Cultural imperialism comes about when superior nations and in this case the western nations promoting their more superior cultures over other cultures which are least known. For very many years now there are nations of the world that have imposed their practices on other nations and the result has been that these inferior cultures are almost disappearing in favor of the superior cultures. In as much as this is the case, there have been efforts to challenge this phenomenon. There are various people and groups of persons who have stood firm to challenge this trend lest people from other parts of the world with little known cultures lose their identity. One such person is Guillermo Gomez- Pena. Through his videos, it is clear that there is a fuse of cultures and that there is one that stands to disappear while the other dominates.
In the youtube video Border Interrogation, Gomez- Pena talks about people fantasizing of belonging to a different culture that is not theirs. It is a sad reality that this happens and it can be attributed to the issue of cultural imperialism where one culture is made to look more superior to the other. This then leads to the people of the less superior culture wanting to belong to the superior culture or race. He asks one question, whether there is anyone who has ever fantasized of becoming part of another culture like Black, Chinese or Indian which may never be a possibility. In the Instant Identity Ritual too, his acts signify the fact that after being exposed to another culture, people change their perceptions completely but then, remain the same on the inside. This could mean that after all that happens, they are the same people with nothing but a mask that covers their true self.
On the site, there are a couple of photographs that express different feelings and attitudes. The issue of Diaspora is also well articulated through some of the photographs on the site. One good example is Brujos Tricontinentales. The photograph has got three persons drawn from different backgrounds. They represent the people from other walks of life other than contemporary acceptable cultures. They also adorn attire drawn from other parts of the world. The photograph is a rich representation of several cultures. The same photograph is a replica of the hybridity and fusion of several cultures, there is a Black man, a man dressed in the native Red Indian attire and a woman in a fused form of attire. It is clear that Gomez- Pena is trying to show how these cultures have fused and have brought forth a different form of acceptable culture.
In light to the fusion of culture, much exposure has led to people easily crossing over from their own culture to another not by choice but by design. The internet and media has made it very easy. I have become a border crosser because I have come to understand and connect with people from other cultures by way of interacting with them as well as interacting with their cultures through the media and the web. This has made me accommodate some of their practices and therefore becoming hybrid. In my class, some of the borders that I have crossed include the Indian, Latin American and African cultures. With the exposure I have had, I have come appreciate other cultures of the world.
Works Cited
Golding, Peter. & Harris, Phill. Beyond Cultural Imperialism: Globalization, Communication and the New International Order. London: Sage. 1997
Tomlinson, John. Cultural Imperialism: A Critical Introduction. New York: Continuum. 1991
