This week’s reading “Citizens of The Empire” was long reading, but it was pretty interesting. The author, Robert Jensen, mentioned the United States as the greatest nation, and he questioning what’s the greatest. When I see the word “greatest”, I reminded last week’s guest lecture. During the lecture, she mentioned Chinese Sinocentrism, which means China is the center of the world, and from her nuance I felt that doesn’t make sense (kind of negatively). I also laugh at that moment, but in my second thought I questioned that “what about others? Korea? The United States? France?” I think most people believe and think their nation or their culture is the best in the world. For example, there are funny joke that Koreans are so brave people because they look down on American, Japanese, and Chinese because historically Korea related to those three powerful nations, and most time Korea was the weak, so they create some racial belittlement words like “Jap” as Japanese. I understand by this way they took it out on them. These days, Korean not really using those bad words, but still some old generations, who had bad experience to those countries use the word to call them. However, I don’t think that people believe their culture is the best or better than others is just bad. I also don’t think this is about certain culture or certain nations. When I travel to France last Thanksgiving break, I had hard time to communicate to French. The only French word I know is “Mercy”, which means “Thank you”, and I thought I can communicate with them if I can speak English because in Korea English is everywhere such as subway, restaurant, movie theater, and some tourist attraction spots. However, in France I could not find non-French languages in public areas. I need to buy a subway ticket, but the station employee doesn’t understand English, so I took a half hour to buy a right ticket. I still don’t know that I bought right ticket (I feel like I paid more than it should be). Also, I asked to French police officers to directions to the Cathedrale Notre-Dame, but they understand English, but they tell me the direction in French (I was kind of mad because if I understand French I even not need to ask them!). During the travel I met some other Korean, who live in France, and they told me French’s pride of their country is very strong, so they tend to use French only even though they understand English. Then I realized not only Koreans or Chinese have self-respect to their culture and country, but also European and even Americans have those mind, and it is very natural thing whether its history or economy stand. I don’t think that people proud of where their from and their background, but it is necessary to understand “others” or “different” to living in the global world with harmony. Understanding and admitting differential is the most important key word that I learn from this course and my experience through studying in the United States. Since this is my last semester in here, and I will go back to my country after this semester to start a new social life, I want to say “thank you” to all that I could learn and experience this great culture.
Author Archives: Gaemin Lee
Week 14 – Gaemin Lee
This week’s readings are continuing last week’s topic, which is helping Africa continent’s poor countries that they needs some help. I have some negative view about Gap’s (Product) Red, but in second thought I think whatever Gap’s advertisement or the company’s purpose, it does not matter because by participating Product Red, which is the company does not necessarily to participate the campaign, someone in Africa continent, who has H.I.V., could get the pill and take the chance to cure instead of dying. According to the article “The Lazarus Effect” Alex Shoumatoff states Joinred.com’s saying that “(Red) is not a charity. It is simply a business model. You Buy (Red) stuff. We get the money, buy the pills and distribute them. They take the pills, stay alive and continue to take care of their families and contribute socially and economically in their communities.” It was impressing words that I realized “how” is not that important for this case, but the only importance is “helping people”. I feel now I want to participate to buying Red and helping people, which is win-win campaign. I thought charity or “helping” should consider its purpose and its ways, and from Alex’s article I realized I misunderstood. I thought the person, who consider and help other people especially global problem, is someone like rich or giant businessperson.
The other reading “Enter China, the Giant” by Sebastian Junger shows different than the first article. The first article was about business that addressing Africa continent to escape from death, but the second article show that China took Africa’s resources, which is oil, and it also show how Chinese work in bad condition (at least it seems bad work condition to me). I know this situation well because it is part of cultural thing that happened it in Korea. Most Korean international student, who are studying in the United States, hope they can get a job once they graduate college in the U.S. One of the biggest reasons is that U.S. companies pay much higher wage and assure better work condition than Korea. Fore example, my cousin worked at Samsung Electronics, which was competitive to get in the company, but she quit the job after two years. She went to work at 5am and came back to home later than 11pm. Employees work 8 hours per day, but the truth is the company never available to that. People accept “work more” naturally because there are so many people who want that job. It means company knew they have huge alternative workers, so employees work harder for not kicked out from the company. I guess it is an Asian cultural atmosphere, so I understand Chinese workers, who work with low wages, which Americans think that’s not fair for workers. Maybe that’s how Korea could rebuild and set fast after the Korean War. Also, I think China government is trying to expand its economic power with “work more and faster with low wage”. This reading is so interesting and it raise me lots of thoughts, but still ironically both readings related to Africa continent, but shows different relationship between U.S., and China.
