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Chapter 2 | John Meisel (continued) It is also imperative to recognize that most of the new developments identified above have, as was already noted, multiple effects which are by no means always unidirectional, in the sense that they all enhance or impede the growth of cultural life: some do and others don’t. Globalization, for instance, as Canadians know all too well, certainly exposes national and regional cultural life to world-wide, international influences. But it also provides a conduit for localized creative processes and artifacts enabling them to reach broader audiences. The Cirque du Soleil, for instance, which originated in Québec where it still has its headquarters, has become a world-wide phenomenon whose acts, performers and even locations now have only tenuous links to the company’s Québec origins. Its current cosmopolitan complexion nevertheless cannot obliterate the Quebec influences — on the creators and the supporting infrastructure — when it was first established. These influences are still evident and important. The Cirque’s presence on the world stage benefits Québec and Canada, as well as communities abroad, and would not have occurred had globalizing forces not enhanced it. It should be noted, parenthetically, in this context, that globalization often means Americanization, at least in some sectors, like film and television. But although the wealth, size, and creative energy of the United States gives globalization its United States flavour, the process is universal. Thus artistic and literary life, including the critical domain of publishing in Belgium and parts of Switzerland, for instance, is affected by the cultural vigour of France, just as it is in other parts of Switzerland and Austria, by Germany (Université Libre de Bruxelles, 1984; de la Garde, 1993). In contemplating the effects of globalization on small countries, researchers must, consequently, distinguish between global developments evident world-wide, and those emanating from the presence of regional giants. It is the misfortune but also the luck of Canadians that the United States is both their nearest neighbour and the colossus dominating culture in the whole world. One of the intriguing features of globalization is that while on the one hand it pulls our minds onto the world stage, and hence to some extent diminishes the influence of local factors, it also paradoxically enhances the latter. For one of the consequences of aggrandizement and of the resulting universalization is that they arouse a yearning for the neighbourhood, so to speak (Harmsworth, 2001). Universalism is accompanied by a lingering, powerful particularism, seeking to maintain a more intimate, warm and manageable context for individuals drawn into a cosmopolitan vortex. A revealing metaphor expressing the ambivalence between a world-view and parochialism is to be found in the simultaneous popularity in the United States of two kinds of publications: on the one hand, USA Today — a satellite-based daily newspaper colourfully emulating in print form the discontinuous short bites of television news — is widely popular and available virtually everywhere. It is the quintessential expression of universalism, at least within the American mind set. On the other hand, another type of publication is enjoying the patronage of an ever larger readership. It is the neighbourhood newspaper, usually distributed without cost to the recipient, which keeps its readers informed of bargains available in nearby shops and advertises lost and found articles. When your cat has disappeared, these intensely parochial publications are a lot more helpful than CNN or USA Today. Similarly, television programs or novels placed in the viewers’ localities evoke particularly warm resonance, as compared with those placed in remote settings (Meisel, 1996b). Quebec’s téléroman is a good example and, on the more restricted and fragmented English Canadian canvas, such locally focussed programs as the one-time hits The King of Kensington or The Beachcombers. The appeal of the familiar, intimate and personal is powerful in the presence of mammoth, impersonal world-wide organizations and computer generated electronic discourse. All too often an individual seeking contact by telephone is repeatedly and ubiquitously exposed to interminable busy signals, pre-recorded answers and repeated hypocritical assertions that “your call is important to us.” Hello Air Canada! Hello most other large organizations and firms! In the arts, the reaction to globalizing forces affecting culture is regional, local and other site-specific, with cultural activity drawing its inspiration from shared familiar experiences and appealing to audiences which share some sense of community. Compare the audiences for programs presented by American mega networks with those addicted to British dramas on PBS or the listeners in Canada to shows like the late Morningside and the present This Morning, Cross Country Checkup or The Vinyl Café. |
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