TRANSITION INTO ‘MANHOOD’ THE MAASAI WAY IS UNDER ATTACK THANKS TO CULTURAL IMPERIALIZATION

 Left Maasai junior warriors roasting beef meat and right a barbecued sandwich from Macdonald food store 

Seer, soothsayer or visionary are the names given to the people who decide when it’s the right time for the tribe’s initiation age-group rituals, The rituals elevate generations to new levels of seniority. Ultimately the oldest relinquish all power and retire to become highly respected wise men.

Each level is characterized by a name e.g. the two fighting cadres- the youngest and fittest of the generations and the most elite; junior and senior warriors, are known as il-moran. They are bound to each other by a lifelong oath administered during the initiation ceremonies when they are ushered into manhood. The passage from childhood to junior warrior is marked by circumcision.

The ceremony takes place every twelve to fifteen years, according to the movement of the stars and planets in the southern skies. The initiate is prepared for the ceremony by his mother, who shaves his head. He is bathed with milk as a blessing to cover for what he is about to face. On the material day his bond partner’s hold his legs apart as the circumciser goes about his business. No matter how intense the pain, the initiate must never flinch, not even tremor of an eyelid must indicate discomfort, for the same would bring disgrace upon himself, his family and his clan. The cut takes a minute, the initiations lasts a month. During this time the initiates roam the bush in black robes shooting down birds with blunt arrowheads tipped with resin gum. The initiates are forbidden to marry during these period, after which the prettiest of the uncircumcised maidens, known as entito , are theirs to enjoy but not to make pregnant.

 The second stage of a man’ elevation from warrior into junior elder is marked by a four-to five day-long inside a specially built enclosure. What goes on inside the’ theatre’ is finalized by a ceremony where the enclosure is set on fire which razes to the ground.  One of the activities in the closure include the age-mates choosing a leader among themselves; a man of flawless physique and outstanding moral character. Their choice is confirmed by the chief laibon, and the leader, olutono is invited to choose a wife, followed by the other members.

Sadly this rich culture full of colour is coming into an end. Clan elders have been persuaded by the government to abandon the warrior system for it is considered to   contribute to retarding of development . Really?

PART 8. CONCLUSION: NEW MEDIA AND CULTURE IMPERIALISATION

In conclusion, the West must revise its conception of development. Economic growth without social and cultural justice cannot be our idea of development. It is imperative that development is measured in terms of the quality of human life, which can be reflected in, for example, better education, health and life expectancy for every single member of society. This is only possible if men and women are equally empowered, in theory and in practice. And the West has a crucial role to play in this process. Anything that falls short of restoring peoples' dignity, sense of identity, continuity and security should never be accepted. Africa needs to learn to respect the dissenting voice of its own people. And at the same time, the West needs to take heed to the saying of the African people "that you cannot manage or know the affairs of the house of your neighbour."

I believe that cultural imperialism could be a good thing if we are able to filter and adopt good ideas that are useful to us. Our culture is always evolving-for better or for worst would be dependent on the culture that judges at that point of time. If there is a good habit, such as clearing your table and tray after eating, to pick up, why not? (Evidently, Americanisation has yet to fully invade our Singapore culture, considering the fact that at IKEA, despite having a sign of “Please clear your table and tray”, there are still many trays littering the tables.)

With the advent of technology, we are able to gain more knowledge of what we, humans, deserve and have the rights to. As such, the government has but limited rights to censor contents-much less a culture- of a country. At the end of the day, it is up to us, media consumers to choose what values we should embrace and what we should not, based on what our own culture deems as appropriate.

PART 7. NEW MEDIA, CULTURE IMPERIALISM AND THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

As Wiki would express it that ..... Digital divide is the gap between demographics and regions that have access to modern information and communications technology, and those that don't or have restricted access. This technology can include the telephone, television, personal computers and the Internet. It is unfortunate that the "globalization theory" of the New Media assumes that all players, men and women, rich and poor, will be affected equally. Furthermore, it also assumes that international trade opportunities open up equally to small scale firms, infant industries and the giant transnational corporations and cartels.

