RE#12: WW24 - Accelerating Global Interaction, Since 1945

"I think every Barbie doll is more harmful than an American missile" - Rahimi, page 723.

A very provocative statement, said by an Iranian toy seller regarding his view on the Barbie doll. It's interesting to hear the perspective of people from the other side of the world. Barbie has become a staple in American culture and more importantly, a symbol of the American idea of beauty. The Iranians' creation of Sara and Dara, dolls who "help each other solve problems, have loving parents who guide them, and dress modestly", shows how much they value human dignity and self-respect as opposed to the values Americans display in our "precious Barbie" - the revealing clothes, the high heels, and her "close association with her longtime unmarried companian, Ken". Growing up with Barbie myself, I did remember thinking at that time that Barbie was perfect - she had the perfect hair, face, body, clothes, but it was never more to me than just a thought, an idea. She definitely has, though, the power to control more than just thoughts as millions of girls, in extreme cases, look up to her and try more and more to achieve that level of perfection. Especially since she's been introduced to us since we were little, she has all these years to influence us. Looking at it in that perspective, maybe I won't get my kids a Barbie - Sara and Dara sound pretty awesome right now.

The introduction brings up the point that Barbie and Sara/Dara are manufactured in the same country, probably in neighboring factories. It's funny that they are willing to produce things for 2 different countries that have such great opposing views and who also don't like each other very much.

Furthermore, with this reglobalization, a prominent characteristic of this 'era' is the increasing number and degree of wars. The way I explain it to myself is this: once you get to know your neighbors, arguments and fights ensue because you realize that, well, you don't like them very much. Some people may say that the course to peace is through knowing and understanding, but at the same time, that new knowledge you obtain by getting to know them can reveal a WHOLE bunch of things you didn't want to know - things that can compromise your respect or like or trust in them. Perhaps that is one of the main reasons that isolationism works so well. You're in your own world, I'm in my own world, and no one bothers us. But it's a lonely world when you're living in it by yourself.

I like how the book describes the United States as running an "informal empire". An informal empire, in this case, is one who exerts a great amount of influence over other countries, and where other countries make accommodations to meet the needs and demands of the "ruling" country, while each country under the "rule" still has complete control over their people/government. There's no physical takeover or annexation or colonization involved. That's a nice way to sum up the political/economic system of America. And I don't think it's a bad thing. It's a nice balance between getting what you need/want without superimposing upon others your own religious beliefs or killing their people and taking their land. Would this have been possible to do back in the day, during the British/Dutch colonization era? I'm guessing not since this informal American empire works on the foundation that the first globalization built - the spread of English, the technological/economic/political advancement of each country, and just the overall global development has grown about 10000%.

I'm writing this as I read, so I'll be BACK TO EDIT!
Blog edited @ 11:34 PM