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where ever you go, there you are
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Youth Culture and Globalization
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic



American cultural imperialism has a large effect on how youth construct their identities, creating hegemonic ideals of beauty, and most importantly defining cool for an entire generation of youth. Yet culture is not a one-way transaction, as much of global youth pop culture has been appropriated into the mainstream media, creating alternative reverberations. Gramscian notions of hegemony come into play, as we can observe how global corporations extract consent and incorporate dissent from global youth culture. Concepts around hybridity and mestizaje help to shape how we perceive these shifts, as marginalized cultures borrow from the status quo, and vice versa. Youth are targeted more than ever by the global cultural industry through television and advertisements. The culture of consumerism is not only affecting youth in developed nations. The Haatso Youth Club in Ghana articulates this phenomenon in their report to the International Youth Parliament (Heaven & Tubridy 2003):

Globalization has brought us a life surrounded by mass-production and mass-consumption. We are driven under enormous pressure, into a very consumerist lifestyle, stimulated by transnational corporations as well as commercial mass media. In contrast, we witness at the same time the stark poverty widespread in our region and the world. We see our own cultures giving way to a consumerist monoculture. There is an urgent need to revisit, appreciate and participate in the evolution of our own cultures, which are community-orientated, non-materialistic, eco-friendly and holistic in their worldview. We need to develop our capacity of cultural perceptibility towards creative interaction between cultures.


The art of the remix has infused itself into youth culture across the globe, as genres such as Hip Hop find themselves in Australia, and Punk Rock takes popularity in Japan. Hybrid artists such as M.I.A., and Up, Bustle, and Out have blended genres of music, sampling artists across the world to create a fusion of global sounds. New genres emerge out of the ashes of the old, as Reggaeton takes the stage, combining Reggae with Hip Hop, with a distinct Latino flavour. Television shows like Heroes take place across the world, and across time. The movie Babel marks a theme for this generation, transcultural narratives which weave through our lives, showing the invisible connections which we all share.

As cultures transfer, they take on different meanings, and risk hybridizing in ways which can be offensive and detrimental to indigenous cultures (Loomba 2005). bell hooks cautions us that (1992:21), "Within commodity culture, ethnicity becomes spice, seasoning that can liven up the dull dish that is mainstream white culture." When is hybridity appropriate, and when does it verge on cultural theft? Ella Shohat reminds us (1993:100) that in order to understand these concepts, we need to "discriminate between the diverse modalities of hybridity, for example forced assimilation, internalized self-rejection, political co-optation, social conformism, cultural mimicry, and creative transcendence." With these tensions in mind it is important to incorporate media education into the learning canon, preparing the youth of today for the challenges and opportunities of new media technology.

October 26, 2008 | 7:33 PM Comments  1 comments



When your hands start to tingle...
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic



Lately I've been writing a lot about youth, new media, and social change. As a youth who uses technology in all of my work, I'm constantly on my laptop, or toying about with my mobile phone on the subway. I love it, live it, write it, research it-- yet yesterday when I was trying to type out my final Plan of Study for my Masters I froze up. This weird bizarre tingly feeling in my hands... no it's my wrist... fingers.... everywhere? It's been happening more and more lately. After over 20 years of exposure to computers, my hands are starting to give on me. Last year it was my finger joints, and now it's more of this radiated tingling that makes me paranoid as I try to bang off essays on how technology is creating a whirl of social change.

As I go into full thesis production mode this discovery is worrying. Google informs me that I'm not alone in my strange tingling. Others have experienced similar sensations. The conundrum is that I never felt like this before I had my iPhone. Somehow having a computer processor nested so close to my palm makes me feel a bit uncomfortable. As well, right after I announced my thesis project, Toronto Public Health decided to publish a study stating that teens should limit their talk time to 10 minutes a day.

So in diving into this world of mobile communications one comes across barriers. Now that the rose colours have started to fade, I find myself at a crossroads. First off, am I addicted to technology so much that I can't reduce my usage to improve my heath? And secondly, in covering the potential of mobile communications among youth activists am I in turn endorsing it as a solution for youth engagement? I think that as academics it is important that we explore all sides of the coin before jumping to conclusions but I think that it would be dishonest not to mention the health risks of such over exposure. The question is, is there any going back?

September 11, 2008 | 4:19 PM Comments  7 comments



Mira que viaje, mae.
Related to country: Mexico

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic



It’s been about a month or more since I’ve blogged, a month or more since I left Toronto, and a month or more that I’ve been traveling across Central America. Technically there is plenty to blog about, but I’ve found myself at a loss for time. In between planning travel logistics, attending the International AIDS Conference, and finishing off work contracts and school essays I’ve found myself short on blog time. As I set off for the International AIDS Conference last month with my iPhone clutched in hand I vowed to be a model global citizen and blog my experiences to the world. Now over a month later I can look back and acknowledge my idealism. The realities of being an AIDS Conference blogger are tough, combined with the forces of poor internet access, overwhelmed networks, and short bursts of free time that are arguably better spent getting to know the finer parts of Mexico City-- Tepito markets, luchador lockdowns, Volkswagen jitter bugs, rumbling metros with fresh literary treats, magnificent murals, and cafes con leche at the legendary Café Tacuba. Mexico City is one of my favorite cities in the world and it did not disappoint. I spent the majority of the time with my conference crew, some of whom had a better time finding time to blog, like Kate J from Unpacking Development. The conference was an incredible experience, and I attended a number of amazing workshops that are worth mentioning. Focusing my time mostly on youth and harm reduction streamed activities, I learned about the struggles of convincing governments that needle exchanges actually work, the tribulations of providing services for the youth who are most at-risk, convincing youth that harm reduction and peer-education are cool, and the various ways that NGOs are working to change that. I met some pretty amazing dedicated activists and researchers, and it was great to connect with people from Toronto who are usually too busy to hang out.

From the conference Josue and I ran off to some tranquility to try and pound through some work, mainly final subtitling videos and updating the VIVA! Project’s website. Drupal has been a journey in itself (as you can see yourself as an unlogged in anonymous user), but we are finally getting somewhere and the site should be running fine by the end of the month. Between traveling south and finishing off work somewhere on the coast of Oaxaca I get this email from Helena telling us about a conference coming up in September for Ignite the Americas. I had gone to the Ignite Youth Arts Forum last year and it blew me away. I immediately forwarded it to Josue and now weeks later he received his acceptance. Bouncing from one conference onto another, it’s hard to find time to blog, but now we’re finally back in Costa Rica for a week enjoying our home here for the last stretch. After passing through so many countries on our bus journey from Mexico to Costa Rica, I can honestly say that this feels like home and is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. Yet I have to say goodbye for now, as grad school is calling. Better get back to those papers, including finishing up my work on new media on mobilerevolutions.org.