However the seven years of globalization indicate otherwise because international trade is also to do with people's livelihoods and their most basic social and economic rights. For millions of Africa's poorest people, trade is part of daily life, and a crucial determinant of welfare. When a people's social and economic rights and patterns are affected, their culture is overall affected too. Trade which is built on the unacceptable levels of social inequities to vulnerable communities and groups, or causes global ecological or environmental damage and disregards our obligations to future generations is not conducive to sustainable development. 

SEE ALSO... The Most Advanced Nation Is not left behind in Digital Divide

CONT..... PART 8. CONCLUSION: NEW MEDIA AND CULTURE IMPERIALISATION

PART 6. NEO-LIBERALISATION, DEMOCRACY AND THE NEW MEDIA

The conventional academic wisdom in the liberal Africa tradition is that democracy, confined to competitive democracy is at variance with African traditions or out with the needs of African countries at all stages of history especially the 19^th and 20^th Century and it is also in the 21^st Century. This makes democracy unsuitable for and unattainable in Africa. Democracy in Africa was therefore held to be a myth and not to belong to Africa.

Most Western writes have acknowledged that freedom was a custom unknown to the African people warning that the white man has to be modest not to export  a system of government that only suit himself but which the Media especially the New Media has succeeded in preaching to the Africans.

Real democracy is not intrinsically alien to African culture or un-African and in many cultural systems in Africa but it belonged to the Western. The above account should also not justify the human rights violation in Africa as has been happening in most countries and here again the new media has championed in guiding on the human rights and pointing out of any violation.

The future of real democracy in African way lies with the emergency of the new media where cities are able to updated in the current events and news of countries political system and this convergence of the new media should help the Africans to be the ones concerned about finding solutions to their own problems, instead of waiting for Western culture liberalization in decline with problem that comes with democracy. Africans should strive to have Africa at heart and this should not be mistaken to be blackness.

The redesign of the socio-economic and political landscape described above has impacted constitutional democracy across Africa. The neo-liberal dispensation has deliberately curtailed democracy to the limited undertaking of regularly scheduled elections. While the election of leaders and public representatives is an indispensible feature of the Western culture, it cannot be well established within the African culture. Yet a carefully grafted participatory politics, reinforced by ideological ratiolization is a new constant diet to the Africans fed by the new media tools.

The demise of competitive political choices from the west is being imported to Africa and this is carefully orchestrated effort to marginalized and disenfranchise the electorate from politics. Among the tools used to redesign a hollow West democratic practice is the funding of political parties by the multinational corporations. The sole mission of these entities is to control the political agenda regardless of political party in office.

SEE ALSO.... Impact of Media on the Quality of Democracy

The media and especially the new media triumphs in supporting this strategy by diverting attentions from policy and focusing voter’s attentions to the candidates’ quality. Voters and up endorsing an image not a platform.

Democracy is an expression of the nation-state. It is an expression of the role and power of individual citizens inside those states. An expression of their ability to engage in national choices to set direction of the nation on internal and external matter. However in the age of neo-liberal globalization the state has been rendered structurally incapable of effectively promoting the public good by the power tools of the new media.

Humankind may have had more bloodthirsty eras, but none was as filled with images of violence as the present. We are awash in a tide of violence representations such as the world has never seen. Images of equity choreographed brutality drench our homes and social spaces

CONT... PART 7. NEW MEDIA, CULTURE IMPERIALISM AND THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

PART 5. NEW MEDIA AND AGRIBUSINESS IMPERIALISM

Africa food crops have been the fundamental source of food and nutrition for indigenous communities since time immemorial providing food security for the local people. However with the introduction of genetically modified crops, the traditional crops have been largely marginalized and excluded by modern conventional agribusiness practices hence their value as food sources have declined as they have been superseded by commercialized hybrid food crop variety. This has been accompanied by stigmatization of the western food by labeling the African food as the food for the poor and their commercialization as inferior crops. This marginalization of Traditional African crops by the West has been acquired in many parts of Africa within farming activities.

