Introduction to Globalized Representations

Introduction

     Marshall McLuhan suggested that globalization and media have brought our divided world closer together; creating a global village. In McLuhan's own words there is now a "universal understanding and unity." We now have the privilege, as a global community, to become knowledgeable about other cultures and people. However, there are communities that do not take full advantage of these privileges, and only focus on one aspect of a culture. For example, the idea that Irish people are all alcoholics. Of course this is not true, and there are so many other brilliant aspects to Ireland including a rich history in the arts, but years of stereotyping and ignorance have led to this belief. In this blog we attempt to discuss the globalized representations of five different countries including; Brazil, China, England, North Korea and Russia. We chose these countries because of their large influence on the globe as a whole. These five countries are continuously in the media in how they affect politics, economics and culture. In relation we aim to discuss the relationship each of these nations have with the United States; how they see us and how we see them. This is not an attempt to create an us vs. them situation, but to create a better understanding of stereotypes throughout them.