Cultural Confusion...Implications for Responsible Global Citizenship?

There are two German girls who are visiting the family for a week and it has been interesting to think about culture. German culture is similar to Canadian culture in many ways, but there are many small differences. We can relate to each other on many subjects, for instance the glances to each other with shared feeling that this is crazy that we are sitting in a thatched roofed hut drinking locally brewed beer our of calabashes with drunk elders sitting across the way, or the initial strangeness of eating with your hands, or the giggles at huge 'packages' animals of all shapes and sizes have here…but these girls have grown up in a different culture than I did, they speak a different language and have a different perspective. Having had time to see the impact of Europe on Ghana, I see the impact of Europe on Canada. We are all so connected and we don’t fully realize the extent (at least I don’t).

Just as many Canadians have a skewed vision of Ghana and Africa, many Ghanaians have a skewed image of Canada and North America. They catch glimpses of our culture through movies, “Desperate Housewives”, Revlon commercials, Celine Dion and hip-hop videos. At first I felt ashamed that one of the major cultural things that has flown into my house in Damongo is Akon and Shaggy music videos and random blockbusters, worried about what they thought about how frivolous and excessive we are in North America, then I realized, this has become of their culture. This hip hop music is theirs…just the way many of us can identify with Bob Marely’s songs, we know he is Jamaican, but that doesn’t mean his songs aren’t part of our culture.
So what is culture, whose culture is whose? Does it matter? What implications are the images (that many of us in Canada wouldn’t be proud to portray as who they are) that Ghanaians see of Canada? I don’t know. Let’s look at it the other way, what are the implications of what we see of Africa on the news? Think about what your impression of Africa is, and what the perception your family and friends have of Africa. What impact does this have on our actions or opinions towards Africa, consciously or subconsciously?
Many Ghanaians don’t even differentiate Europe and Canada, because compared to Ghanaian culture, ours are very similar.
Even if this train of thought is useless, it’s interesting to see snippets of different cultures integrated together. What’s the value in identifying where certain cultural aspects derived from? Is there any. For one, it shows history and how we are all connected, and that we have the potential to impact people around the world without being aware of it. One of the big implications that I can see is the choices we make in Canada really do impact Ghanaians. The fact that there is a market for people in Canada who want to buy ethical products like those from the body shop (shea butter creams from women’s groups in Busunu for instance) impacts people here. People are aware that in Canada you aren’t supposed to just throw trash on the ground. But what are other aspects of our culture that we are proud of that Ghanaians aren’t aware of? How did it come to pass that rap videos, big cars and blockbusters are the things that have come from our culture? Ease of distribution, Ghanaian preference? Not to condemn all rap videos, but personally I find many of them to be excessive, violent and degrading to women. That’s not something that I feel represents what Canada is all about. If in Canada we make responsible choices about how we live our lives, what impact will that have?
Just some thoughts that I don’t know how to sort out so I thought I would share them! Let me know what you think.