KÁRI - CONTEMPLATING CULTURE

People had described Toronto to me as a big but diverse city, where people from all over the world gathered with their different traditions, so that the community formed there was a unique one; open to different sets of values. It was described to me as the capital of multiculturalism. This was the image I had of Toronto before I moved there but my experience of it (through school) was very different from what I had come to expect. Everyone was very polite and politically correct (probably because of the diversity in origin) but I did not feel that this was a place where many cultures co-existed. In my high school there were people of all skin color and background, but all submitted to the same culture. Later I found out that at home, the culture of people’s country was more visible, but in social situations it was held back. I felt like the different cultures were dissolving into one, built around self-image and consumerism.

But I don’t think this is limited to immigrated cities like Toronto, I have also noticed this is Iceland and now even here, in Mexico.

I first noticed this in Oaxaca City when me, Eyja and Vasilis went downtown with a group of Mexican teenagers (friends of Arleth). We went to café’s, some taco place to eat and then just wandered around the city in between (with about half of the smartphones drawn out at any moment). Maybe naively I expected it to be different, but this seemed exactly the same as in Canada or Iceland.

More recently, at a four year old birthday party, I met a guy my age that was from Mexico City. He talked a lot about how many traditions are disappearing and how he felt like the culture was becoming more and more Americanized. Everyone has a smartphone and a Facebook account (along with snapchat, twitter etc.) the same celebrities are adored and the same music played in bars and parties.

I am not claiming that these cultures are the same, or that they ever will be, but I think a lot of cultures are becoming more similar to one another. With our more “connected” world come more shared values (not necessarily globally). It is sad to see some of the old traditions fade but shit, let’s not pretend like that was some paradise. As long as diversity is allowed to exist in our more shared culture and as long as our widely excepted values are good, I’m fine with it. We just have to see to it that it becomes that way.