Week 13 – Gaemin Lee
Week 13 – Gaemin Lee
This week’s reading makes me lots of thinking. Honestly, when I bought iPod Nano couple years ago, I picked red because I heard that RED marked product is helping poor people. However, I don’t actually care about how to help them through purchasing RED Products. I realized that I educated by advertising that I can help people through one of advertisers’ product by choosing red color. When I bought red tiny iPod I had two thoughts in my mind. First, “It is a win-win. I am happy to get iPod, and someone will be happy because of me.” Second, “Does Apple really going to help poor people with my RED Product purchasing?” The Author of Compassionate Consumerism: Healing Africa Through Gap’s Product (RED) Campaign bring the questions, that “What are social and cultural implications of using the sale of commodity goods to raise awareness for social issues…What are the social and cultural implications of using social issues to sell goods?” I am the one who effected by RED Product Campaign to consider social issue. Even thought my first purpose was iPod, but still by picking RED Product I was trying to give some help and to aware about the campaign or the social issue.
The Gap’s advertisement that we watched in class was maybe wrong at some point that company used social issue to sell their product without awareness or consideration about people who suffered by HIV/ADIS or poverty. Their advertisement does not look that they really trying to help people and let their customer to consider social issue, but I think it is better than nothing. According to David Hesmondhalgh stated “Media business adopt different strategies to cope with this high level of risk.” The company sells its products with a good-purposed campaign, and the people who made the ads followed their advertisers’ order. Those people are the seller who needs to sell their product, so their first job is “selling” not “charitable work”. The other reading Michael Elavsky treated the music media spectacle, and he concluded, “A global music media spectacle won’t change the world. Rather its value lies in how it contributes to altering our symbolic discourses, stimulating thinking and action.” What I think is people expect “right thing only” types of contents through media, but before they criticize media related work (or people), they should aware their first job is making money. To giving message to public about civic awareness to the social issues is a by-effect, so people should not make a sweeping criticism because of dissatisfaction of by-effect.
Gaemin Lee Week 12
This week’s readings are so interesting both “Animating Hierarchy: Disney and the Globalization of Capitalism”, and “ The work of Adcult”. While I read the Disney reading I realized that Lion King, Pocahontas, Tarzan kind of animations are not originally created by Disney. I used to love to watch Pocahontas when I was a young girl, and I naturally accepted the Native Americans are inferior people than European, which was people from the U.K. Artz states, that “Disney innovates, enhanced, and modifies traditional tales, crafting highly-stylized, naturalized graphics within realistic narratives that are entertaining and persuasive precisely uncaused the are so familiar and comforting,” and because of this many of children unconsciously accept the concepts that Disney created and portrayed, and thinking inside of Disney’s frame. Like Artz mentioned that animation is easier to cross borders than other global communication form. In fact, children like me learn and see the world through indirect experiences, and animation is the most familiar method to them to capture the images of other culture. For Disney it is their business, moneymaking method, but their products affect their young audiences more than adults’ thoughts. According to Artz said, “Understanding Disney animation helps clarify the intimate relationship between ideology and socio-economic practice”, and “ Disney’ animated features simultaneously soften and distribute messages of class hierarchy and anti-social hyper-individualism. However, I am questioning that does the Disney really reflect the real world without creating some stereotypes. Since Disney films created based on some fairy tale story or old poem, I understand they try to understand other culture instead of Americans culture. However, at some points, they describe and recreate the stories through Americans’ eyes not the “real” cultural eyes. I think Aladdin is one of the examples of this because they show Arab (or Muslim) culture and they portrayed those people as thieves or angry people.
Another reading was about the advertising and the Twitchell said, “we begin our circadian rhythm with a meal called breakfast, Before Messrs. Post and Kellogg this meal consisted of breaking fast by finishing last night’s dinner, ” and I was surprised that advertising actually creates a common word. Advertising actually affects to people a lot because when I was young there is no “pepero day” (pocky in Japanese). Pepero is a thin snack covered with chocolate, and its shape is similar to number 1. Then, advertisers created Pepero day, November 11th, which had four 1s, so people buy pepero and give to their boy/girl friend, friends, and people who they love. Also, people propose their love on that day. It is just like a Valentine’s Day. It starts 1994, and now it is typical holiday in Korea. This shows how advertising affect to people, and I realized that advertisers manipulate many of our holidays.