Neoliberalism & The Danger it Poses to Society

In class this week, we analyzed the terms neo-feminism and neo-liberalism. Neo-liberalism is defined as a political philosophy that advocates support for free trade and open markets and increasing the role of private sector in a modern society. 

On December 14^th of last year, a man went on a killing spree in Newtown, killing 26 people, including 20 children. For an article on The Week, Neil Clark explains that there will be more examples of killing sprees, such as the one in Newtown and in Britain recently due to the fast-paced changes in a neo-liberal United Kingdom. “The answer is that we've Americanised our economy, and consequently are paying a very high social cost.”

Henry Giroux, author of “Youth and the Politics of Disposability in Dark Times” argued in a recent article that the rise of financial meltdown presents a problem for the youth. Giroux defines neoliberalism as; “the latest stage of predatory capitalism [and a] part of a broader project of restoring class power and consolidating the rapid concentration of capital.”

One of the important questions to ask when considering commercial films, national culture and its relationship with neo-liberalism is if there are any benefits. One of them can be the film industry in Argentina. The country’s government is characterized by neo-liberal economic reform that which has benefited greatly for its film industry. “The film industry in Argentina has witnessed a recent `boom' in commercial blockbuster movies that is bringing audiences back to see national films. These high budget productions are produced in part by large television channels that are utilizing state subsidies for these projects. While this translates into healthy growth for the film industry, it is transforming the character of national film production from a cultural project to a commercial product.” (Media, Culture & Society)

On the other hand, it seems to defeat the purpose of neoliberalism if the government benefits. In an article in The Guardian entitled: “Our economic ruin means freedom for the super-rich”, George Monbiot explains:  “Neoliberals claim that we are best served by maximising market freedom and minimising the role of the state. The free market, left to its own devices, will deliver efficiency, choice and prosperity.” Therefore, the role of the government should not be so influential in the industry as private enterprises.

I think it's important to note that the private sector, especially in concerns to films is very influential. Apart from the economy, it's also important to note that neo-liberalism has seeped into films and education.

Picture Credit

Qatari Values through Local Food

For this blog, I will take a closer look at some of the traditional foods eaten in Doha and the Gulf Area, and how the traditions surrounding them reflect the values of the people of this area.

Some of the more popular foods that Arabs of the Gulf eat more often than others include Machboos and Biryani. If you ever happen to dine at an Arabic restaurant, you do not want to miss out on machboos rice with Hamour (species of fish) or Biryani rice with prawns. The pictures below feature these two exquisite foods.





Although it seems like forever ago, I remember a time when having lunch at home was not just about eating food. About ten years and before that, when lunch time came, my family members and I would all gather to eat at the same time from the same huge plate. Back then, lunch time was a special time for all family members to meet and communicate. This union of all family members to have lunch together symbolized our Gulf society’s emphasis on collectivism and the significance we put on our social groups, at least at that time. Nowadays, the only time my family members and I have a chance to eat lunch altogether is on some Fridays. Even when we do eat together, we no longer eat from the same huge plate like we did years back then.

After some thought, I realized that this shift in our behavior is the result of our different day-to-day schedules. Half of my brothers and I no longer go to school. We are all so occupied with our private issues and personal interests, such as academic or career-oriented matters, that we no longer have a chance to meet as a group like we used to. This marks a shift in our behavior from collectivism to individualism. However, this does not imply that I or anyone else necessarily prefers to be isolated and alienated from his or her family members. I see it as an effect of capitalism. We are merely doing what our age requires from us, as today’s capitalist society values economic activity, specifically that which allows a person to earn a better living, thus achieving social mobility and moving up the social status ladder.

University life... Is it alienating students from their real lives?

Students at Carnegie Mellon University spend most of their time at campus studying. They aim for better grades, better degree and a better job in the future. But if we were to look deeply at their lives, they have less social lives than they use to have before university. Most of CMU students spend around 12 hours a day on campus studying!

We are living in a Capitalist world!
Their hard wok and the long hours of studying is an illustration of capitalism. Students work hard to get the best grades and to be at the top, which makes college environment a competitive environment. Furthermore, some courses are designed to create this competitive environment for the students. Some professors limit the number of student who will get A in the course to a small present of the class. No matter what the student’s grade was, only top 20% for instance will get an A. this environment have made students compete against each other rather that just being friends and partners.

Karl Marx theory of alienation has described this situation where men are disconnected from other men. Competitive environments are established to get as much value as possible from the students. But at the same time it is disconnecting students from their peers as it makes them work against each other. His theory of alienation as he claims is a result of capitalism. On a talk with Sara BA Junior she said, “Almost all business related courses are competitive,” which shows that they are living in a capitalist environment.

