“The world is getting smaller.” This common metaphor is at work in
the term “global village,” which derives its oxymoronic appeal from
the typically small size of a “village” in contrast to the vastness of the
“globe.” Compared to one hundred years ago, we now have more information
about other peoples and cultures, and easier and faster access
to that information. Moreover, increased contact has led to the
spread—sometimes through imposition, sometimes through voluntary
adoption—of Western (especially US) cultural practices. Traditional
dress has been replaced by suits in business settings in every country
in the world; young people in urban areas everywhere watch films
made in Hollywood, listen to rock and roll, play video games, talk on
cell phones, wear jeans, drink Coke, eat pizza (or McDonald’s hamburgers),
speak English, and increasingly, frequent cybercafes. Part of
what makes the world seem “smaller” today is that one is more likely
to encounter familiar symbols and practices in geographically distant
places than was the case one hundred or even fifty years ago