Stella Lamari 3

http://gsevenier.free.fr/culturalImperialism.html

“American Cultural Imperialism: Gift or Threat?”

Gaelle Sévenier points some positive and negative features out about American culture and how it affects million lives.

America is often seen as a role model who is spreading universal values and human rights. It stands for equality, freedom and democracy and battles against anti-authoritarian messages and racism. Many articles discuss how American culture has changed the world, but what about America itself?

How are Americans affected by their own culture?

Fact is that America has also problems like every other country. If we check the American system out we will find lots of features which do not fit in some values and even the human rights. European countries are against the death penalty.

What about America?

The government has the right to convict somebody to death. No matter which crime this person committed nobody has the right to decide about death or life. It is also against the Ten Commandments and we all know that America trusts in God, but is not GOD!

“Equality” is also an aspect which disagrees with some American values, because not every American has the chance to study due to the high fees. There is a gap between the poor and the rich and many Americans cannot afford a health insurance. They do not get any medical care. For European countries health care is something essential that everyone has and is also important for human dignity. Before American spread its values, it should change the situation in its own state.

In spite of these contradictions America and its culture often affects the world in a positive way. Gaelle Sévenier claims that Superman, Spider-Man and Batman replaced local heroes and Coca Cola and Pepsi local drinks. This may be true but American ideas and products can inspire different nations in different ways. American music inspired many people. After the Second World War “Jazz” become a creative spirit of Blacks and was a way to express feelings and opinions against war, racial and economic oppression and commercialism. French youth used jazz as cultural resistance against the German occupation. In 1980s French people created their own style of hip hop in their own language. (American Cultural Studies, page 328/329).

American movies, music and products must not replace local things but they can be used to create something new and unique! America was also affected by other cultures due to immigration and the diversity of nationalities.

I think that we should not only consider how American culture affects our daily lives but how Americans really feel and think about their own culture. America is not perfect and struggles for a better future.

But who is really perfect?

The answer is: Nobody!

Fact is that we all should look and learn from each other!

Claudia Otto 3

http://www.americanforeignrelations.com/A-D/Cultural-Imperialism-Three-trends-of-cultural-transfer.html

Is the transfer of the American culture an instrument of power and cultural transmission actually cultural imperialism?

To answer this question one has to take a look at history, especially at the time after World War II in Europe. As the article clearly states, there are two opposing answers to this question. On the one hand people say that the United States consciously tried to export their culture in order to get access to cheap labor, new markets etc., but on the other hand people argue that it is a more fluid concept of giving, taking and adapting cultural products and values which would make "transmission" the more appropriate term.

Taking a closer look at American history one can discover that the U.S. actually founded a propaganda organisation right after World War II with the single purpose of transmitting the American culture to other countries. These plans developed mainly due to the political and economic competition between the U.S. and the communist Soviet States, as well as the fact that America had a rather bad reputation all over the world. But even if the main reason for establishing this institution was based on the intention to spread the well-working, supposedly universally beneficial democratic way of life, it is hard to imagine this without a certain amount of pressure being put on societies to adopt American culture, making it seem imperialistic rather than just a form of transmission.

But the concept of cultural imperialism also pictures the countries to which the American culture is transferred as passive victims, which is simply not the case when looking at the different countries of Western Europe.

Of course, American culture has influenced those countries but the most influential organisations where in fact non-governmental. Studies also showed that societies do actively resist to American (or any other) cultural influences if they feel it threatens their own traditions and values or they adapt and modify it to their specific needs. Other cultures adopt new cultural products from the U.S. knowing that it does not interfere with their "old" cultural values and is just too different. These facts show that American culture or any other culture cannot be forced on other countries so easily because the individual cultural identity as well as resistance play an important role in this process.

So maybe "transmission" is the term that describes the process of cultural transfer more accurately than "imperialism".

Lioudmila Berlejung 3

Hollywood is the dominant film industry worldwide. Its audience increases annually. This powerful  medium has a strong impact on the national identities and cultures. Movies stars are worshipped by millions of fans. The social consciousness of the audience is influenced. They try not only to imitate the star itself but his/her behavior that mostly contradicts the national standards and their belief systems.  Elliot Aronson defines this phenomenon as conformity. It means " a change in a person's behavior or opinions as a result of real or imagined pressure from a person or group of people". Through this pressure people consider to be " hot and happening" that means binge drinking, smoking, night clubbing and other socially frowned upon behaviors only problems can arise.

 Such contradiction widen the gaps between western and eastern cultures and often lead to prejudice that American film industry aims at destroying of national identity and leads to moral degradation.

