Page 191 - Cultural Studies A Practical Introduction

Transnationality, Globalization, and Postcoloniality 175

movements and flows. Traditional cultures can be progressively modifi ed
by the dissemination of stories and images of more modern forms of life
and of lifestyle (especially regarding such rituals and institutions as mating
and marriage that in their more traditional forms were often disadvanta-
geous to women). Young people in Taiwan report that they are attracted
to the more modern images of romantic life that they see when they watch
imported Japanese television shows. Similarly, teenage girls in the Upper
Nile villages of Egypt listen attentively and regularly to the radio that
broadcasts melodramas about urban live and urban romance especially.
Limited by traditional cultural assumptions about women ’ s lives in their
local communities, the radio brings them a vision of freedom from tradi-
tional strictures that they aspire to emulate. One of the more interesting
developments to observe over the coming years will be the confl ict between
traditional authoritarian cultures such as China and the modern anti -

authoritarian ideas that cultural flows will bring to the country. The ques-
tion of whether international corporations such as Google and Microsoft
will cooperate with the attempt by authoritarians to maintain cultural
control will be a signifi cant issue in this regard.
India is a good example of the diverse issues that arise in studying
culture in a transnational context. India is a postcolonial country that for
centuries was under British rule. About 5 percent of the population speaks
English, and the national sport of choice is a British import – cricket. The
British created a nation out of many diverse ethnic, cultural, regional, and
linguistic parts, and that diversity persists today. Elements of quite tradi-
tional culture – such as the practice of arranged marriages or the social
divisions along caste lines – exist side by side with elements of modern life
such as consumerism, television, and a telecommunications - based lifestyle.
India is also a good example of how changes in government regulatory
policy can affect a culture. Up until the late 1980s, Indian culture was
highly regulated. No foreign corporations were permitted to own the

broadcast media; all were state run. And foreign films were limited and
little watched. One consequence of this cultural insularity was that the
governments elected on the national level tended to be conservative and
traditionalist; they sought to preserve the traditional culture that was a core
feature of broadcast television, which broadcast The Ramayana , one of the
religious texts of Hinduism. And that cultural traditionalism no doubt
made the success of the conservative politicians more likely at the polls.
But the deregulation of the media meant that private companies could
broadcast media content, and anyone could start a cable television network