Culture, Cultural Goods, Trade and Globalization
The closing years of the twentieth century has been marked by the expansion of international trade, and the signing of multilateral and bilateral trade agreements for the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers to the movement of goods and services. As financial markets transcend national boundaries, and information exchange around the world becomes easier and faster, global markets have emerged for many of the goods and services that are bought and sold in every country by millions of people every day. Cultural goods and services have become part of this free flow across borders. While this has brought a range of choice to peoples everywhere, it also created a dimension of insecurity to Canada's cultural heritage and our cultural industries.
"…As cultures wither away, individuals remain, often shadows of their former selves, caught in time, unable to return to the past, yet denied any real possibility of securing a place in the world whose values they seek to emulate and whose wealth they long to acquire.
"Anthropology suggests that when people and cultures are squeezed, extreme ideologies sometimes emerge, inspired by strange and unexpected beliefs."
Wade Davis, Anthropologist and National Explorer-in-Residence, National Geographic Society.
It has been suggested that our cultural industries are under siege? Our government recognizes that cultural goods and services are unlike other products in the marketplace. At the same time, the process of globalization can stimulate cultural expression. Artists, regardless of ethnicity and locale, have a need to create, through the prism of their personal and cultural identities. However, the cultural values which traditionally identified and linked peoples and communities together seem to be under assault by changes in society. In these circumstances, questions are raised as how to embrace our nation's cultural diversity with mutual respect and understanding.
Take Toronto for example. It has become one of the most diverse cities on this planet. Current demographic trends point to increasing urbanization of people from different places around the world, speaking different languages, holding different points of view and religious beliefs. As societies become more multicultural, indigenous and culturally distinct groups will demand their rights to express and continue to develop their cultures within the wider society of this nation. That means much of this dialogue will take place in urban cities like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. The challenge is, how to create spaces that will foster and promote this dialogue between cultural groups, while allowing these groups to express themselves through language, music, art, and other forms of expression? While diversity of expression is a challenge, moving towards it promotes a sense of shared citizenship, part of the cultural glue that holds us together as a nation.
Long before the Gap and Starbuck sent Queen Street West spiralling into a retail frenzy, the BamBoo was a rite of passage for city residents and out-of-towners…For 20 years, the BamBoo was the epicenter of reggae, funk, R&B and soul in Toronto. The club opened in August 26, 1983 by Habib and O'Brien, friends who met while working at the CBC, and found they shared in interest in Caribbean culture…The place is often credited with popularizing Pad Thai with the whitebread denizens of Queen West…
Globe & Mail; October 31, 2002
Canada's multicultural diversity is a result of centuries of immigration. Recent Environics polls reveal that a majority of Canadians believe that Government support of Canada's cultural heritage promotes the sharing of common values, helps solve the problems of racism and prejudice, encourages institutions of Canada to reflect and respect cultural diversity, and enhances the value of Canadian citizenship.1
Immigration today continues to play a key role in shaping the cultural character of Canadian society. Simultaneously, culture is recognized as crucial in building the fabric of our society. For many Canadians, this translates into the need to see themselves reflected in their books, magazines, movies, television programs and on the internet. It is these cultural goods and services that convey and construct Canada's cultural values, contribute to our cultural identity and promote social
1 Canadian Studies journal, Canadian Issues, February 2002, pp.4-5.
cohesion within Canadian society. Moreover, it is through the production of our cultural goods that we as a country express our heritage such that our cultural industries reap benefits to the local community, Canada and the world at large.
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