It is my intention to lump everything together. Of course intelligent people distinguish between movies of good and bad quality. It the bad quality movies that damage the image of Hollywood and are the reason of concerns by many sociologists. The main reasons for criticizing Hollywood are explicit sex content, horrific violence , drug addiction etc. These features are mostly for teenagers attractive. Films are the first place to give orientation to the youth in searching their identity.

Hollywood gives an opportunity for the audience to have a look at other cultures. It goes without saying that the lifestyle of the USA is presented to the billions of people.

In the conclusion I'd like to write something about my experience with Hollywood movies. I grew up in Russia and as a teeny I used to watch a lot of movies especially soap operas.  My  favorite ones were Dallas and Santa Barbara. People used to believe that all Americans are rich as the main characters in these soap operas. My fellow-student from the USA denied this viewpoint. She told that only 5% of the population in the USA enjoy such wealth.  Are these soap-opera so kind of manipulation? If you have no idea of cultural studies, yes. Intelligent people are able to explore the films critically.

Stella Lamari 2

http://www.thehumanist.org/humanist/articles/essay3mayjune04.pdf

The essay “Cultural Imperialism: An American Tradition” by Julia Galeota which was published 2004 in “The Humanist”, criticizes how the American culture and industry affect people from all over the world. Julia Galeota explains different methods how American products can be spread everywhere and the important role of marketing. Culture and economy relate to each other and they can bring problems with.                                                          

According to Julia Galeota many cultures around the world are disappearing due to American culture.       She also claims that America wants to control 95% of the world’s consumers and takes as examples the dissemination of the American film industry (Disney) and McDonald’s (p.22). Sure every country wants to be successful and powerful. A solid economy permits to live in prosperity. Germany produces cars like Mercedes, Opel and VW and sells them everywhere. France exports vine and agricultural products.                          

Why America should not exports fast food and films?

Walt Disney filmed animated films like “Cinderella”, “Snow White” and “Pinocchio”. These animated films do not endanger the Asian, European or other cultures. They teach children to distinguish between justice and injustice and always have an educational sense. To create such animated films was a great idea. It was a hazard that Walt Disney who had the idea was an American. Why should America not export Disney films? If Walt Disney had lived in Germany, the German film industry would have exported his films worldwide, too. Another aspect is globalization. Not only is fast food from McDonald’s available for nearly everyone. Now we have the chance to eat Chinese, Greek, Turkish and Asian food. The society has changed, especially the woman role. Male and female, both are working now and are equal. They live in stress and do not have the time to cook. It does not matter, if they eat a burger, Pizza or a doner, because they have the possibility to choose.

Julia Galeota also claims that Americans believe in the superiority of their culture. We should consider the example of the Jingoists and the concept of social Darwinism. The concept is that the “stronger”, “superior” cultures will overtake the “weaker”, “inferior” cultures (p.22). The Jingoists were not the only population who interpreted Darwin’s theory in a special way. There are many interpretations of his theory (Germany during World War II).  I think every nation is proud of its culture (Greek, Spanish, French people). The difference is that they are not enough motivated to spread their culture worldwide! The main aim is to export American products and not to erase other cultures! I do not think that the United States force us to accept its opinion about what is “good”, “just” or “modern” (p.24), because every national should be major to decide by himself what is good or not. According to Immanuel Kant (Sapere aude) every national should use his mind and reach a decision without be affected by others. People who live in a country without oppression have the possibility to decide how far American culture and products will affect their lives!

Claudia Otto 2

http://www.mcspotlight.org/people/interviews/ritzer_george.html

The sociologist George Ritzer introduced the term "McDonaldization" for a cultural process in which a society adopts the characteristic features of a fast-food restaurant. These usually include efficiency, calculability, predictability and control. Conversely, creativity and unpredictability are minimized in this process and central aspects of human life such as innovations and creations do not take place. It also changes the way people live and think: Soon people will apply the principles of "McDonald's" to all aspects in their life, creating a faster and impatient society. According to Ritzer America is very far along in this process of McDonaldization and it will probably continue due to the fact that children are born into this kind of society and socialized by this system.

 

If this process can be found in the United States what does it have to do with cultural transmission?

 

"McDonald's", along with many other American fast-food chains and similar companies, is very present in countries all over the world and a perfect example of the so-called Americanisation of other cultures. As stated before, this in itself is not necessarily a bad thing and it is assumed that products of American origin are not just blindly consumed but adapted to the needs in the different countries. But what if this process of Americanisation stands for something more than just the product itself and changes the structure of society, its morals and values and ultimately its way of life?

According to Ritzer this process is actually taking place in a lot of countries especially in Western Europe. Here "McDonald's" has actually changed the way of how people eat and also how they think about food and the role it plays in their life. Ritzer's example of France makes that very clear. But he also says that Europe is not as McDonaldised as the United States and there are still enough parts of the culture that are untouched by this process. Therefor people there are less affected by McDonaldization and do still reflect upon and also criticize this process. In conclusion the cultural transmission of social and cultural changes maybe is not as great as one might fear, at least as long as there are still people that deal with this subject critically and call attention to its dangers.

