The Popular Cultures of China, Indonesia and Japan

Topic 2: Discuss some of the ways Western and other foreign cultural elements have been incorporated into the popular cultures of China, Indonesia and Japan. How do these elements interact with Asian cultures? Do Asians accept foreign cultural elements without criticism or opposition?
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Introduction
The entire Asian society has to a large extent been influenced by the Western culture in the last century and the trend is expected to continue in the coming years (Burkhardt, 2017). Western and other foreign cultural elements have slowly been incorporated into the popular cultures of China, Indonesia and Japan, leaving most people in the three countries confused about what they are supposed to follow and believe. The societies in China, Indonesia and Japan have been influenced in terms of values, religion, language and alphabet, diet, lifestyle, economics, politics, law, as well as industry and technology (Thompson, 2011).The modernization of the Asian culture is attributed to the many visitors from other regions that visit the region and subsequently come with new influences. In addition to that, there are many people from Asian countries like China, Japan and Indonesia that live in Western countries such as the U.S and Europe and therefore end up adopting the Western way of doing things (Duara, 2010). After returning to their native countries, it is always difficult for them to abandon the foreign influences. In fact, they play a critical role in popularizing Western culture in the region. This paper will discuss some of the ways Western and other foreign cultural elements have been incorporated into the popular cultures of China, Indonesia and Japan, and how these elements interact with Western cultures. The paper will also determine whether Asians accept foreign cultural elements without criticism or opposition.
The ways Western and other foreign cultural elements have been incorporated into the popular cultures of China, Indonesia and Japan
China
Cao et al. (2010) observes that internationalization provided an opportunity for foreign firms to invest in China and to a large extent, this has made China abandon some traditional markets and adopt foreign brands. Supermarkets and food markets are the most affected by the foreign influence. The emergence of Western fast food joints has made the local people start eating foods associated with the Western culture, such as pastas, donuts, cakes, pizza and burgers (Burkhardt, 2017). The film industry in China has also been influenced in the recent past by Western elements and young people are always eager to watch Hollywood films and other American TV series as opposed to their local films and series (Curtin, 2007).In addition to that, most people in China have embraced Western festivals such as Christmas and Halloween. Western wedding traditions such as the accompaniment of groomsmen and bridesmaids, exchanging of rings in a wedding, fathers walking the bride down the aisle and wearing of white dress traditions also dominate in Chinese weddings (Burkhardt, 2017). Western culture is also evident in other areas like movies, music and sports. It is important to point out that the Chinese people embrace and own Western influences...