More Lookout........ Agribusiness on Lenses

Traditional crops are generally considered minor crops however most of the newly introduced Western food crops are not adapted to the local condition and require high inputs of agrochemicals such as fertilizers, mechanization and water supply.

In advent of adverse environmental conditions and lack of inputs modern or imported cash crops have left Africans vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition due to crop failure as evidenced in Kisii/Rift Valley where traditional /indigenous food crops have emerged prominently as a source of community resilience to food insecurity.

CONT.... PART 6. NEO-LIBERALISATION, DEMOCRACY AND THE NEW MEDIA

PART 4: New Media, Culture Imperialsm and the Lessons from Greater Asian Countries

Globalization is threatening survival itself, by robbing millions of their right to life and by creating a political climate in which negative identities thrive. Human rights have a task of focusing on the right of the human species to survive in peace with the rest of each other and the rest of the earth family. Without our collective will and our courageous intentions we must cure not the symptoms of insecurity but the root cause.

China should therefore learn that with open space for new media as Africa has done has benefited her in having a close link with social life both in a material and spiritual sense. Its collective nature, its mercy sidedness and its progressive stages of being looked for by the world as a business partner or hub to the extent of silent economic war between the trading/destinations continents. The above have been made so possible in Africa through the giving of free space for the new media.

READ ALSO: China and the New Media restrictions

 In Singapore, evidences of Americanisation, one form of cultural imperialism, can be observed from our lifestyle, coffee choices (Starbucks decaf latte vs. Kopi-O siu dai), and even our choice of words- where did you learn to use English profanities? Until the age of mass electronic communications, most cultural forms were local or national.

Cultural indoctrination was carried out mainly through educational institutions. Considering the fact that most media products we consume are exports of America, the lifestyle and ideas broadcasted are basically American-based. The Singapore government had introduced censorship schemes to movies and shows to ensure that the young and easily impressionable do not pick up what the Singapore culture considers as the ‘wrong’ behavior or thought.

READ ALSO: Singapore Scholars Critisize US Focus

CONT...... PART 5:  New Media and Agribusiness Imperialism

PART 3: EFFECTS OF NEW MEDIA AND GENDER EQUITY

Another factor to consider on culture impregnation is the attempts to transform in-equitable gender relationship in the African culture in the context of globalization better neo-globalization in economic, political and social structures. The level at which New Media has stimulated a global consciousness has led to a significantly heightened awareness of the experiences of others. As result neo-liberal globalization is as much a culture as it is an economic process.

READ ALSO: Culture, Gender and Development in Africa

What is interesting about the gender equality is that the past originated outside of Africa. Today we are seeing greater simultaneity in that initiatives are also originating from within the continent which has empowered African women to participate in nation equally in nation building unlike the native African culture which did not have any value or regards to African women and always reserved them places in the kitchen and being the beast of society.

In a case in Algeria, according to Meredith Tax, “gender-based censorship has taken the form of an explicit war on women, as Islamist militants have targeted women, particularly educated, “modern” ones and women journalists, for rape and murder. While the militants make war on women out of policy, government death squads disguised as militants do so to discredit the Islamists, or simply because they can. Young girls are killed merely for going to school, and more than 200 women writers and journalists have been murdered since 1983.”

On a more advantageous sphere, Africa, women have mostly been involved in farming, in employment as civil servants, and in industry. They have also been involved in small-scale entrepreneurships. No doubt, these sectors have been severely affected by the introduction of trade liberalization. Women on this continent contribute the most critical factor in agricultural production and agriculture.

