Generation Globalization

After watching this clip, I was immediately reminded of several course themes, namely; globalization, commodification, tourism, and technological frustrations.

This animation was inspired by the artist’s backpacking trip to Asia and his experiences surrounding it. The animation is RIFE with Westernized imagery and ideals and therefore speaks to the frivolous nature of the Western tourist. The main character is the archetypal alpha-male: built with muscles, flowing blonde hair, and technology in tow in order to manage the risks of the “other” as effectively as possible. He arrives in a Desert where no risks are inherently present and yet still relies upon the commodities brought from the west in order to survive this ordeal. This speaks quite nicely to the notion of a globalized world; If the rest of the world is reliant on our technologies, commodities, tools, and ideas because those are what are pushed into nations…without those “things” the rest of the world would be seen as barren, deserted, sparse.

So perhaps this clip is a social commentary on the ways in which American tourists find necessity in managing risks effectively when visiting foreign places. Perhaps, also, it is a testament to the vanity and individualistic aspects of American society. Maybe this clip is trying to say that Americans NEED everything in order to survive, and Non-Westerners do not have the mentality of needing commodities in order to (literally and figuratively) survive. The character takes out a hair dryer; thereby showing the Westernized notion of optimizing the self and constantly needing to perfect ourselves. He also shows a frustration with his technological apparatus by throwing it on the floor in disgust; this completely demonstrates Barney’s notion of technological frustration where we are angry when technology does not work fast enough or well enough. He also shows a reliance on texts in order to survive by reading “traveling for dummies.” Is this to say that we are self-proclaimed “dummies” and thereby lack the mental capacity to travel without a companion book?

Perhaps the most interesting part of this animation however, is the characters need to feel “at home” by immediately reaching for his teddy bear after reading the dangers of travel. This is quite reminiscent of the desire of diasporic groups to remain connected with feelings of “home” and certainly reminds me of Morley’s writings regarding these feelings. Toward the end of the clip, the character becomes so dependent on “stuff” that it ultimately (potentially) destroys him. Could this not be reminiscent of our constant need to better ourselves technologically? Once we have an Ipod, we need the new one, then the newest one, then the unreleased one. When does it stop? Will it ever stop?