Do those that still travel to these countries pose themselves as commodities? being valued as Social, Societal, and escapist commodities. These ex-patriots seemed to step into or build their label and it has carried to this day in some form, be it for the better or worse.
But the question I have come up with is can todays ex-patriots or better yet worldly travelers use the tools at hand to change this perception of commodity?
I think this is an important question. We can look at today's American business and foreigners as a supporter of the American commodity.
ReplyDeleteWe look at New York City as the city of opportunity, Florida tourists go to Disney World, and Las Vegas is a commodity of sin.
Tourist and travelers come to America and other places in the world for the commodity of what ideals they have to offer. The idea of commodity literally has been interchangable with commerce, the economy, and the place that provide that specific ideal.
I think people/the body/blackness or browness are still ideologically commodified as well, particularly in our increasingly globalized society. While our post-modern progressive values encourage multiculturalism and cross-cultural understanding, there is still a definite power imbalance. Every time I see a Peace Corps advertisement with a smiling white college grad cradling a malnourished African child, I think to myself 'this is a metaphor.' It's everything that one country wants to say about another, and in turn, what one culture wants to say about another.
ReplyDeleteI think it was Angel who used the example of Josephine Baker from the first reading to signify the commodification of the black body in France. There are definitely domestic parallels too. It makes me wonder how these ideas effect us subconsciously, and subsequently, how they shape actions that mirror our beliefs such as policy-making, etc.
I'm totally getting off topic...
How are you proposing that the ex-patriots, or worldly travelers, can change the perception of commodity? Do you mean that they could alter the perception so that the lines of commodification are blurred and people cannot distinguish a product as being identified to a particular ethnicity? Should they implement new perceptions that challenge current views on commodifying a culture? I agree with Angel & Cornflake Girl that our globalized society thrives on the distinctions in race/ethnicity to commodify a culture.
ReplyDeleteAs for the ex-patriots, they still serve as a commodity to the new culture they attempt to assimilate themselves into as they become labeled as the American (or what have you) and come to represent the social, political, etc. ideas associated to their home country, whether or not they were trying to escape those labels. The thing with commodifying a culture is that it can be done with pride or prejudice...