Nothing (and Something) by Ritzer

During the course of this article, Ritzer presented an interesting dichotomy and concept that is one gets to see in the modern society these days. It talks about how certain thing that is conceived at the local level and is born out of the social context is becoming irrelevant these days. Its place instead is being taken by nothing component of the society that is taking over the whole social norms these days. There are both the advantages and the disadvantages of both something and nothing these days and in some ways, what we are witnessing these days is a McDonaldization of the society to an extent. There are many examples even if one talks about the local brands and the mainstream brands as well. For instance, the movies and the way they are being made these days. The whole blockbuster syndrome that has taken over Hollywood these days means that the movies that are going to be catering to the something or the local sensitivity of the society are dying these days. What we are getting these days is that how in the long run it is taking the individualistic approach out of the things these days and all we are left with franchises that attempt to capture the formula of the movie making. The same trend is being followed in the gaming where brands and franchising model tries to make sure that providing the template that is going to be followed at the global level rather than making sure that the global sensibilities are being followed at each and every level. These are some of the examples that one gets to see regarding the way nothing dichotomy of the society is going to be taken care off in the long run. Due to the way economy of the scales work, there is a likelihood that the same trend is going to be witnessed in the future as well.

Reference

Ritzer, G. (2007). Nothing ( and Something ). Sage.