MTV

Starting in 1981, MTV (Music Television) was the first to explore and introduce viewers to what are now seen as staples of popular culture. Events such as LiveAid, the merging of popular music and corporate sponsorship, “unplugged” acoustic performances, and reality programming began to emerge on the TV screen. To this day, MTV continues to be a powerful cultural force; impacting popular music, visual style, and culture. (Jones, 2005, pg. 83). MTV became a phenomenon in the US during the 1980s, and soon became recognized by scholars as a cultural formation available to “those seeking to use theoretical tools with which to construct understandings of music, image, and popular culture “(Jones, 2005, pg. 84).

With the success of MTV within the US during the 80’s, the expansions of MTV programs and networks throughout the world soon began to emerge in the 90’s. MTV France, MTV Canada, MTV Brazil, MTV China, MTV India, MTV Russia, MTV Shout East Asia, and MTV Nordic are just a few of the expanded networks around the globe (Jones, 2005, pg. 84). In order for these markets to succeed, MTV goes by the mantra “Think globally, act locally” (Asia, year, pg. 234). This means that they (MTV) reposition themselves and their products (such as TV shows for example) into a different content that it had originally been in the US, in order for young viewers to relate and identify more with the characters. For example, British children’s and youth drama have its roots in social realism, as well visual style and storytelling of British drama soap operas. Whereas US teen TV has ties to “quality television”.  (Woods, 2013, pg. 3-4). Modification of the plot line in a TV show order to receive better views and higher levels of identification from teen viewers in the area can be seen by the difference in the US and UK version of the MTV show Skins.

But this act of creating and modifying shows is being contested. In (author) article he/she states that

“(MTV) producers rarely make accommodations to the local cultures of the region where these shows are viewed, and the shows may not even be translated into other languages. MTVs regional adaptation efforts seen substation in comparison to the nature of other Western programming exports that have little, if any, modification for their international audiences” (Crabtree & Malhotra, 2003, pg. 233).

They (Crabtree & Malhotra) also note that though the content may be modified depending on the location of the show language, the number of songs from the area that are displayed compared to that from the US, the ethnicity of the VJs, and the origin and content of the program are still geared and centered towards the Western world. They note in their study that a total of 9.2% of all MTV Asia programing hours are localized and adapted aired hours per week.  (Crabtree & Malhotra, 2003, pg. 234). By re-organizing MTV’s programming, such as music and videos, in order to provide local hooks into global culture the network is able to coopt the local imagination of its place within the global brand that can be marketed, and used for marketing. Type of music programmed, indeed irrespective of music videos (Jones, 2005, pg. 86).

The impact and message(s) that MTV and its shows (both globally as well as locally), have created have become an issue of debate as well.

“MTV, specifically represents interests of big business and capitalism far more than its cutting edge, adventurous image leads viewers to believe Viewers buy into the hegemony of the MTV culture, because MTV promotes consumerist and capitalistic ideologies under the guise of something that viewers find more appealing” Crabtree & Malhotra, 2003, pg. 233)

It is this message and recognition that MTV makes towards seeing young viewers as consumers that allows, as Jones says, for television to be creating not a global village but a “global mall in a world united by satellite technology, teenagers the world over share many consumer attitudes because they watch many of the same TV shows and commercials” (Jones, 2005, pg.  85). With the help of MTV, Western lifestyles and its culture(s) are globally popularized. Frith argues that there is a significant role in this development of globalized music and culture by MTV throughout the world. Youth culture differentiates by socio-economic class through an “ideology of consumerism, a global language of English, education, fashion, and music.” (Crabtree & Malhotra, 2003, pg. 238). By modifying its content around the globe (no matter what its extent is), MTV is creating a new form of youth that identify themselves all as consumers in the global marketplace.

 

 

References

Media Hegemony and the Commercialization of Television in India: Implications to Social Class

and Development Communication. In. Crabtree, R., & Malhotra, S. (Ed.). The Globalization of Corporate Media Hegemony.

Jones, S. (2005). MTV: The Medium was the Message. Critical Studies in Media  

Communication, 22 (1), 83-88.

