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Hopelessly Globalized (but I can't help it!)
BY TARIQ KHONJI |
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Globalisation doesn't hit you in the face, it creeps up on you so that it becomes a normal part of life without you even realising it. It can be an ugly phenomenon indeed, exploiting and dominating millions of poor people around the world. But these are blacker realms than I care to tread for now... Like in many US towns and cities, the mall, which is open well past midnight, has become the focal point of the community. Parents used to worry if their children were out past 9pm or 10pm. After all, where could they possibly be? Now mothers can rest assured that they are in the safety of a controlled environment, getting a late night snack or catching a film…or at least that's what they think. Somehow parents are always the last to know… (wink, wink) In the early 1990s, coffee shops were reclusive places frequented by old men playing dominos. Going to the movies was like being the only one to show up at someone's funeral. Only the nightlife is said to have been healthier, although I was too young then to witness much of it. It's easy to blame the West for everything, but without its influence, it may have taken 100 years or more for the Gulf to find its own way to its current level of social freedom. Of course, that would have been of little comfort to us; we'd all be dead by then having lived a much poorer quality of life, because tugging at the opposite extreme are old-timers nagging about banning concerts and segregating the human species. Some casualties are inevitable in the trade-off so we should decide what aspects of traditional Bahrain should be aggressively preserved (like the Manama suq, for example) and let the rest go the way of the dinosaur. But is this new-found liberalism worth the price we're paying for it? We now have an American fast food chain selling kofta sandwiches back to us in a new overpriced package (‘Some Freedom Fries with that?'). Supersized meals and Coke (the most over-rated drink ever) are now as much a part of our culture as they are American. It's a sign of the times the number of Bahrainis who speak English with fake American accents (sounding like broken tape recorders, going either too fast or too slow). Whenever mine becomes too American, I struggle to get back at least part of my Bahraini accent, but with mixed results. I realise I'm hopelessly globalised myself, but I can't help it ! The only thing I'll say in my defence is that I think I'm more selective because I thoroughly understand the culture from which I am taking and try hard not to be dumbed down by it. So is it worth it that we now have a lost generation with personalities so homogenous they range no further than those of the six-member cast of Friends ? Armies of bloodthirsty teens go on weekly pilgrimages to the latest Hollywood product to hit the screens, because they've ‘heard it's really good', although very few of them are truly memorable these days. Misguided kids are going around saying things like “Wassup, dawg? Respec' yo!” with completely straight faces, because they think it's cool. Is it worth it? Yes, but just barely.
(for large attatchments)
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particularly for women, who almost never went out 20 years ago. This was partly due to the fact that there was hardly anywhere to go to, but also because Arab girls who were seen out a lot became the unfortunate victims of social stigma. Now they can finally live a little because attitudes and behaviour have changed, due to Western imports such as café culture,the movies, nightlife and especially the shopping mall.