COMM320 Media , Culture and the City
travel , tourism , fashion , food and drink strongly associate cosmopolitanism with consumption ’. Georgiou ( 2013 , p . 44 ) argues that neoliberal cosmopolitanism is ‘ linked to consumption as the celebrated realization of neoliberalism ’. This means neoliberal cosmopolitanism is built upon neoliberalism with its citizenship as consumption ( Malpa , 2009 , p . 196 ), and thus cosmopolitan moralities are inextricably tied to neoliberalism and consumer culture .
Firstly , neoliberal cosmopolitanism ’ s openness is linked to hospitality as well as ‘ a campaign for open markets ’ ( Georgiou , 2017 , p677 ). Therefore , a neoliberal cosmopolis ’ hospitality and openness are highly selective , depending on a newcomer ’ s buying power ( Georgiou , 2013 , p65 ). Neoliberal cosmopolitan media representations thereby tend to normalise the ‘ acceptable ’ and ‘ unacceptable ’ others , sanitising the urban image to ‘ satiate external voices ’ to selectively attract transnational elites who afford to consume in the city ( Krüger , 2015 , p113 ; Boland , 2008 , pp . 360-367 ). It resonates with Hannerz ’ s ( 1996 ) aesthetic and
SOTA Anthology 19 / 20
intellectual openness to the educated elites and normalises a bourgeoise urban lifestyle ( Young , Diep & Drabble , 2005 ).
On the other hand , although the neoliberal cosmopolis entails openness and hospitality , it can negate them when sharing urban resources ( Georgiou , 2017 , p651 ). Accordingly , it marginalises the working class , diasporic groups and the homeless in the media discourse , which can be a form of social exclusion ( Young , Diep & Drabble , 2005 ). This is because the neoliberal cosmopolitan city is ‘ built around the image of prosperity , rather than what is likely to be the more uncomfortable reality that lies beneath ’ ( Miles , 2012 , p . 218 ). For example , Kuala Lumpur is a global city with multiple ethnicities , religions and culture and histories of migration . However , the city is so firmly attached to the identity of a shopping destination and the value of consumption that it ‘ cannot be imagined outside the system of representations that produce it ’ ( Georgiou , 2013 , p . 57 ). In 2012 ,
Tourism Malaysia , an official government website for tourism ,