Woods, Faye. (2013). Teen TV meets T4: assimilating the O.C. into British youth television.   

Critical Studies in Television. Manchester University Press. http://www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/journals/journal.asp?id=16

 

 

 

 

McDonaldization

The concept of McDonaldization is the process of rationalization; taking tasks and breaking it down into smaller tasks. Based off of the Ford model, McDonalds repeats tasks until they have been broken down to the smallest level possible to create the highest level of efficiency (Rogue Valley Group, 2009, para. 1). 

            George Ritzer explains that there are four main dimensions to McDonaldization. They are: Efficiency, Calculability, Predictability, and Control.  Efficiency allows for the best and fastest route possible, such as breaking up tasks. Predictability allows for the same result, no matter where you are (place to another place) to be the same every time. Calculability allows for an emphasis of quantity rather than quality. And Control is taking human skills and making them non-human; creating a dependency towards electronics and its use. (“McDonaldization Theory of George Ritzer”, 2007).

With this process McDonalds has become the dominant popular culture within the world due to globalization in our postmodern, post socialists, and postindustrial world. McDonaldization is essentially “a phenomenon of modernization, part and parcel of the mass society with its frenzied pace and standardized consumption and production” (Douglas, n.d., para. 3)

There is a reason for why a new McDonalds opens somewhere in the world every three hours. It (McDonalds) is more than just food, it is a cultural imperialism.  The “Mc” prefix and the ubiquitous Golden arches are recognized and imitated throughout the world. McDonalds has become a saturated symbol, laden with contradictory associations and meaning that the company stands for something greater than the sum or its parts. It is a cultural message that goes out across the world to capture and also to undermine other societies. (Watson, 2006, p. 1-2).

            Regardless of where you are, each McDonald’s product is generally the same. One, while abroad, might even feel like they are “at home” while at McDonalds overseas. This is primarily due to predictability and calculability (allowing for each store to thrive and to be able to serve large sums of people). The relationship customers have with McDonalds, both with the food itself and the environment of the store, are important to look at. “When travelling, seeking food or shelter in unfamiliar environments, or utilizing machines and products, one often wants rationalized and predictable forms of goods and services, while other times one goes for the more novel and unpredictable experience.” (Douglas, n.d., para. 44) .Why is it that so many people around the word have the same or similar sentiments of positivity towards the chain restaurant? Watson says that the Golden Arches symbolizes different things to different people at different times in their lives. Predictability, safety, convenience, fun, familiarly, sanctuary and “connectedness” to the world beyond are just several common sentiments one might feel while being at a McDonald’s restaurant (Watson, 2006, p. 38). It is this act of “connectedness” or perceived “sameness” of world cultures that is an illusion, a mirage that makes a vast panoply of local response to globalization. (Watson, 2006, p. 197)Because of this act of connectedness and want of McDonalds to become a part of the local scene, it is no longer possible to distinguish what is “local” and what is “foreign”. Watson says that McDonald’s is the one who “carries the baggage of globalization”. “Who is to say that Mikey Mouse is not Japanese or that Ronald McDonald is not Chinese?” (Watson, 2006 p. 10).

Due to McDonald’s success, other companies and businesses have applied Ritzer’s concept of McDonaldization (Efficiency, Calculability, Predictability, and Control) to mass produce their items around the globe. This has caused a higher dependency of electronics from humans due to McDonalization’s corporate Ford-ist methods. Our society has become modified in order to fit and accommodate towards the demands, needs, and wants of the Mcdonalized society. We want things that are reliable, predictable, efficient, and fast. Principals such as exercise, education, and even church services (which now appear on the television) have become “Mcdonalized” and easier to use than ever (“McDonaldization Theory of George Ritzer”, 2007). And because of this demand and boom, other strategies and tactics have become a thing of the past within the past 50 years, and will continue on so due to this trend.  “McDonaldization is part of a new global form of technocapitalism in which world markets are being rationalized and reorganized to maximize capital accumulation” (Douglas, n.d., para. 9). In order to combat this push towards hegemony with the phenomenon of McDonaldization one must keep a distinction between local and global culture(s). It is not bad to have similarities with a group or person, rather it is important to embrace one’s differences as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Kellner, Douglas. (n.d.). Illuminations. Theorizing/Resisting McDonaldization: A