 

Ending on a positive note even for the United States, Ritzer has also created the term "De-McDonaldization" which is the opposite movement to the cultural process described, focusing on preserving cultural values and traditions. So there is always hope.

Lioudmila Berlejung 2

www.stateofnature.org/globalizationandculture/html.

This article treats the phenomenon of the ongoing globalization which is linked to the spread of American values, wealth, economic systems and goods.

Various viewpoints of some famous personalities are represented  in it. Some of them state that America imposes its own culture and destroys cultural diversities. The others maintain that the transmission of American culture contributes to establishing capitalism , wealth and prosperity and it goes without saying democracy.

Dr.Henry  Kissinger, a former Secretary of State, in the course of a lecture at the Trinity College in Dublin on 12.10.99 said"... the previous phase of globalization was under the British hegemony, the current phase has to be under the US domination.

Thomas L. Friedman explained the process of homogeneity like that "...globalization has its own dominant culture," that`s why it tends to be homogenizing.

American food habits are spread with the establishing coffeehouse chain Starbucks worldwide. It is impossible to ignore that America is the most advanced capitalist society in the world.

Francis Fukuyama rejects the view that the globalization leads to cultural homogeneity. From his viewpoint political, social and economic realms are products of homogenization. The cultural realm is mostly independent from the globalization. He gives an example of Asian perception of the American culture. There is probably less mutual liking, more distant and greater emphasis on the difference between the cultures of the United States and Asia today than there was 40 years ago. In 1950s and 1960s Asia looked up to the United States as a model of modernization. Communication technology has allowed both Asians and Americans to see each other more clearly and it turns out they have very different value systems.

An important feature of present day globalization is the invention of consumer credit society. Credit cards give consumers an opportunity to purchase throughout the world without having any cash.

An importance of English as global language has been rapidly increasing as it becomes the most important medium of telecommunication.

Globalization limits the economic and commercial independence of every single state in the world. The governments  are forced to cooperate with each other and guarantee wealth and prosperity to their citizens . Some scientist describe the relationship between the cultural identity and globalization as reciprocal.

Globalization brings interdependence into social and technology worlds. The borders are wiped away. Advantages and disadvantages are never ending arguing points in the social and linguistic studies.

As for me it is hard to share a certain viewpoint to this phenomenon. Each of it has its own part of truth.

Stella Lamari 1

http://www.battleofideas.org.uk/index.php/2009/session_detail/2596

“We don’t do Mc Donald’s”: America and World Culture, is the title of the web page Battle of Ideas 2009. This article address to people from all over the world, because we are all affected by American culture!

The American culture is not everywhere welcome. The Notre Dame University in London points out that many nations are suspicious of American culture and was seen as “Coca-Colonization.” In Torino, a group tried to remove Coca Cola from the city hall and countries like Canada and France took measures to stop the influence of American culture. If we look back to our chapter, we will find other measures that were taken to ban American culture with the example of Coca Cola.

“For Le Monde Coca Cola threatened the moral landscape of France. A Catholic newspaper warned that Coca Cola was the avant-garde of an offensive aimed at economic colonization.” (Cambell, Neil, Alasdair Kean, American Cultural Studies, page 314)

Another example is that many countries like France and Spain do music quotas on radio.

Why do they do that?

Do they think that their own culture is endangered by the Americans?

The answer is: YES!

Countries like France and Spain try to keep their own culture, but they do not see the advantages which American culture brings with. Every country has the possibility to benefit from America. We eat burgers and drink Coca Cola, because the taste is good! We watch MTV and hear American music, because we want to! America does not do Mc Donald’s. We do Mc Donald’s by ourselves. We are not forced to use products from the American industry. Using American products, does not mean that we are going to deny our own culture! Many countries forget that their economic development was only possible due to America. Without the Marshall Plan after World War II the reconstruction and development of many countries had never been possible.

Another aspect is that America was seen as a country with no past and no real culture. (Page 314)

But is that true?

The American culture consists not only of Coca Cola and Mc Donald’s. There are many artists like Leonard Bernstein or the engineer Henry Ford who affected the lives of millions of people. We should not forget that America saved many lives. While World War II many excellent people like Marlene Dietrich or Albert Einstein immigrated to America, because of religious and political persecution. They were disregarded and maltreated in their own country. America did not refuse them and gave them the possibility to be free and to realize themselves. All different nationalities in America are part of its culture, because they shared their knowledge, their experiences and their inspiration.

Every individual has a hand in American culture!