Week 1:
While Nation Branding
is most well-known for its positive aspects, there are many pitfalls that come
with it. The USA for example, a country that started as a colony and later reestablished
itself through slavery and other unethical forms of capitalism, has reemerged
as one of the most powerful forces in the world. But this sort of branding
proves to the citizens that the nation is not flawed, at its peak functioning
state, and causes them to turn a blind eye towards the injustices occurring in
the country.
In Flint, Michigan, for example, the citizens have no form of
clean water as the water there is contaminated by lead and other toxins. From
2014 to the present (and the foreseeable future), the problem has continued and
has no signs of being truly addressed. America, known as ‘the mixing pot,’ (the
Chapel Hill shooting, resulting in the deaths of three Muslim students, is only
one out of the many hate crimes that take place in America) and ‘the land of
the free,’(The American prison industry is the new legal form of slavery- inmates
toil long hours without proper food or water to produce cheap labor for the
masses) continues to carry out actions that only prove how Nation Branding
allows the populous to ignore the very nature of what the Brands condone to
occur.
Many outsiders to the
US acknowledge and criticize the flaws of this country while at the same time
ignoring their own ones. To be seen as a fair country to all and achieve ‘maximum
aesthetics’ status, the US simply has to begin admitting their own flaws and
work to fix the injustices occurring throughout the country.
Question: How does the
branding of smaller regions, or states, effect the overall branding of a
country such as the US?
Sources:
Week 2:
South Korea is a
country that has been remolded from a ‘nothing country’ that was just lumped
together with North Korea, to a booming cultural destination. Known for k-pop and barbecue, the country is acknowledged
for the positive aspects it provides. In my opinion, the factor in the National
Aesthetic model that has the most influence over South Korea’s development is
industry.
The industry is what
dictates that the steps to success are to follow the methods that Western
countries employ to move forwards. Countries such as Japan and America are
major points of interest to the South Korean industries. They view Western
culture as an opportunity to capitalize on Western ideas. With Western culture
being imitated, it’s only natural that other countries such as South Korea well
seek to emulate the ‘Western look.’ Surgery to remove monolids have become increasingly
popular and many South Koreans seek to change their look to match a more ‘k-pop-centric’
attitude. This appeal of ‘wanting to look white’ is an unhealthy and Eurocentric
demand that’s only been rising with the influence that industries have over it.
South Korea can achieve
maximum ‘aesthetic status’ by achieving something that is so uniquely original
that other countries will want to emulate it.
Question: What would
have happened if South Korea had based their National Branding off of more
Eastern values than Western ones?
Sources:
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