          Multiperspectivist Approach. 1-1. Retrieved from http://www.uta.edu/huma/

          Illuminations/kell30.htm

          Article, Online Only

McDonaldization Theory of George Ritzer. (20007). [Youtube video]. Retrieved from

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdy1AgO6Fp4

          Film, Videotape, or DVD

Rogue Valley Group. (2009). McDonaldization. Retrieved from

http://mcdonaldization.com.

Website

Watson, James. (Ed.). (2006) Golden Arches East: McDonald’s In East Asia.  

      Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

      Book, Edited

           

 

 

 

Malaysia: Comparison

PultzierCenter

Check out this article on the repercussions of Palm Oil production in Malaysia. The article features themes such as child labor, job competition, animal abuse and more. This article allows for comparison from the previous blog posts on the Palm Oil crises in Indonesia to other countries in South East Asia.
You can find more about the article here

Palm oil : Renewable or exhaustable? The power of the little red fruit

By Sabrina Kennelly

The race for finding new resources in order to create biofuels has been an ongoing battle due to the depletion of oil and the increase of greenhouse gasses. The US Energy Information notes that the total petroleum consumed by the world was estimated from 2010-2013 to be around 89406.6 thousands of barrels per day with the UK having 1402.7 thousand per day and the US 18490.2. Due to this high consumption of oil by the Western World, C02 emissions have risen as well.  The US Energy Information notes that in 2011 C02 worldwide 11,407.68 Million Metric Tons were estimated to have been emitted (World growth, 2011, p. 17). North America was cited to have contributed 2,855.721 Million Metric tons while Europe was noted to have contributed 2,002.883 Million Metric Tons due to the consumption of Petroleum (US Energy Information, 2006, oil production and consumption section). These ecological and environmental damages due to the mass consumption of oil from the Western World that have led towards the want to find renewable energy.  

Palm oil, made from the red fruit known as “palm fruit”, has become a thriving business. Produced in Southeast Asia, with Indonesia as the top exporter in the world, the production of palm has become a booming industry within the past 20 years due to this want and desire from the Western World for products such as margarine, frying oil, soap, lipstick, cookies as well as biofuel. Block notes that in 2009 the crop of palm oil was in demand for 2.2 million per year, with the UK and the US as their primary consumers (Block, 2009, p.1). 

The production of palm oil didn’t start off as a collaborative merger. The Showtime documentary, Years of living dangerously, explained how politics established this relationship. During the 1960s-90s dictatorship took Indonesia’s “state forest zone” land and parceled them out to big companies (from the Western World) such as Cargill and Wilmar International.  These companies then leveled the forest for the mass production of palm oil (Weird, 2014, episode 1).  According to NASA, deforestation is the third largest cause for the increase of greenhouse gases. NASA explains further in the documentary that greenhouse gases produce twenty percent of all emissions. Indonesia was shown in the documentary to have the highest amount of greenhouse gases due deforestation, producing black carbon that can be seen from outer space (Weird, 2014, episode 1).   

Once Indonesia became an independent state, the current minister of forestry of Indonesia recognized the environmental and ecological damage being made by the production of this crop and vowed to make a change.  A law was put in place making the production of paper and palm oil illegal. Instead, of diminishing or stopping the production of palm oil, its production has actually increased. The documentary cites that the minister’s authority is limited and that the economy would shift completely if the production was halted (Weird, 2014, episode 1).  The wants and needs for the production of palm oil from the Western World has not only pressured the Indonesian government and economy, but has also increased its production. “Oil palm is such a lucrative crop that there is almost no way to stop it” Scientist William Laurence notes that he expects the crop to double its production by 2030 (Gilbert, 2012, p. 14).  World growth states that in May of 2010 the Indonesian government signed a deal with the Norwegian Government to impose a two year moratorium aimed at reducing greenhouse gases, which in return Norway would invest in $1 billion in forest conservation projects in Indonesia (World growth, 2011, p. 19). The land available for these efforts of conservation is unfortunately limited due to this high production of palm oil.