Yet liberalization has failed to ensure the availability of credit, agricultural inputs such as fertilisers and insecticides at affordable prices. The marketing of their produce has been thrown in the hands of businessmen whose sole objective is profit maximisation. The result - food security in Africa is highly threatened. Women constitute majority of the communal farmers in Africa. In rural areas the impact has been so serious that rural urban migration has increased to unfortunate proportions. This in turn has led to the increase of squatters in urban areas and crime which affects mostly women and children.

  CONT...... PART 4: New Media, Culture Imperialsm and the Lessons from Greater Asian Countries

Pros and Cons of Cultural Imperialism

Pros
Industrialization.

Imperialism brought about industrialization, and by extension, globalization.
The countries that were supposedly colonized by the superpowers brought about brilliant infrastructure and machinery in these nations.
While the statement might invoke controversy (since the superpowers may have had their own motives) the fact remains that they did bring about enormous changes in the standard of living in their respective colonies.
The level of literacy was catapulted to brilliant heights with the establishment of educational institutes.
The country's resources were used for efficient manufacturing and trade, thereby increasing economy.
With inexpensive and abundant workforce and raw material, industrialization improved by leaps and bounds.
Cultural Ideologies
Imperialism resulted in exchanging of cultural ideas, traditions, customs, and the like.
Both the nations were made aware of their varied cultures, and culture is an essential component that unravels the nation.
Thus, exchange of cultural ideas helped promote exchange of language, food, attire, religion, etc., making way for the nations to broaden their horizons and keep an open mind.
Technological Advancement
Myriad technological advancements were brought about due to imperialism.
Even though many nations gained the higher pedestal long after imperialism dissolved (and some are still behind), the concept did bring about strategic changes to the colonies.
Increased transportation, excellent infrastructure, buildings, roads, institutes, etc., were introduced.
Innovations in health care, science, and information technology revolutionized the world, leading the nations to proceed towards globalization.
Trade increased significantly, with competition between domestic and international markets.

Cons
Political Feud
No person or organization or nation likes to be controlled by some other entity. It is a similar analogy in case of imperialism.
It caused (and may still cause) discord among groups who co-existed harmoniously prior to colonization.
The superpowers obtained inexpensive labor and natural resources from the colonies, and this led to a gap of differentiation between the nations.
Political foul play became evident, and took turn for the worse as the practice continued.
Perhaps the word 'slavery' might come across as extremely harsh, but the truth is that many of the citizens of the colonies were shipped and used without their consent.
Separation of land and colonies led to strained relations between the citizens, thus causing them distance away from their birth country, rather, their birth right.
Discrimination
While exchanging of culture and traditions is an extremely good factor, it should not be forced upon.
Some colonies were unfortunately exposed to this kind of discrimination; they were forced to accept foreign cultures and ideas and thoughts, despite severe protests.
As mentioned in the paragraph above, labors were forced and made to work; slavery was especially rampant in the continent of Africa.

Exploitation
Workers, natural resources, and the country's original wealth were being exploited.
Racial discrimination was prominent and led to ugly wars.
Natives were being exploited and punished for not accepting the beliefs of the nation in power, and this led to political and cultural exploitation.
The original culture was simply wiped away due to domination of the powerful nations. 

By Ben

BLOGGING: VIRTUALLY DEMOCRATIC
Free internet connectivity in itself does not necessarily lead to social benefit if its only use is the sort of e-commerce typical of the late 1990s corporate web and today’s eBay. Importantly, however, new socially-interactive forms of internet media, such as web logs (blogs) and wikis, have become widely

