Sumblog 10: Brain Balance

Since we have began talking about the environmental facet of globalization it only makes sense that we would need to talk about people. Since we are humans on this Earth we have a direct connection to what happens to resources, landscapes, and the effects that follow all of our actions. Before addressing these huge issues we must start with the basics. There are 7 billion people on the planet and the distribution between countries and the number of people they hold are not balanced. People have been able to live longer and will continue to do so, which means our home planet needs to be nurtured.
People will always be moving around, so migration is not a new concept to the world. The push and pull factors of immigration and emigration however, have changed over the years. The idea of brain drain and brain gain is very real. I studied in Spain this past spring and would converse with many college students studying a wide variety of subjects. All of them knew they had to go to school in order to receive a job and hopefully a career. More often than not, I ran into people who had gone to England for a years time or so to learn English. They said it was a crucial advantage to know how to speak English since many companies desire it greatly. Some were planning to go to England and Germany for a while to be able to find employment. Many students I talked to knew that this was the only way they were going to be able to survive and thrive in the area they studied. Some even knew it was going to be a long time before they would be able to return to Spain. This is a prime example that Germany and England are gaining many talented and intelligent graduates while Spain is losing its successful individuals in this generation.
In the video I included, it demonstrates this idea. An engineering student went to Germany seeking work and found it. He had to study for 3+ hours every night after work to make sure his German was up to par. He is very skilled in his field and the company that hired him is pleased. The cultural and climatic differences however for the new engineer was  and still is an adjustment. Additionally, the woman running the company said that while Germany's unemployment rate is less than 5%, people are getting older and older and do not have sufficient young people to fill in the positions. We also discussed this in class. If there isn't a balance between the ages and sexes in a country, issues can ensue. Ultimately, gain and drain will occur but I believe it is something the world needs to keep a close eye on so the dynamic between the two isn't too skewed.

VIDEO---> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwukSZNIk2A

Sumblog 9: Is it Time for Africa?

This week we discussed many new concepts to help classify global growth and better understand which sociological ideas apply. One of these concepts was hybridization, which is the mixing of cultural elements while still keeping the structure of the culture in tact. We can see this by looking at the United States as a salad instead of a melting pot. In place of many cultures coming together to make one consistency, like a homogenized world, we can view each part of the salad as it it.

I think the idea of hybridization is every present in pop-media and society. It is becoming ever popular to be "global" and see other aspects of a culture without actually leaving the United States. The two examples we talked about in class are the film Slumdog Millionaire, which talks about slums in India and it all ends up connecting to a game show, Who wants to be a Millionaire. The other example that I decided to dive into was Shakira. She performed a song called Waka Waka, translated to "Time for Africa," at the World Cup in 2010. There are mixed views on this song choice and the artist singing it.

Some South Africans found it offensive that a Colombian woman, who has no cultural ties to the Cameroonian marching chant was therefore overstepping her boundaries as an artist. Others felt it was OK because a group with African heritage was playing along side her called Freshlyground. Finally, some just enjoyed the idea all together because people got to experience a small part of African culture. I understand where the anger is steaming from because even this small amount of African culture is manipulated to appeal to the crowd and to make the song more mainstream or popular. The article I included provides a video of Shakira singing Waka Waka, a video of the African group, Freshlyground playing music, and a bit more insight on the issue surrounding the World Cup song.

I prefer to look at the globe with hybridization in mind because as people we should not lose our identity. Each individual makes up a fraction of the world, no matter how small and that contributes to the plethora of cultures in it. Although Shakira does show some prime examples of hybridization, I believe it is more important for countries to represent themselves in the cultural market.

Article and videos ---> http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/2010/06/world-cup-song-by-shakira-stirs-controversy.html

Sumblog 8: Brave New World

The idea of an uprising against the government is not something new to society today. In class we watched a documentary on the impact of uncensored websites such as Anonymous. The use of technology may seem to be a new phenomenon but the reality is the concern for our government getting too powerful has been present for a long time. The concept of 'New" World Order gives many positives to the countries involved, such as a well-being when there is an issue that a country cannot handle on their own. The networks of the New World Order can be viewed with a bit more hesitation. There is the horizontal network that depicts countries relating with other countries. They are on the same level and face similar issues. The other network is vertical which reveals a connection from one country to a global group that has no real geological location. This is the network that I believe causes these online, uncensored websites because there is a lack of trust.

These groups want to be seen and heard as part of their world. This idea of global governance seems to make the individual even smaller. It gives more power to the people on top and the ones underneath are heard less and less. As I mentioned earlier though, this is not something new as one can read about it from books of the past, listen to songs from today, and watch movies about it. This literature can be seen in books such as "Brave New World," “The Handmaid's Tale”, and “Fahrenheit 451” to just name a few. They all deal with a futuristic world were the government controls the societal structure, functions, and censorship of everything. The movie I thought of was V for Vendetta, which we also saw in the documentary. When someone wanted to be anonymous they wore a Guy Fawks mask because it represented a people who wanted to unite together to stand up for something they believe in. My song example that exposes opposition against too much governmental control is included in this blog. It is entitled, “Uprising” by Muse and mentions many of the same ideas that these other popular media sources have.

We as a people have been thinking these thoughts for a while now. The Internet has given individuals the means to make their voice heard and some of those voices have started to shout. As far as the impacts of the technological opposition I do believe the United States government is too powerful at this point to actually allow anything to occur but past history has revealed that if people do not feel valued and heard they will make it a point to do so. I think it would be good for the government to have a revelation about the importance of the people before it becomes a revolution.

“They will not force us
They will stop degrading us
They will not control us
We will be victorious” -Muse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_tDwpB3Vnk