According to Webster’s Dictionary the term “biofuel” is defined as “a fuel derived directly from living matter.”  Currently, the UK and US are debating about what this term means and how eco-friendly a product, such as biofuel, has to be in order to be considered truly “green”.  The US’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the European Union (EU) have on ruling and marketing that palm oil is listed as a renewable fuel. The EU “continues to encourage the use of fuels based on palm oil” and is expected to blend biofuel such as pam oil with conventional oil in order to reach their target to raise the shore of biofuels used in road transport to 10% by 2020. The US on the other had has suggested that oil should not be classified as a renewable fuel, but has not set a date to issue its final ruling (Gilbert, 2012, p. 2).  World growth’s article as well as Gilbert’s note that the branding of palm oil in the US and its products are generally labeled under “vegetable oil” instead of the fruit itself.  The creation of biofuel is supposed to be a step closer to being environmentally friendly due to decrease on the dependency of crude oil.  With decrease of one natural resource for mass consumption (crude oil), the increase of the dependence of another natural resource has to increase. With knowledge about the production of palm oil and its ecological and environmental damage, is its production as biofuel actually a step forwards or backwards?

Natasha Gilbert explains further in her article the implications of palm oil due to the increase of deforestation in order to plant large amounts of the fruit. She cites that in principle, biodiesel could be environmental friendly but because of its production process she deems it to be “less than environmentally friendly”. Large amounts of the forest are being cut down which often contain carbon-rich peat lands are releasing extra stores of CO2 due to deforestation. The production of palm oil is also cited to have been an attributing factor for 27% of the world’s deforestation during the year 2007-08 (Gilbert, 2012, p. 2).  K.M Carlson notes in his article that the rise of deforestation, due to palm oil, is predicted to rise in 2020 from 27% to 40%. This has resulted in violent clashes with local village leaders and government arranged communities such as NGO’s due to the division of land and destruction of indigenous communities (Carlson, year).  In addition to these clashes, breathing air has become intolerable in the northern parts of Indonesia, where debris can be seen floating in the air due to deforestation. “Pneumonia, asthma, eye and skin irritation have increased with air quality reaching dangerous levels in the northern regions of the country” states Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesperson at Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency (RTTC, 2014, paragraph 21).

Humans aren’t the only ones that are suffering due to deforestation. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and their animal protection services is an example of how efforts of conservation have been stopped by the Indonesian government due to the want and need of mass production of palm oil. Land deemed as “National parks”, which by law are protected by the government, have conflicts between wildlife and palm oil companies. The documentary Years of Living Dangerously and WWF cite that many elephant herds have been poisoned due to land invasion and that orangutans are on the brink of extinction because of deforestation (Weird, 2014, episode 1).  

What could be seen as potentially environmentally friendly, rearing away towards the mass consumption of crude oil, could be (potentially) more environmentally damaging than the dependency, production and use of oil alone. It needs to be taken into account that this is a complicated issue when it comes to even suggesting to end or diminish the production of a crop that a country relies so heavily on their economy with. Goenadi estimates that employment in Indonesia due to the production of palm oil is estimated to have reached over 6 million lives, taking them out of poverty. In addition with the production of palm oil has helped workers secure incomes and allow for the access of healthcare and education (World growth, 2011, p. 19)

This year, after a 12 year delay, the Indonesian Parliament agreed to ratify a cross-boundary treaty between South East Asian nations to combat the haze due to slash-burn techniques in order to produce large amount of palm fruits (RTTC, 2014, paragraph 15). It is this step, even though it may be small, towards the future with less pollution that Gilbert mentions at the end of her article. “Consumer pressure could encourage companies to change their practices” (Gilbert, 2012, p. 2).  Informing these customers, especially that from the Western World, on the complexity of palm oil needs to take place before change can occur. “What most Americans don’t know is that these (American) products (such as Starbucks and Domino’s) contain palm oil” says Calen May-Tobin, lead analyst for UCS’s Tropical Forest and Climate Initiative (RTTC, 2014, paragraph 21).  By informing consumers of palm-oil based products, definitions of what a “green consumer” and “biofuel” can be determined, allowing for the process of palm-oil to be extensively looked at.

