The challenges of globalisation deal with the international cultural influence and relationship between America and the rest of the world.

People today are as scared of a loss of national identity and culture due to the so-called “Americanization” as they were in the beginning of the 20th century. They fear a replacement of regional and local business regarding art or economy, even though America has always been dependent on foreign styles and ideas to become an exporter of cultural products that appeal to millions of people in various countries.

America simply redesigns and slightly changes foreign ideas so that they are seen as America’s own achievements. Their cultural products are a mix of multiple foreign cultures which unknowingly support America’s own cultural creations and thus seem compelling to people all over the world.

The things that people want to see in the media, for example certain tropes or themes in tv show or books, or certain types of music, shapes the market and thus influences how art is created. A lot of cultural products becomes the same and share similarities because that is what people want (for example boys- or girl groups). Artistic freedom is not that important anymore but rather money and sales success becomes important. The opportunities to express yourself freely as an artist are not that liberating anymore because people nowadays have a lot of choices to choose from and it is harder to become successful.

Globalisation is a concept that affects not only people but the environment, political structures and cultural exchange, thus resulting in risks as well as benefits.

The increased economic competition between countries gives consumers more affordable products since they can now choose the lowest price from companies all over the world and are not dependent on regional or lacoal business. Foreign influence on art, media, and pop culture results in new ways to express yourself such as joining a different religion or learning to speak another language which allows you to communicate and and share cultural beliefs or values. By using technology developed all over the world we are able to share our experiences and memorable moments in life with people all over the world in just one split second.

Increased media coverage now shows issues and problems from every country and how we can act on them and support the people in those countries (e.g. protests against the violation of human rights) so we are more informed than ever.

Globalisation has become an important aspect of everyday life and can be seen in small influences like buying shoes that were produced in China, or bigger changes like wars between countries because of the fight for resources.

If we see it that way, globalisation can also demonstrate social and cultural distinction and that there is a hierarchy that is based on consumer’s choices.
For exapmle, fashion can be seen as a way of self expression and how you dress influences how people perceive you and your appearance.

The worldwide labour availability and shared skills is very useful for the consumer and the freedom fo trade and improvements in communication and transportation have made it very easy to buy cultural products from other countries very fast.

But on the other hand we should not forget that there are thousands of people in developing countries who still suffer from malnutrition, die of curable diseases or work under cruel working conditions. They are unable to fight for their rights as employees and are increasingly exploited.

Workers like that will never be able to afford the products that they assemble and will probably never use them so they cannot reap the benefits of globalisation. But they also need this work so that they can provide for their families.

Thus, we can see that fair trade is very important and the globalisation is both a blessing and a curse and has both advantages and disadvnatages. We should never forget that the gap between the rich and the poor is always increasing and we have to fight that.