Moroccan women and men wait in their segregated areas before a screening of Omkara (an adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello) at Jemaa El Fna square in Marrakech at the 6th Marrakesh International Film Festival, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2006. (AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar)
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Moroccan Youth Experience the Global Village
By Erin Wilson
Communication technology has led to an increased state of global connectivity in our world. Interactions and connections at the international level are becoming closer, tighter and stronger. Boundaries and barriers that once existed between communities are now being broken down. Before technology developments such as the telegraph, telephone and internet, it was the geography of oceans and mountains that stood as communication barriers between communities. That is no longer the case. Access to information about other countries and their ideas, values and culture are available to pretty much anyone, anywhere. At the same time, communication technology plays a critical role in altering and shaping cultures' traditional ideas and values. Media can serve as a cultural change agent.
Consider the case of the small semi-rural town in Morocco called Zawiya. According to communication scholars, Medium Theory states that any time a significant, new communication format is introduced it will create social change. The introduction of new systems for communication influences cultural identities and relations between social groups over long periods of time. One of the changes that we are seeing today, since the development of the television and internet, is that people from different parts of the world are now able to see into other people's worlds and see things that were once not able to be seen. Indeed, researchers Susan Davis and Douglas Davis discovered that, in the case of Zawiya, the content of foreign movies is shaping and changing Moroccan adolescents' views on gender and relationships. For example, dating is considered taboo in Zawiya, but they found that exposure to romantic films from other countries is changing the way adolescents, particularly Zawiyan girls, view dating relationships. As a result, traditional, arranged marriages are now being challenged. Foreign movies are showing Zawiyan teens that marriage is more than just for economic support - it is about emotional attraction and individual preference in a partner.
Alam Simsim Changes Attitudes
By Carolyn Powers
Alam Simsim has come to Egypt. It's the Egyptian adaptation of the US children's television show Sesame Street. An astounding 90% of Egyptian children are watching, learning to read, and altering their attitudes toward traditional gender roles. The star is a pink girl Muppet who wants to be a pilot, a doctor, and an engineer - mostly male roles in Egyptian society. She and her friends promote change towards girls' education while reflecting the country's culture.
Different views exist on whether this kind of media influence is a positive or negative thing. Some think this media influence is leading our world to a state of global homogenization where distinct qualities and characteristics of cultures will disappear. Yet others disagree. Those who disagree with the idea that the world is becoming homogeneous argue that over time communication media may indeed lead to the development of a global community, but that local diversity will still exist. Even though there may be a diminished sense of geographic place, diversity among people will not disappear.
This 'Global Village' perspective argues that each country will make their own cultural adaptations that embrace their local cultures and values. This perspective would argue that while the people of Zawiya have some new ideas regarding dating and marriage relationships, their core social values will not disappear completely. In fact, Davis and Davis found that the Zawiyan adolescents "seemed eager to preserve core traditional values while hoping to reap the benefits of the affluent and exciting society promised by the media."