TABLE
OF CONTENTS
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Crossing the Globe:
A
Comparison of Transnational
and Vernacular
in Turkey and Vietnam
By Jason Hart
Introduction
As we have
traveled around the world on the MV Explorer, aspects of both the
powerful
transnational culture and the vernacular local identities have been
apparent in
every port. The responses to the transnational and the level of
vernacular
pride have varied greatly among nations. These variances, however, are
nearly
impossible to predict before one actually immerses his/herself in the
cultures,
by entering the nation itself. At least, such was the case for me. My
prejudices definitely inspired my predictions as to the nature of the
transnational and the vernacular in nearly every port before entering.
For
example, I had assumed that since Turkey is a Moslem country
and has
been an Islamic stronghold for hundreds of year, aspects of the
transnational
would be less prevalent than in other European nations. I stereotyped
the
Turkish viewpoint on transnational commerce based entirely on the
American
media’s presentation of the Islamic world on the major television
network’s
news broadcasts. I expected to see an uneasy coexistence between the
two
cultures. My beliefs could not have been further from the truth.
In
Saigon, Vietnam, I expected to find a third world police state, based
largely
on prejudices about the Viet Cong handed down to me through my family
and
popular American culture. What I found was not a hint of police
presence, and
bustling economy. Communist Vietnam, lives largely on free trade of
goods
manufactured within its borders. Furthermore, I found at least a level
of
religious tolerance when I entered an international Jewish institution.
It
seemed to me that the oppression of the Vietnamese government was in no
way
overt, if present at all.
God
and Cash in Vietnam
Analysis
Turkey’s
embrace of transnational culture has
manifested itself along parallel lines with that of Europe.
Although Turkey
is partially located on the European continent, the European community,
specifically the European Union, has largely been successful in
blocking
Turkish influence in the West. While Europe consistently attempts to
keep its
distance from its Moslem neighbor, the Turks, oppositely, seem to try
to move
in the European direction, in terms of economics, social issues, and
politics,
as was discussed in my paper “Istanbul: Open for Business.”
One
specific political parallel between that of The West and Turkey
is
environmentalism. This particular phenomenon, driven by lobby groups
who push
for legislature protecting green spaces, is most often associated with
the
European political framework; however, from what I witnessed, Istanbul
seems to
have instituted the most obvious, public displays of environmentalism
than any
other transnational city I set foot in.
In
“The Housing Market from Informal to Global”, Caglar Keyder discusses
the
prevalence of illegal or illegitimate housing in Istanbul. Much of this illegal
housing is
constructed upon green areas or open spaces preserved through
environmental
legislation. To this day the massive city of Istanbul is still full of public
parks and
forests that are set within the city limits, some of which happen to
pop up in
the midst of bustling downtown regions. Environmentalism here seems to
be
driven by the citizens of the city’s desire to maintain these green
spaces,
specifically the trees that grow here.
When
one uses an ATM, the button that must be pressed to obtain a receipt
also has
an icon of a man chopping down a tree. Furthermore, I witnessed
protesters
standing on the side of the street in Taxum with signs depicting before
and
after pictures of a green area prevalent with trees, and then pictures
of the
trees lying on the ground with construction equipment all around. Even
in the
video we watched in Global Cities contained a large section devoted to
environmentalist concerns regarding the protection of Istanbul’s
forests.
Unlike
the overarching embrace of transnational culture demonstrated in Istanbul, Vietnam
has manifested a very different form of transnational culture, driven
by
specific economic goals. In Christina Schwenkel’s article “Recombinant
History”, she discusses the Vietnamese approach to the transnational
within the
tourism industry. Due to the nation’s historical relationship with America,
one of
the most powerful driving forces within the transnational culture,
Vietnamese
culture views transnationalization through war ravaged lenses. Such a
viewpoint
is to be expected due to the incredibly high Vietnamese casualty rate
during
the conflict: {South Vietnamese Army- 243,748 casulties, Vietnamese
People’s
Army and NLF- 666,000, North Vietnamese civilians- 65,000, South
Vietnamese
Civilians- 300,000} (“The Vietnam War Almanac”, Harry G. Summers). This specific viewpoint, however, is in no way
a rejection of the transnational. Instead, the culture has identified
its niche
within the transnational community through its history. In doing so, Vietnam
has created a tourism market embedded in the memory of what it refers
to as The
American War.
The
presence of Vietnamese war tourism is prevalent all over the city of Saigon and the
outlying
regions. As I discussed in my paper “God and Cash in Vietnam”,
I purchased a Zippo
lighter reproduced as a replica of those used by American GIs in the
Vietnamese
War. Furthermore, the most prominent tourist bar in Saigon
is called Apocalypse Now, named after the famous postwar film. One can
also
visit two sets of Cu Chi tunnels, as well as several battlefields. Vietnam’s
tourism industry is very much drawn from its war experience, due to the
fact
that this particular experience was also the nation’s introduction into
transnational culture.
Conclusion
Aspects of the
transnational have permeated nearly every nation on the planet,
however, the
presence of this global culture manifests itself differently in every
country.
These differences are nearly impossible for someone whose mentality is
bogged
down by prejudices and stereotypes as mine was before traveling. What I
found
was that each and every country takes some aspect of the transnational
and
translates it into their own particular vernacular culture. Just as the
vernacular is often maintained in relation to the transnational, the
transnational is manifested through a vernacular lens.
Turkey
has, in
many ways, fully embraced transnational culture, while still holding
onto its
strong religious heritage. Designer boutiques line the streets, while
those
dressed in Diesel jeans kneel on prayer mats and praise Allah in the
direction
of Mecca.
While Turkey
has been influenced greatly by its European experience, including its
politics,
as I discussed in one particular form, environmentalism (lobbying and
legislation), the West has consistently avoided Turkish involvement in
its own
culture.
Like nearly every
nation on the planet, Vietnam
has embraced some aspects of transnational culture, but has
intermingled
aspects such as tourism and commodity production into its own
vernacular
experience. While Vietnam
manufactures many transnational goods, the people of the nation have
also
learned to duplicate such goods so that they can be sold at prices more
consistent to the Vietnamese domestic economy. Furthermore, the
nation’s
transnational culture is also influenced by its first transnational
experience,
the bloody Vietnam War, therefore, transnational exposure within its
borders
often reflects this particular memory.
Globalization
is surely changing the landscape, political, social and economic of
every
nation that it touches. At the same time it is incapable of muting out
national
and ethnic pride within the countries whose borders it permeates. Only
time
will tell what forms of transnational and vernacular will take held in
developing economies and an ever changing global landscape. I was only
fortunate to witness a single moment in the ever changing global
planet.
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