popular communication tools alongside the ultimate ‘killer application’ of email. The new internet subculture that has erupted around ‘blogging’ is particularly deserving of analysis here, as bloggers have demonstrated themselves as technoactivists favoring not only democratic self-expression and networking, but also global media critique and journalistic sociopolitical intervention. Blogs are partly successful because they are relatively easy to create and maintain – even for non-technical web users.. If the world wide web was about forming a global network of interlocking, informative websites, blogs make the idea of a dynamic network of ongoing debate, dialogue and commentary central and so emphasize the interpretation and dissemination of alternative information to a heightened degree. While recent mainstream coverage of blogs tends to portray them as narcissistic domains for one’s own individual opinion, and center on conservative or neo-liberal individual bloggers, many group blogs exist, in which teams of contributors post and comment upon news stories, events, and issues of the day. One of the most important is the everexpanding series of international Indymedia (http://www. indymedia.com) sites, erected by activists for the public domain to inform one another both locally and globally. But even for the hundreds of thousands of purely individual blogs, forming groups of fellow blog readers and publishers is the norm, and blog posts tend to an overwhelming degree to reference (and link) social interaction amongst the group(s) proper. One result of bloggers’ fascination with networks of links has been the subcultural phenomenon known as ‘Google Bombing’. Documented in early2002, it was revealed that the popular search engine Google had a special affinity for blogs because of its tendency to favor highly-linked, recently updated web content in its site ranking system. With this in mind, bloggers began campaigns to get large numbers of fellow bloggers to post links to specific postings that were designed to include the desirable keywords that Google users might normally search. A successful Google Bomb, then, would rocket the initial blog that began the campaign up Google’s rankings to No. 1 for each and every one of those keywords – whether the blog itself had anything to do with them or not!
BY SANG IS/1221/14

NEW MEDIA  CONTRIBUTION TO CULTURAL IMPERIALISM IN  AFRICA KENYA IN
PARTICULAR

New Media has contributed to the evolution of culture  in our county Kenya in various ways.  We have become victims of change in our society which is considered as adhering to technological changes.

We are living in a society that has seen us viewing more of the western movies and music. Most of us will tend to embrace western culture way of life. Many people tend to lose their way of life in order to be cool and conversant with  the new trend .For instance the latest dressing code which will make them to dress in the recent trends even if they don’t really match up to our culture. Women will wear the short tight and exposing clothes in order to impress other people. Men are also adapting the modern trend that is sagging at times, dyeing hair and wearing the slim trousers that are tight like the ones that ladies wear. Most of them will get these ideas from the movies and music that they watch.

Our culture is slowly fading away due to the influence of media in our society. The new media is slowly controlling and taking over our culture.The worst bit is that ladies are even bleaching themselves. They want to look like the people that they see in the television, Kenyan culture  is slowly being eroded by the new ideas that we are getting from the media. Our culture that spells it out that as Africans we have the dark complexion is being eroded away as people slowly start using the chemicals that change their complexion.

In our media society information from the west is actually dominating in our media world.  Most of our radio stations play western music and run western programmes as the 'in thing'.In our magazines and periodicals what will they mostly concentrate on, western stuff.  The western culture is slowly taking away and eroding our own culture. We are becoming victims of change of our own culture once we start valuing foreign culture more than our own culture. It is very rare to find for instance the Maasai people and their culture being a topic of discussion in our media world for instance in a magazine. But it is not once or twice that they will feature celebrities from the west or even music from the west.

By Jiljane Wawira Njiru

Internet for youth: a spider’s trap or a web for friendship and knowledge?

If we believe the media, more or less the majority of young Africans spend their time
on the net playing video games, exchanging languorously with their girlfriends or boyfriends,
looking at pornography and seeking out pen pals and visas to emigrate. But since not all of
them  are  in  the  same  boat,  the  media  also  informs  us  that  some  students  use  the  net  to
search for educational resources and study bursaries.

The  phenomena  of  acculturation  is  generally  associated  with  immigration  and
therefore  to  the  migration  of  individuals.  It  appears  that  internet  brings  a  different
dimension to this concept. In fact it is perhaps no longer necessary to emigrate to become
the victim of acculturation. A switched-on Akinyi  from Kenya can learn everything about a
Breton  living  in  France in  a  few  clicks,  thanks  to  the  magic  of  the  net:  how  to  dress  like  a
Breton,  eat  like  one,  even  speak  Breton,  while  never  having  crossed  the  border  to  enter
France. With little Akinyi contribution to the net, however, it is not certain that the Breton
could learn as much about a Akinyi. Just one example of one-way communication.