Alienation from family
Due to the long hours CMUQ-ers spend at the university studying they barely see their families, not only on weekdays but also on weekends. Hassan Salatt, a BA sophomore said that he goes to CMU even on weekends. He prefers to study there rather than at home because he works efficiently there. It is the fact that every one is looking for the efficiency on everything we do prove that we are in a capitalist world.

Alienation from the product
In the process of working hard to get the optimal and higher grade possible almost all students tend to restrict their work to what the professor would like to see on it. They don’t work on the things they find interesting rather than they work on what their audience (professor) wants to see. This is actually disconnecting the student from the work he produces.

Can the alienation theory holds up in all situations?
Although the alienation theory is true in most of working places, but in universities where students are allowed to do independent studies, the alienation theory can’t be true! Because in independent studies, students are allowed to choose a topic of their own with the professor they wish to work with. Their work is almost always about a topic that interests them not what their professors ask them to do.

It is true that university students are disconnecting themselves from family friends by the long hours they spend studying and it is all results of our capitalist environment. However, their work is not always alienated from them. In fact they can work on any topic they want on an independent study.

It's 2013 and We're Still Alive!

I recently watched the movie 2012, and it was basically about the world coming to an end. The movie “was inspired by theories that the calendar of the ancient Mayans foretells the end of civilisation on Dec 21, 2012” (Philip Sherwell and Hernando Garcia 2009). Hollywood spent more than $200 million on creating this film as it was meant to attract a global audience. The end of the world is considered a big catastrophe affecting every individual on this planet. Since Hollywood is a tool of capitalism as our Cinematic Sociology textbook described, all it cares about is making money. The whole story of the movie 2012 wasn’t realistic and convincing, and yet the producers managed to create the film through using visual effects to portray the natural disasters seem real. Now let’s analyse the movie from a sociological perspective. For example, from the conflict theory lens, we see that in the movie there was a portrayal of conflict between social classes. The bourgeoisies were the elites and people with power who managed to get on the spaceship without any problems, where as the proletariats weren’t able to get on the spaceship because they weren’t rich and they were from the working class who built the spaceship. The bourgeoisies were able to protect their interests and arrange society in a way that most benefits them, at the expanse of the proletariats. This means that the elites and the people with power had the resources to afford getting on the spaceship by purchasing the boarding tickets ahead of time. The proletariats were less fortunate since they were the labourers, and didn’t own the means of production. Social inequality played a role in the 2012 movie. The innocent ordinary people in the movie were left behind and weren’t notified to evacuate ahead of time. They weren’t also informed about the spaceship to rescue themselves. It was interesting to watch 2012 and analyse it from a sociological perspective. I happened to learn about the Mayan calendar, and I learned that Nasa ended up writing an article dedicated to answer people’s inquiries and to clarify the fact that 2012 is not the end of the world.

Why are women obsessed with becoming thin?

The power of media boosted with the help of technological developments and has been able to shape the society and public opinion. For the past few years, media has been successful in setting their standards of beauty that the public has to unwillingly conform to. The perfect image portrayed of women in magazines, through the use of image manipulation, contributes to the societal and mental image of a beautiful woman. The problem lies in the fact that such images are usually fabrications and set unrealistic expectations.

A stereotype of skinny bodies, flawless faces, pearly teeth, fair skin tones and many more is being reflected on society. What people perceive and compare to their own appearance is strongly related to what the media advocates. Unfortunately, many people will go to extremes in order to be considered ‘normal’ or simply fit in. The media has multiple means by which they are influencing what the society should imitate. Products that are promoted come with a subliminal message that we ought to buy them in order to fulfill our insecurities and feel better about ourselves. They are alienated by society which usually ignites all those problems.

   

The media has been using subliminal messages to prompt weight loss and advertise products that almost never work. Viewers will still purchase them just so they can meet the beauty standards, which the media has established. Countless people have died as a result of extreme dieting, starving themselves in order to shed the extra pounds. There also have been many incidents of models dying due to anorexia and bulimia, risking their lives just so they can meet the requirements of modeling agencies. This issue is not only associated with models, many girls feel like having an eating disorder is completely normal and required to be able to have the perfect size. Having an eating disorder is being portrayed as normal thanks to celebrities and the way the media interprets it. Likewise it is mirrored on society as we notice many girls becoming victims of bullying because of their appearance.

