Popular culture in America has visibly had an immense impact in other countries. It has created superheros such as Superman and The Avengers, invented cartoons that symbolize the childhoods of the youth such as Mickey Mouse and Scooby Doo, and globalized figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. There is no doubt that these idols represent positive images that spread influential ideas to other countries, but these positive ideas are only a small fraction of what American popular culture is. American pop culture invades other cultures and societies and to evade these intentions is nearly impossible. Many of these countries tend to look at the United States with disgust because of the way their culture is shadowed by them. The popular culture …show more content…
Popular culture is giving America a bad reputation, and according to the Pew Global Attitudes Survey, “individuals who have traveled to the U.S. have more favorable views of the country than those who have not” (Source C). America is not a bad country. It is the land of the free, the home of the brave, yet this nationalism is clouded by the popular culture. America is no longer known for it being a free, democratic nation, it is known for its entertainment which is exactly why the people who have never been there are bound to have a more unfavorable view compared to those who have. Look at the United States of America without the pop culture. Is there anything that really gives it a bad image? Maybe a few political disputes, but as a whole the only thing that gives it the reputation that so many people dislike is the popular culture. Not only does American popular culture overshadow the goodness of America, it also blurs other countries’ cultures. Every part of America is big: the entertainment industry, the food business, the economy, so it makes sense how irresistible it is to morph to American culture. However, it is unfair. The world is becoming homogenized. In large cities in nearly any country, a Starbucks or McDonald’s can be found, and advertisements for Hollywood films will be aired. This homogenization is a
The term cultural imperialism has often been used when describing certain aspects of the media industry. Cultural imperialism can be seen as the imbalance of culture, power and representation, favouring the socially dominant and influential. The cultural hegemony of these powerful industrialised or economically influential countries is thought to be able to both determine general cultural values and homogenise different societies globally. Although not restricted to media, cultural imperialism is in theory aided by the media’s ability to express culture. Many would argue, however, that this term in many ways no longer applies to contemporary media culture. Although media power structures from the past still have a certain amount of influence, recent trends suggest that relationships between different global media producers and consumers is more complex than what is implied by the term cultural imperialism. Media does not simply flow in a single direction in the present-day, but is often a complex ocean of inter-related currents and counter-currents. Thus, while the balance between cultures is not entirely equal, the term cultural imperialism is not an entirely adequate word to describe today’s media cultures.
Since its inhabitance, competition and dominance has been a concept that remains prevalent throughout American life. Past ideologies such as Manifest Destiny, Cultural Imperialism, and Ethnocentrism are all practices and beliefs comprising what it means to be American for many citizens, while also continually shaping outside perception of Americans today. On one hand, many countries have and continue to fully embrace American culture, globalization, and the rise of capitalism. In contrast, many countries have and continue to reject America’s stride for world assimilation regarding their ideals and values.
American Lore is just like any other lore it has myths, legends, and fairy tales, but American lore shows the history of America and how we live today, with a twist to the story. With Legends, myths, and fairy tales it expresses the way americans think and how creative we can be to come up with these stories from things that could actually happen. Legends are based on historical facts Myths are based on religion and gods and goddesses. Fairy Tales are made believe not real, includes special creatures. Tall tales and legends are more based in American lore and is heavily based on history and the many traditional stories that are spread from generation to generation. American lore is based on, “power social status and prestige, control or dominance over people and resources. Achievement which is a personal success through demonstrating competence according to social standards . Hedonism pleasure or sensuous
Hirschberg & Hirschberg. (2002). Everyday, Everywhere: Global Perspectives on Popular Culture. McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 706
People take what they see and hear and apply it to their everyday lives. This may lead younger audiences to make poor decisions or develop bad habits. Children who may hear bad words in a movie may repeat them thinking it is okay since their favorite actor said it. American pop culture is becoming more popular in other countries and may one day replace their own cultures. People might begin to adapt to American traditions and forget their distinct culture. Moreover, pop culture is negatively displaying American, as well as, other countries and religions. People from other countries know America by the violent and offensive works they produce. Overall, popular culture should change to positively display all countries and teach teenagers and kids healthy
In the beginning America was mothered by England. Writers expressed how they felt about America, who America was, and what it meant. The writers all had different points of view, but many thought America would be or should be on her own. Writers like Thomas Paine, J. Hector St. John De Crévecoeur, and Thomas Jefferson thought America was strong enough to be independent. Between 1765 and 1790, the contradicting ideas of writers surrounding the definition of America built the identity of America through the argument stating that England was no longer America’s mother country.