                                                                                                                                    By Ben

VIDEO GAMES IN EXCHANGE FOR KATI

                                           
                               

                                      Children playing kati

On the way to industrialization; telegrams were the easiest speedy way of communication in Kenya, one had to be careful to keep the message simple and avoid unnecessary full-stops and commas to minimize on charges e.g (Come home Mother sick) ; then came reverse calls, followed by public telephone booths and now cellphones and internet.......... Before the internet and cellphones teenagers and children were hardly involved in communication via the available gadgets . Their association was determined by geographical regions; which in-turn spelled the way they spend their free time playing self improvised games e.g Bano, Kati , Tapo to name just a few

                                  
                                    Chidren playing bano
Then came the cellphones in the early nineties, which were by then expensive and only the affluent in society could afford .Thanks to  evolving technology and competition, it did not take long before manufacture's came up with  affordable communication devices.Now at-least  every homestead owns one if not several cellphones with the children having their own. As much as we can consider these  as development; the consequences are proving disastrous.Children are getting access to vulgar and obscene material on the internet and sharing it with their friends at an alarming speed all in the name of 'digital platform'

No more kati who wants to roll in the dust, just 'google ' and you will find a game of your choice online. Who will control who sees what and when on the internet? Food for thought

By Joyce Iminza

 Does technology impact culture?
In today’s technology driven world, people expect to have the means to communicate with others at any given moment. The ability to create relationships based solely on mutual understandings and shared common interests have fed the social media phenomena. In the past, people were able to get together physically and discuss concerns or share thoughts. However public spheres are changing from gathering in coffee shops to meeting online through forums and other social media platforms. In today’s world, the easy access to technology creates the situation that, when you look around, people are often using smartphones or using their computers to check on what’s happening in the world around them, providing a feeling of connectedness. Does this ease of connection to the online world hold significant consequences on culture?
Constant communication through use of technology is changing the way people think of themselves and how they communicate. They can get attention, always be heard, and never have to be alone. Connecting electronically can also lead to isolation. They often don’t allow the time to think or listen to each other with the constant sensory stimulus of texts, tweets, Facebook updates, emails and more. Understanding the prospective of critical sociology and how media practices impact what is seen as normal affects society’s values. The ease of connecting through technology and communicating online does have an impact on culture locally and globally as more and more people choose to communicate online instead of in person.
BY SANG IS/1221/14

UN-CONNECTED STUDENTS - VICTIMS OF EXAM LEAKAGE ON WHATSAPP IN KENYA.

HOW FAIR IS FAIR?

What is the purpose of national exams? Why does the state emphasize on national exams for students, putting up and maintaining an examination body which is run by tax-payers money (Kenya National Examination Council) the reasons may seem obvious: to see what students have learned, to measure their strength and weaknesses and to quantify entry into the next level of learning; however, this only tells part of the story. Tests have many purposes in our schools. One thing that should be stressed is that in the end, tests should be for the benefit of the student and not the teacher, school, district or county. Unfortunately, this is not always the case in most places Kenya included.

National exams are always held between Sept and November every year in Kenya. Since commencement of the exams this year there are reports of exam question circulating on ‘whatsapp.’ To access the questions all you need is a phone handset that is internet enabled, and some bundles as much as you can afford. The big question is ‘The marking is standard, how do you set the bar for leaked exams when it’s obvious some students are disadvantaged?’