The obsession with losing weight has also taken its toll on men; they too tend to have low self-esteem and self-image. Whether it was diet pills or extreme diets and workouts, men also have a stereotype that media created.





Media’s influence over public opinion should be used to endorse healthy lifestyles as well as have no specifics when it comes to beauty. Many modeling agencies started up with no special requirements when it came to weight and height. Beauty shouldn’t be limited to a certain type and the society should embrace imperfections and boost positive self-esteem with the help of the media.

   

The question is, Who benefits from creating a certain image for women and beauty that seems to unrealistic?

Because we live in such a capitalist world, where thousands of new products are introduced to the market on a daily basis, advertisements and movies tend to force these things upon society. Movies ares supposed to reflect the society however, they are shaping what everyone should dress, eat, listen to, watch, look, and live like. Those ideologies are transmitted through media outlets in an indirect way, and to our brains they reside and dwell.

I would like to end this entry with a quote from one of the one and only and the eternal goddess, Marilyn Monroe. She also believed that imperfections are beauty.

Naturalization in Sport

"Andrés Sebastián Soria Quintana, is a naturalized Qatari footballer who plays as a striker for Lekhwiya" This is the brief introduction of Soria's profile on most websites. Sounds weird? Sebastian = a Qatari name? Well, no, he is a naturalized footballer who now plays regularly for most of Qatar's national team matches and is also extremely popular at club level football. Turns out, that he is not the only one. At a football match that I recently attended in Doha, I noticed that many players had Christian names and did not look Arab as well. As a student of sociology, I found this particularly interesting since one would expect to see the best local players on the national team. So how did this major change happen? and Why?

 

Qatar's National Football team

Club football has contributed a lot to the exchange of players globally. Today, most major clubs world over have international players coming across the border to play for them. The major reasons for this of course are the financial benefits that they may receive and also, the feeling of being associated with a top of the league club. Globalization has had a huge impact on the sports arena. Players, professionals, staff, money and brands have all been and continue to be exchanged across borders at high levels. Football , or Soccer, has always been the number one sport in terms of fan following, television rating points and investments. As an effect of globalization, several players moved to different parts of the world where their talent could be harnessed and they had better opportunities to make money and develop professionally.

The idea of capitalism is of course at the heart of all this change. Club football is probably one of the highest revenue generating form of sport today. Corporations spend millions of dollars on advertising and communication so that their brand gets noticed by the majority. Most major companies like McDonalds and Coca Cola are official sponsors of world class events such as the Olympics, FIFA World Cup etc. This gives them huge exposure which of course any major corporation would love to have. Corporations are known for their extensive support when it comes to subcultures and hence, sport is a major area of interest for all the big brands in the industry today.


                   
                                   The usual sponsors at most events

The process of naturalization is not really new but its just that there is a lot of focus on it today since many countries are practicing it. Several countries today have naturalized players representing various national teams. In Qatar, most sports have naturalized citizens playing for them. In football, table-tennis, basketball, swimming etc. there are several players who are not originally from Qatar. While many players are born in Qatar and perhaps have lived in Qatar all their lives, they wouldn't have been granted citizenship under normal conditions. But, when it comes to sport, this exception seems to be made easily. In class this week, we discussed about variance. It is important to note here that variance can go in both directions. It doesn't necessarily have to be deviant. The idea of naturalized sports persons can also be seen as a form of variance. The team demographics in general isn't deviant in any respect, but there is a level of difference that seems significant. For instance, at the beginning of the national anthem in the Qatar-Japan game, there were hardly any Qatari players who were singing the anthem. The reason being that they probably didn't know them in the first place.


                                           
           The band ready for the anthems

But this is an accepted culture in the world today. The idea of dominant culture is key here. In this case, the dominant culture is the culture of FIFA, that sets the rules and regulations for international football. Players too seem to make the shift without any major issues since ultimately they benefit the most. We discussed the idea of tribalization and de-tribalization in class last week. Given the huge financial incentives, many players don't mind de-tribalizing from their original communities and seek citizenship in other countries.

Still, for varying political reasons, FIFA has deliberately kept eligibility rules rather vague. Its Article 18 reads in full:
1. Any player who is a naturalized citizen of a country in virtue of that country’s laws shall be eligible to play for a national or representative team of that country.