Social media is capable of portraying many different things. American culture is one of the most accurately portrayed aspects in social media and television shows are one of the most frequently used social media tools to showcase American culture. In shows like American Dad!, Family Guy, and The Big Bang Theory, American culture is reflected through the topics of patriotism, family, unity, diversity, and equality. In the television show American Dad!, written by Seth MacFarlane, patriotism of a typical American father is accurately portrayed.
In truth, its history dates back as far as the sixteenth century, following the first great expansion of European capitalism, which resulted in slave trade, colonialism and neo-colonialism (Ezema, 2009). Throughout history, world powers have continually sought to perpetuate their way of life: from the philosophy and mythology of the Greeks, the political ideologies and linguistics of the Romans, and the art and architecture of the Italian Renaissance (Daghrir, 2013). Thus, it comes as no surprise that the aftermath of the post-war era, which saw the collapse of Soviet communism and the emergence of the United States as the sole hegemon, saw the aggressive spread of American ideals, values, and beliefs. Indeed, just as American goods flooded world markets in the post-World War II era; American culture now penetrates every continent through the aggressive development of mass communications, trade expansion and information technology.
Negative effects of American Culture American pop culture is considered many things, it holds many different aspects. Due to this, it is able to spread throughout other countries. Where those countries begin to learn and could beginning to accustomed the same pop culture as americans. Where that exportation of American culture can cause a negative effect on the other societies or communities that adopt it. Due to the effects of losing one’s identity, and cause globalization.
Everywhere one seems to go nowadays, large international corporations—markedly American ones—seem to be located just about everywhere; Walmart and its subsidiaries have locations from Chile to India (Walmart) and McDonald’s is located in 119 (Segar) of the United Nation’s 193 member states (United). Films produced in Hollywood dominate the world’s movie screens, and American music can be heard in just about every corner of the globe. With all of their cultural imperialism, the big, bad Americans must be stamping out harmless cultures that have thrived for hundreds of years and now have no option but to either surrender to the malevolent, unyielding onslaught of American markets or take measures into their own hands and pass legislation to protect
American pop culture portrays America in an unrealistic way. In movies, tv shows, and books, America is often defined by rich, white people who do not care about many people. The writer of Newsweek depicts the skewed foreign views of America as follows: “Individuals who have traveled to the U.S. have more favorable views of the country than those who have not.” Based on these inaccurate portrayals, pop culture causes a negative effect on other countries. The people in the foreign countries are more likely to view America in a bad light, which can lead to increased tensions between
They say that the United States of America is “The Great Melting Pot,” a place where no matter what their culture or country of origin they are accepted. Contrary to common belief, America in actuality is not a melting pot in fact, America is more like a huge salad bowl. This implies that even after coming into this country you hold on to your culture. You don’t take on the characteristics of the new culture or society; it is a mixture of a lot of different thing but you can still tell the apart in the salad. It is composed by many different people from almost every place around the world. For example, many ingredients create one dish as many Americans create the United States. British being one of this country many influences, England has had a huge impact on the states. Without Britain’s influence we wouldn’t
In the words of Staurt Hall, he “finds in American culture and in America’s capacity to live with difference the best illustration of a continuous dialect between the local and the global, between the insular and the transnational. He defines culture as an embodiment of the best that has been thought and said in a society. It is the sum of the great ideas as represented in the classic works of painting, music, and philosophy that represent culture. (Hall, 9)” Hall also has observed U.S. dominance in communication and described America as the common factor of globalization.
In a globalized society, commodities, ideologies, and hegemonic forces are constantly transferred from a dominating power onto other cultures with lesser global influence. The Disney media conglomerate yields an unprecedented amount of control over the means of media consumption on a global scale. As Souad Belkyr proposes in “Disney animation: Global diffusion and local appropriation of culture,” “Disney products function as an apparatus that potentially prescribe consumerist ideologies and individualistic ethics beneficial to the US as a group in power over dominated and less powerful groups” (Belkyr 705). Disney not only owns major television networks such as ABC and ESPN, but also has control over radio stations, and targets the
Popular culture is generally believed to be comprised of a variety of elements. For example, popular culture covers the most contemporary and instant aspects of our lives. These aspects can often show the characteristics of rapid change, especially in today’s highly technological and informative world in which, people are highly influenced by the universal media. Certain standards of behaviour and common beliefs are reflected in pop culture. Because of its cohesion, pop culture both influences and reflects people’s daily life. Moreover, brands can reach iconic pop status. However, these aspects are not constant and may change rapidly. (Abbott and Sapsford, 1987).