Were it in the ancient times, it would have been easy to comprehend the major culprits of the syndicate, thanks to Information communication technology (ICT) tressing the culprits is twisted as the technology itself. The cabinet secretary in the ministry of education has been asked to resign for failing to address the exams leakage issue. Media houses in Kenya are following up the story. Below are some of their links

http://www.nation.co.ke/news/Quit-over-exam-leaks-Kaimenyi-told/-/1056/2930068/-/cpatmiz/-/index.html

http://www.lolwe.tv/79-students-14-teachers-arrested-over-kcse-exam-leakage/

Internet and Social Media Are Changing Culture

There is little doubt that the digital technology and social media has already a significant impact on culture. Towards the end of the 19th century artists sough to capture their subjects through portraits of individuals who were absorbed in the act of reading a book. Today, it is the pictures of people standing in the middle of a crowd, captivated by what they are reading on their smartphone that best symbolizes the 21st century subject.
That the Internet and the social media are powerful instruments for mobilization of people is not in doubt. However, it is not its own technological imperative that allows the social media to play a prominent role in social protest. Rather the creative use of the social media is a response to aspirations and needs that pre-exist or at least exist independently of it. This technology ought to be perceived as a resource that can be utilized by social and political movements looking for a communication infrastructure to promote their cause.
Take the example of radicalized jihadist youth in the West. In many cases the Internet has been represented as a powerful technology that incites young Muslims to become radicalized. Often the term“sudden radicalization” is used to highlight the power of social media to swiftly convert otherwise confused young Muslims into hardened extremist jihadists. Yet there is considerable evidence to suggest that young Muslims who go online to visit jihadist websites have gone through a process of self-radicalization. They are already drawn towards radical Islam and are looking for a medium to express their ideals and interact with those who share their sentiments. What these websites do is to affirm, deepen or harden sentiments that their visitors already possess. Their experience of the Internet may encourage young Muslims to move in unexpected radical directions but these individuals have already developed attitudes that disposed them to embark on such a journey.
The relationship between the social media and radicalization is both an interactive and dynamic one. The social media provides a medium through which pre-existing sentiments can gain greater clarity, expressions and meaning. It provides a medium for the kind of interaction that can throw up new ideas, new symbols, new rituals and new identities. In this sense it has helped stimulate the emergent Western jihadist youth sub-culture and arguably its online expressions have exercised an important influence on its offline trajectory.
BY SANG IS/1221/14

PART 2: Effects of New Media, Culture Imperialism on Indigenous Culture of Marriage and sexualisim

A marriage is both a cultural and a legal institution subject to the influence of societies moral view s and culture. In the African culture, marriage is generally seen to serve the purpose of procreation and passing on of one’s name from one generation to the next. Where a couple cannot conceive the family elder (in accordance with the culture) will propose alternatives. Marriage therefore has the ability to bear children to carry one’s name which is of a great significance in the African culture.

Read also ........... Marriage in African Culture

Marriage in the African culture entails more than just building a relationship between spouses but involves the establishment and cementing of relationships between two groups. The new Media generation has therefore over exposed more of the western culture to the African families to the extent of marriage being viewed and handled like in the Western culture e.g. viewing a marriage as a partnership and not necessarily having children.

Same sex partnership

Homosexuality has never been an African and if there is any it is viewed as a taboo or an abomination and the African culture is so silent about it. The silence on sex in an African culture is attributed to the fact sex has never been the subject of public discussion in African communities. The subject of sex in conjunction with homosexuality is generally seen as a taboo.

In African culture the importance placed on marriage and child bearing was viewed as a fundamental for rejecting same sex marriage because the greater the number of children to a family the greater the family prestige. Procreation was therefore valued in marriage. This same value cannot be placed on marriage between people of the same sex because they cannot procreate. It is therefore not surprising that same sex partnerships are not recognized in African culture and indeed in some countries they are illegal.

Today with the emergency of new Media homosexuality is openly discussed. Individuals who are homosexual are more open about their sexual orientation. Not only do they want to express their orientation freely to people of their culture but across the border and within the reach of African culture where the most countries are leading in use of new media channels. This has led to some African countries taking pro-active step in affirming the right of same sex partners e.g. South Africa.

More on......... Same sex Marriage in Africa

TO BE CONT.... PART 3 New Media and Culture Imperialisation on Gender

by Auma and Iminza

PART 1: INTRODUCTION TO CULTURE IMPERIALISM AND NEW MEDIA

Cultural imperialism is one-way flow of international messages or media products, especially news and television flows, from a few metropolises. Due to new media, it has reduced time and space barriers, resulting in what communication theorist call “Global Village”.