This culture has been introduced and to some extent supported by FIFA and so the other countries just try to adapt and thereby take advantage of the dominant culture and make it look like they are merely adhering to the broader culture. Communication needs to be clear and definite.  Statements such as these need to be more specific and clear. As per this statement, any country could grant citizenship for a period of time and have a particular player represent their country. The homology of FIFA has begun to take a different direction though. Recently, they have introduced strict regulations on the naturalization process. For instance, a player must play at least five years of club football in the country before he/she can represent the country. Qatar has done a great job with following the rules and developing a strategy. Players like Sebastian Soria and others have been around in Qatar for years and they played for Qatar only after clearing the eligibility requirements. The Qatari crowd today loves Sebastian and he is still a key performer in most matches for Qatar. The video below shows how the country embraces Sebastian as their player. Notice the commentator's support too!

                              

While FIFA has set several regulations for this, there are other sports that continue to naturalize players for a short duration. This perhaps need to be re-thought and is in fact a complex debate since it deals with several socio-political domains such as nationality, ethnicity, religion, diplomacy, culture, belief and values. The global sporting arena would be interesting to look at in the coming years.

Tartans Got Talent

No, it is not a TV show; but an event that took place in Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar(CMUQ) in Education City this Thursday. The event showcased the talents of the various students studying in Carnegie Mellon, which included singing; playing instruments; rapping; beat boxing; and comedy. Other than that, the event is nothing like the show; there are no buzzers involved & nobody is judging anything. This event was open for students of all universities and even parents and siblings of students studying in CMUQ.



Since we covered Globalization and Glocalization for the previous class, I was thinking of the event in terms of five major elements of globalization – Multinational corporations; Ideology of capitalism; Governments; Resistance & Consequences. Lets start with the first element- multinational corporations. Now in every event that takes place inside CMUQ comes with free food for students. For this particular event the Shater Abbas restaurant was the sole caterer. Also, I had noticed the university had spent a large budget on special lighting and other effects for the area.



Hence, in this case, the restaurant and the companies providing the lighting and the audio equipment are the multinational companies involved.

Capitalism- The involvement of the multinational companied automatically paves way for capitalism or profits. Here, the restaurants that catered for the event earned a hefty profit. As mentioned earlier, a big budget was spent for lighting and audio equipment. The company responsible earned a big profit; also I have heard that the company increases its price for the effects every year. Moreover, the same event will occur next year as well and the Student Affairs dept. are planning to make it even better than this year.


Government- The forms of government involved here were the Student Affairs Department & the student body government (Student Majlis). All the performances were signed up and approved by the Student Affairs one week prior to the event. Also, Student Affairs and the Student Majlis handled the budgeting together.


Resistance & Consequences- There were a few conservative who were frustrated and disliked when girls were dancing during one of the performances. Moreover, there were a few students who were unable to participate as they came from conservative family backgrounds and their families were against it. All this contributes to resistance aspect of globalization. The consequences are not that many; however there are a few financial fallbacks. Since a large budget was allocated for the quality of this event; the other events that will be organized in CMUQ will be low-budgeted or cancelled (For example, previously there would a be a lot of free food events where every event staged within CMUQ would be provided with few food. However, in the recent years, very few events provide food due to decreased budget).

Every year, the event attracts hundreds of students across Education City from various universities. 

Perfume Infusion

Scents have always been an essential factor in the Arab world. Perfumes are part of the culture and tradition here in Doha, especially in occasions such as Eid and weddings. A few days back, I went to the Lagoona mall to shop. I couldn’t help but notice all the different brands of perfumes. The scents differed depending on your taste. I came to realize that some Western brands of perfumes included Arabic scents such as oud, musks and amber. It got me thinking, why would these brands include Arabic scents? These brands are glocalizing these perfumes to satisfy all customers. They knew if they included Arabic scents to the perfumes, they will attract Arabic customers. I realized that more than one brand included Arabic ingredients to the perfume. Brands such as Tom Ford, Armani and Dolce & Gabbana. These brands are multi national corporations. This idea is related to Capitalism

, because by having a wider range of perfume, the collections increase therefore the profit will increase. The more perfumes they have, the more money the company will make because they will have a wider range to satisfy the customers. However, there are consequences of these brands having Arabic scents. There will be a competition with the originally Arabic perfume companies such as AlJazeera, Amwaj and Salman Collection. Tom Ford, Armani and D&G are world known companies, and a smaller Arabic perfume company might find it difficult to compete with these large companies. It might lead to these Arabic companies to close down if these large companies are releasing Arabic scents. I realized that those large companies succeeded in attracting the Arabic customers. I noticed that when the customers look at these famous brands, they would ask them for the scents that include oud or the traditional strong scents. The western scents were looked at after the Arabic scents. The priority was to these powerful scents. Personally, I would look at perfumes that include Arabic scents. I came to realize that these large perfume companies attracted me more when they started to mix Arabic scents to it.