Giddens’ definition
of globalization refers to “the growing interconnectedness of different parts
of the world, a process which gives rise to complex forms of interaction and
interdependency” (1995: 149)(Rantanen, T 2005 pp. 15) This definition can
closely relate to how a movement in Japan has influenced similar cultures all
over the world. Furthermore, not only has it served as a cultural form of
globalisation but it has seen an economical flow between the main country of Japan
and all the countries it exports its vehicles too.
A sub-culture that
has influenced me in a way that has ‘altered’ my lifestyle and many others here
in Australia is the Japanese Domestic Market car scene. In other words, the JDM
lifestyle. This relates to what car you drive, how it looks, how it performs,
how it sits and how you treat it. The JDM lifestyle pertains to owning a Japanese
car and having it either performance orientated or stanced. (Image of a stanced
car)
This has
changed the way I see ‘Australian Car Culture’. Reason being is the car that
Australia hails as their successor is the Holden Commodore and the power of the
V8 engine. In contrast, the majority of Japanese cars work around 2.0L engines
with turbochargers to power. This is viewed as “Imports/Tuners vs. Muscle”.
Personally owning a Holden Commodore, I used to love the car (And I still do)
but now that I have been influenced by the JDM lifestyle – I significantly
dislike the car now. Haha. Also, I’m trying to sell it to fund a purchase of a
Jap car. (Honda, Subaru, Toyota, Nissan, Datsun, Mitsubishi ect)
Rantanen, T 2005, ‘Theorizing media and globalization’,
Media and globalization 2005, Sage Publications, London, pp. 1-18
The topic choice of using cars is quite an interesting topic choice, especially in exploring the niche market of Japanese car enthusiasts and the like. I was disappointed when reading this, that there wasn’t enough information regarding the actual history of Japanese cars migrating globally; but rather more of your own knowledge was entered. A few of the sentences within this blog post are grammatically incorrect and could do with revision, and the style in which your point of view was stated. Conclusively, it was refreshing to find a uniquely chosen blog topic.
ReplyDeleteHi Joshua,
ReplyDeleteThis blog topic is quite interesting and not the norm that has typically been discussed. On one hand this piece was easy to read, however it reminds me of an opinion piece with a lot of your own perspective on the matter but no credible evidence to back you up. Some statistics on the distribution of cars would have made your blog argument stronger. A suggestion would be in expanding on the piece to discuss capital flows of how Australian car manufacturers are taking their business overseas to maximise their profitability in terms of less input for greater output and how Japanese and Australian cars are now interrelated. Overall I enjoyed reading this however scholarly evidence is needed.
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DeleteHi Joshua,
ReplyDeleteIt is very interesting to see how the sub-culture surrounding cars links to globalisation. Personally I own a car that serves from getting me from point A to point B. Globalisation has applied different meaning to different objects and has created a sort of hegemony between countries like Australia and Japan. The only exposure I have had to the JMD is the portrayal in Fast & Furious: Tokyo drift, which in turn can also been seen as a form of globalisation as the film introduces Japanese car culture to the western world. I would have like to have seen more scholarly sources however, otherwise a great update.