Cultural westernisation is the idea that global cultures are being more and more centralised around western societies, particularly that of the USA. This change was not sudden nor caused by any one factor, but by a multitude of changes over many decades. For example, some would say that American culture has been centralised globally due to the USA being one of the largest and wealthiest countries, as well as having an extremely powerful military. Others may argue this has been caused by trade, industry (eg Hollywood), and the increase in global media.
The impacts of this cultural change are endless, and there are even effects of it that we haven’t yet identified. A clear impact, however, is the decrease in cultural awareness and sensitivity. People in the west are unlikely to know a lot about different countries’ histories or cultures. Western education systems and media outlets tend to focus on the events and happenings in the west. This can be extremely damaging, to the people being influenced by this content, and to the rest of the world. In recent years, we have seen an increase in hate crimes against immigrants and a decrease in coverage of events overseas, meaning thousands are blissfully unaware of genocides or wars in other places, and so no one is in a position to help.
Cultural westernisation also causes issues on a more personal basis. It is known that many Americans don’t know much about world geography or history, and are taught in school that the USA is the greatest country in the world. This is likely to lead to a mass superiority complex, seeing America as what other countries are focused on, too. The issue with this is that, often, it’s true. Most of the world knows about American news and politics, while in the west, we hardly know a thing about the news in other countries, which further reinforces the issues with global news.
Written by Kate Hopwood
Artwork by Delicia
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