразие, отличительная черта, особенность	national identity – национальные особенности
mores n Latin pl	нравы, обычаи, традиции, повадки (животных)	he exposed their mores – он разоблачал их нравы
homogenization n	гомогенизация (приведение чего-либо разнородного к состоянию однородности)	homogenization of world culture – гомогенизация мировой культуры
integral adj	неотъемлемый, существенный; являющийся важной составной частью	an integral part of the curriculum – неотъемлемая часть распорядка an integral aspect of the culture – неотъемлемая сторона культуры
crepe n	тонкий блинчик	Crepe is a kind of a light thin pancake popular in France.
pastry n	выпечка, мучные кондитерские изделия (пирожные, печенье и т.п.)	to bake pastry, to make pastry – печь пирожные pastry shop – кондитерская
crowd out v	вытеснять, замещать, заменять	Syn. displace We wanted to print your letter in the newspaper, but it was crowded out by important news
peer n	ровня, равный (по положению, статусу); ровесник, сверстник	you will not find his peer – вы не найдете ему равного
formula n	рецепт	standard formula of coffee – стандартный рецепт кофе
festivities n pl	празднества, торжества	Syn. celebration to take part in the festivities – принять участие в празднествах Christmas festivities – рождественские развлечения
impose v (on, upon)	навязывать	to impose one’s views on smb. – навязывать кому-либо свои взгляды
evolve v	развиваться, эволюционировать	society evolved through the ages – общество развивалось на протяжении веков
incur v	навлекать на себя, подвергаться чему-либо	to incur losses – потерпеть убытки to incur costs – понести издержки to incur a penalty – подвергнуться штрафу
affluent adj	богатый; изобильный, обильный	affluent in idioms – богатый идиомами the affluent society – общество изобилия
recoup v	возмещать, компенсировать	Syn. compensate to recoup a person for loss/damage – возмещать кому-либо убытки
merit n	заслуга, достоинство; pl качества	he was rewarded according to his merits – он был вознагражден по заслугам
box-office receipts n pl	кассовые сборы	The box-office receipts exceeded 2 million US dollars

FOCUS 4

4.1. Skim the text below and find the arguments for and against globalization. Scan the text and explain the author’s point of view that due to globalization tragic events in a distanced country can have powerful impacts on a person unlike it used to be at the times of Adam Smith.

Cultural Impact of Globalization

Critics of globalization charge that the phenomenon, especially through pop culture, is perpetrating a kind of cultural genocide on the world – that the largest, most dominant cultures are becoming larger and more dominant at the expense of many others. In this view, globalization is in fact another word for Americanization.

However, others argue that globalization offers the potential to enrich the world culturally. To these people, the notion that the opportunities for cultural exchange brought about by globalization can help promote tolerance and diversity is very attractive. Their vision is the multi-cultural “global village”, where ideas and practices can be freely exchanged and appreciated.

The potential enlightenment of the global village can be contrasted with the way people tended to view other nations and cultures ages ago. In the 18-th century, Adam Smith, the father of economic theory, noted the detachment of emotion caused by distance:

“Let us suppose that the great empire of China, with all its myriads of inhabitants, was suddenly swallowed up by an earthquake, and let us consider how a man of humanity in Europe, who had no sort of connection with that part of the world, would be affected upon receiving intelligence of this dreadful calamity… If he was to lose his little finger tomorrow, he would not sleep to-night; but, provided he never saw [the Chinese people killed by an earthquake], he will snore with the most profound security over the ruin of a hundred millions of his brethren, and the destruction of that immense multitude seems plainly an object less interesting to him, than this paltry misfortune of his own” (The Theory of Moral Sentiments, 1759).

Smith’s point was that no matter how sympathetic this 18th-century European might be to the plight of others, a tragic event so far away could not affect a person on an emotional level unless they had a more real connection to the event.

Globalization has changed this dynamic, in sometimes quite powerful ways. In today’s world, foreign policy decisions are sometimes driven by television images beamed around the world by satellites showing famine or fighting in other nations. In this context, globalization enables a newscaster to humanize an event overseas. As Adam Smith might have observed, seeing images of starving children and other human suffering on television creates a much more powerful emotional reaction in an observer than reading in a newspaper that 100,000 people have died as a result of a natural disaster overseas.

The CNN Effect

This indifference about people in foreign countries noted by Adam Smyth can be very different today, due in part to globalization (though this is clearly not always the case). Foreign policy decision-makers have discovered that press coverage on wars, famines, and other events overseas can have powerful impacts on popular opinion at home. Public outrage over atrocities or sympathy at suffering can generate significant public pressure to governments to respond.

In 1984, a British television documentary about the famine in Ethiopia led a group of pop artists in Britain to organize a charity event on behalf of the victims. Led by Bob Geldof, the singers and musicians recorded a song, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, and held a concert that raised nearly $15 million for relief efforts.

The U.S. government in 1992 was induced to intervene militarily in Somalia to help avert a famine. Administration officials at the time cited one of the reasons they felt that action necessary was due to immense public pressure that had been generated based on news coverage of this crisis. Similarly, the Clinton Administration, trying to resolve a very complex and bloody conflict in the Balkans, often noted that images on the news of killings there had a significant impact on their decisions.

Source: Culture and Globalization.

Режим доступа: http://www.globalization101.org

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