Globalization and Exploitation in Post-Colonial Nations

Danny Boyle’s movie “Slumdog Millionaire” is a contemporary example of the problems of exporting Western ideas through globalization. When the West first came in contact with the East it had disastrous effects for the inhabitants and their cultures. Africa and Asia were divided and conquered by invading European, and later American, colonizers. The first wave of globalization brought along with it slavery, disease, disregard for human life and culture, and a sense of superiority that many people around the world are now rebelling against in the hopes of gaining some national self-esteem. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries globalization has an entirely different connotation. Technologies such as the internet, medicines, a global trade and economic system, and the proliferation of the English language and Western ideas has brought people together in positive ways that have never previously existed. However, this modern globalization does not have positive results for everyone. Very often the gap between the rich and the poor are larger than in America. Social inequities, such as labor diversification and the treatment of women fall to the wayside in favor of the productivity of international relations. Citizens in Western countries are struggling to find jobs as more and more manufacturing jobs and call center jobs are being out-sourced. And Western values are being challenged by immigrants who bring their cultural and traditional practices, such as Sharia Law and female circumcision to their new homes in America and Europe. “Slumdog Millionaire” and Simon Gikandi’s article “Globalization and the Claims of Postcoloniality” explore the cultural and social exploitation that still occur due to the radical difference between people living their traditional lives and those who have been “globalized” in countries like India.