 

Works Cited

Block, Ben. (2009). Life-cycle studies. World Watch, 22 (4). 1.

Exploitative Labor Practices in the Global Palm Oil Industry. (2013). Retrieved from www.humanityunited.org.

Gilbert, N. (2012). Palm-oil Boom Raises Conservation Concerns: Industry Urged towards sustainable Farming Practices as Rising Demand Drives Deforestation. 14-15. Retrieved from http://www.nature.com/nature/index.html

Center for Science in the Public Interest. (n.d.). Palm oil report. Retrieved from http://www.cspinet.org/palm/

Responding to Climate Change. (2014). Palm oil producers blamed as smog chokes Indonesia. Retrieved from http://www.rtcc.org/2014/03/06/palm-oil-producers-blamed-as-smog-chokes-indonesia/

U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2014). Independent statistics & analysis: 2012. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Energy. Retrieved from http://www.eia.gov/countries/index.cfm?view=production

Weird, P. (Director). (2014, April 6). Premier [Television series episode]. In B. Cameron, J., Schwarzenegger, A., & Weintraub, J (Producers), Years of living dangerously. Showtime.

World Growth. (2011). The economic benefit of palm oil to Indonesia. Palm oil green development campaign. 1-27.

 

 

 

The latest in news about palm oil

Picture from RTCC

Quotes from the article written March 6th, 2014:
  "Research from the World Resources Institute shows 52% of the fires are in lands owned by logging, palm oil and pulpwood plantations, suggesting that some companies are still using illegal ‘slash and burn’ farming as a cheap method to clear the land. " (paragraph 10)

" After a 12-year delay, the Indonesian Parliament agreed to ratify a cross-boundary treaty between south east Asian nations (ASEAN) to combat the haze, which suffers as a whole from air pollution regardless of where the fires are burning." (paragraph 15)

“Many of the companies scored are iconic to American culture…But what most Americans don’t know is that these products contain palm oil,” said Calen May-Tobin, lead analyst for UCS’s Tropical Forest and Climate Initiative." (paragraph 21)

For the full article click here

Consumption of oil: Get to know the facts

 

Check out how much your country and other parts around the world are consuming oil as well as the world here.

In addition, learn about the environmental damage due to the production of crude oil from the emissions of C02 here

The repurcussions of the production of palm oil: Pictures throughout the web of Indonesia's smog and more

CDN.Theatlantic.com

Straitstimes.com

NASA

BBC
 

Blogs.r.fdata.co.uk

Irish Times
















 

National Geographic: Excerpts from the article "The Original Car Fuel Biofuel"

* Gasoline and diesel are actually ancient biofuels. But they are known as fossil fuels because they are made from decomposed plants and animals that have been buried in the ground for millions of years. Biofuels are similar, except that they're made from plants grown today.

* Much of the gasoline in the United States is blended with a biofuel—ethanol. This is the same stuff as in alcoholic drinks, except that it's made from corn that has been heavily processed. There are various ways of making biofuels, but they generally use chemical reactions, fermentation, and heat to break down the starches, sugars, and other molecules in plants. The leftover products are then refined to produce a fuel that cars can use.

* On the face of it, biofuels look like a great solution. Cars are a major source of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas that causes global warming. But since plants absorb carbon dioxide as they grow, crops grown for biofuels should suck up about as much carbon dioxide as comes out of the tailpipes of cars that burn these fuels. And unlike underground oil reserves, biofuels are a renewable resource since we can always grow more crops to turn into fuel.

*For the future, many think a better way of making biofuels will be from grasses and saplings, which contain more cellulose.

You can find the rest of the article here: http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/biofuel-profile/

Other articles on biofuel:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/biofuels-mandate-survives-oil-industry-challenge-in-court/
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-05-08/biofuels-are-a-bad-idea
http://rt.com/usa/biofuel-corn-gasoline-carbon-804/

Biofuel: How do you define it?

