Westernization is not a synonym for Homogenization

I am trying to figure out the negative aspects of a society being privileged enough to have more access to more resources of different cultures. There is no doubt that huge multinational corporations are imposing their presence in more countries, especially in low and middle income ones. But coming from a middle-income country that has been greatly Americanized over the past century, I know my culture has not lost one bit of its genuineness because of foreign influences. Yes, I must agree and include in this post that we are great consumers, especially when regarding the fact Brazilians travel to the United States many times to shop for clothes, electronics and housing objects. But having more access to foreign influences in all aspects of culture does not homogenize Americans/Westerners and Brazilians, it simply makes us, and other cultures similarly influenced by them, more aware of international trends and culture. A society secluded within its own culture results in a close-minded, primitive and culturally stagnated country. Cultures develop through time with the introduction of new technologies and foreign influences, but with most nations, especially Brazil, their true, original culture isn’t erased by foreign stores, food, music and movies. A person can be influenced by foreign cultures, but it takes one’s true will to want to abandon one’s original custom in order to become homogenized with another society. Is Brazil similar to the United States? No way. But we do see American presence in certain restaurants and in music/movie stores and festivals. What can be seen the most is people’s desire to sometimes get more “western” food, seen as many Brazilians find foreign goods and culture more sophisticated and interesting. But that in no way results in the abandonment of Brazilian culture; it simply reflects our willingness to become aware about different people’s, customs, music, movies and food.

Culturally, we still love listening to music from Brazil such as Bossa Nova, MPB (Brazilian Popular Music), Samba, Funk, Axé and a few others, but the presence of American, British and other international pop and rock singers is still prevalent. I can't disregard the fact that some people simply do not enjoy Brazilian music and would rather have electronic and hip-hop/R&B music from America in their iPods. The movies we all cannot get over and still talk about are City of God and Elite Squad 1 & 2, two incredible products of our not very notable cinema industry. But again, some people simply do not enjoy Brazilian cinema, which is incomparable to Hollywood, but that does not make those people less Brazilian. Taste should not be mixed with culture. The event we look most forward to is the famous Carnaval, a week full of street and Samba school parades that reflect the true essence of Brazilian history and atmosphere. Paradoxically, Brazilians also adore buying coffee from one of the three over-priced Starbucks around the city, as well as getting burgers at McDonald’s or Burger King. Furthermore, we love Hollywood movies and foreign music, but that does not in any way make us more Western or American or more similar to parts of the world where this culture dominates. Western influence in Brazil has led to great cultural achievements such as Film Festivals around the country airing many movies from multiple nations. In recent years, Brazil has been investing more and more on the entertainment industry and now we have great music festivals (with mostly American, European, Brazilian and some African bands/artists) such as Lollapalooza, Planeta Terra, and SWU (Starts With You) in São Paulo and the huge Rock in Rio in Rio de Janeiro. It benefits Brazilians to have more access yearly to different cultural festivals simply because it opens people’s minds into being more aware of practices and characteristics of other cultures, reflected through music and cinema.

 Brazilian Carnaval - Rio de Janeiro

            In Brazil, globalization does not only take place in the highest income states such as Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul. It takes place where tourists go, bringing their culture and influencing local, low-income residents to search for knowledge outside of Brazilian culture. I had the privilege of travelling to the northeast party of my country in January of this year. I was in Lençóis, Bahia, one of the poorest states in Brazil, on a hiking trip with my boyfriend. Lençóis is a tiny village of 9,446 people with an illiteracy rate of 28.53 %. It has one bank located at the town square, one Internet café with no more than 10 computers and the predominant architecture reflects the Brazilian colonial period. Interestingly, the multiple restaurants attracting tourists have cuisines such as northern Brazilian, southern/central Brazilian, Italian, Arab and Mexican. In a tiny city of less than 10,000 people is it not incredible that there is such a strong global presence in the gastronomical scene of Lençóis? But what most bewildered me about Lençóis was Milson, my guide for the hiking trip I took.

            Mílson had such a strong northern accent, typical of one who had the minimum amount of education, a common trend in the northeast of Brazil. He had a “caipira” accent, sort of hillbilly-ish, and he got almost every verb wrong. But only after I actually got to talk to Mílson did I realize how well read and cultured he was, despite the fact he had never left northeast Brazil in his life. There was so much passion when he spoke about the wildlife in that area of Bahia, and so much bewilderment about the idea of humans fearing animals more than they fear other people. Apart from being incredibly eloquent for someone with so little education, Mílson knew and had strong opinions about politics, as well as the 2008 economic recession and about the one now where Greece, Spain and Italy are most recently being affected by. He told stories about French, Dutch, English and American tourists who went on the trail with him and always invited him to come with them back to their respective countries. He did not mind the fact he could not afford a trip to these countries; he was happy staying in Lençóis, his hometown. When we got back from the trail, we invited him to dinner, and to my surprise, Mílson’s great cultural knowledge expressed itself through music too! A musician was playing Metallica covers and our guide did not hesitate in singing along to many of the songs with him. Also at dinner he informed us one of the tourists he guided offered to pay for an English course so he could better communicate with the foreign tourists that hiked with him. He told us he would take it, but that he never intends to leave Brazil. Perhaps one day he’ll leave Lençóis, but he again claimed all he needed was in his town. Mílson is the perfect example of a man who has and will be eternally influenced by foreigners. He learned about economics, politics, words and expressions in foreign languages and a bit of culture from all of his tourists, but he’s still completely immersed within Brazilian culture. Most importantly, Mílson does not want to leave his hometown, his country or abandon his cultural roots, despite the fact he has the knowledge to “Westernize” himself.

 Mílson, the guide!