Globalisation has led to the dispute over cultural dominance. One such debate centers on the rights governing bodies possess to control media owners. Because media owners hold great power over information they choose to transmit, and hence influence, to their audience.

The contents of new media products can be censored, but a culture should not.

 Introduction to New Media 

Wikipedia defined New Media as: “… a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content anytime, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community formation around the media content. Another important promise of new media is the "democratization" of the creation, publishing, distribution and consumption of media content. What distinguishes new media from traditional media is the digitizing of content into bits. There is also a dynamic aspect of content production which can be done in real time, but these offerings lack standards and have yet to gain traction.

Most technologies described as "new media" are digital, often having characteristics of being manipulated, networkable, dense, compressible, and interactive. Some examples may be the Internet, websites, computer multimedia, computer games, CD-ROMS, and DVDs. New media does not include television programs, feature films, magazines, books, or paper-based publications – unless they contain technologies that enable digital interactivity.

Nevertheless, in seeking a definition of “New Media” we need some basic tenets that can help us get a better positive understanding of what New Media is beyond what New Media isn’t. New media can be characterized by the variegated use of images, words, and sounds. These networks of images, sounds, and text data are different from old media formats such as hardcopy newspapers because of the nesting characteristic.

Nesting is a way of organizing of the presentation of information according to subjects while paying secondary attention to context. In the place of context, nesting (most commonly seen in text or image hyper-linking) is a format that fosters organization in a way in which elements interact with one another instead of simply following a straight order. This new organization of data does not require a “back story” and each interactive element of information stands alone.  New media requires a non-linear interpretation, since many sources are often oriented around the same subject-center, but are not always collated. At the end of the day all this means is that one of the primary characteristics of new media is that it is freed from the linear restrictions of older formats such as newspapers, books, and magazines.

The exchange of ideas and images are is of primary importance in considering the potential for new media. Not only are political horizons widened but so too are artistic and educational ones. Today, there is a tremendous ability for individual users who write, paint, report, educate, etc. to make connections to one another in a way that might allow them to circumvent the conventions of institutional and closed opportunities.

One thing is very clear: New Media is experiencing the growing pains of “the Wild West.” New Media itself is neutral new technology evolving all the time. It is up to the user as to whether it is good or bad. 

Therefore The fact that we are all human does not mean that we are all the same. Culture is learned. Culture is never static. It is dynamic. Every moment we are being transformed, always growing - like the cells in our bodies. It changes exactly the same way as human beings change. We cannot romanticise our culture. Our grandfathers did not walk on the same top soil as we do and our children will have different soil. I would never dare tell my mother where to place the flower pot in the living room. Today children can easily change the position of the flower pot in our living room even without consulting me. This transformation is so gradual and not sudden or abrupt. Culture is a continuous process of change but in spite of the change, culture continues giving a community a sense of identity, dignity, continuity, security and binds society together.

The effect globalization has had on culture is immense and diverse. It has affected people's cultural behaviours in different ways. People have had to change their living ways. The loud echoing advertisement rhythms of the famous Coca-Cola drinks can be heard across boundaries in towns, cities and townships and even in remote rural areas where drinking water is a problem to get. Globalization in Africa involves one fundamental project: that of opening up the economies of all countries freely and widely to the global market and its forces

 For Africa, all the central planks of the process of globalization have been implemented over the past decade-and-a-half as structural adjustment programmes. Countries have deregulated foreign investment, liberalised their imports, removed currency controls, emasculated the direct economic role of the state, and so on. The results have been to further undermine the internal, national productive capacity, social security and democratic integrity of these countries. So that is basically how globalization has impacted on Africa.

CONT...... PART 2: Effects of New Media, Culture Imperialization on Indigenous Culture of Marriage and sexualisim

by Auma Ibrahim IS/1104/13