What is your definition of biofuel?

According to Webster's Dictionary it is the following statement:

 

bi·o·fu·el

ˈbīōˌfyo͞oəl/

noun

noun: biofuel; plural noun: biofuels; noun: bio-fuel; plural noun: bio-fuels

1. a fuel derived directly from living matter

Naturally (sorry for the receptiveness) by having the term "natural" or "living matter" in the sentence we automatically think that what is being derived has to be good for the planet. Google images thinks so too.

  

 

        

 

But is it really? Is biofuel -specifically palm oil- actually helping or hurting the environment?  This question will be further explored in the upcoming posts.

Extra Clips

Here's another clip from the Showtime docu-series "Years of Living Dangerously". This is a extra footage showing the gravity as well as the (possible) shift towards conservation in Indonesia.
This clip just goes to show you that asking the right questions and investigation can change and impact the world in a positive way! Knowledge is indeed power!

 

Palm Oil: How I found out about this crises

According to dictionary.com the word "crises" means the following:

cri·sis

ˈkrīsis/

noun

noun: crisis; plural noun: crises

1. 1.

   a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger.

   "the current economic crisis"

   synonyms:

   emergency, disaster, catastrophe, calamity; More predicament, plight, mess, trouble, dire straits, difficulty, extremity "the current economic crisis"

   • a time when a difficult or important decision must be made.

     "a crisis point of history"

     synonyms:

     critical point, turning point, crossroads, watershed, head, moment of truth, zero hour, point of no return, Rubicon, doomsday; More informalcrunch; climacteric "the situation had reached a crisis"

   • the turning point of a disease when an important change takes place, indicating either recovery or death.

 

I realize that this term could be considered 'heavy language' but the matter of the fact is, if we don't change our habits (specifically that in regards to consumption) danger-or worse-death is in sight not only for us but for the future as well. You're probably right now wondering what this whole "death is upon us" speal has to do with palm oil. Let's just say that it all started out one day (like always) procrastinating on the beloved sight known as Facebook. Ian Somerhalder latest Facebook status had popped up on my wall saying to watch a documentary. Call it peer pressure, but when a man that is this attractive, animal-loving and educated man tells me to watch a documentary (indirectly) on the internet I do without a second guess.

 

I mean really-who wouldn't?

I'm diverting from the main issue at hand though. The documentary that Ian had shared as a link is called Years of Living Dangerously by Showtime. Their mission statement (taken from their website www.yearsoflivingdangerously.com) is the following:

YEARS OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY is a groundbreaking SHOWTIME® documentary event series exploring the human impacts of climate change on Americans and others around the world.  The series combines the blockbuster storytelling styles of Hollywood’s top movie makers, including James Cameron and Jerry Weintraub, with the investigative skills of 60 Minutes veterans Joel Bach and David Gelber and a team of leading national news journalists and scientists.
Each YEARS correspondent – including top Hollywood stars recognized for their commitment to spotlighting and acting on the biggest issues of our time – delves into a different impact of climate change.  From the damage wrought by Hurricane Sandy in the tri-state area to political upheaval caused by droughts in the Middle East to the dangerous level of carbon emissions resulting from deforestation, the series takes the viewer on a journey to understand the current and intensifying effects of climate change through vivid stories of heartbreak, hope and heroism.

I highly recommend you watching this documentary because it focuses on both local (in my case the US-who is its primary audience) as well as global issues. You could say (for all of you Global Studies students out there) that it shows firsthand how Global Conservation has become "glocalized". The first episode, which I will share below focuses on two environmental issues: the drought in Texas and the production of Palm oil in Indonesia and Malaysia. Until I had watched this documentary, I had no idea that the production of a red little fruit could cause so much damage. What baffled me also was that I was unknowingly consume EVERY DAY this product that is causing such as disruption to our planet.

Throughout this "blog series" I will be explaining and illustrating what Palm Oil is, its distribution and its effects and impact on the environment and wildlife. My focus throughout the series will be to specifically look at the forms of Western Pressure with Palm Oil.

 

As promised here is the link to the first episode: