Johnson's
article on "America's grip on the world" is a great example
for the transmission of American culture. American products and
exports influence people all over the world. Just like Paul Johnson
most people probably know an American song that brings back positive
memories.
American
music in particular has always been a great American influence in
countries all over the world and cooperations from the United States
still dominate music markets world wide. But does that mean that the
popular music culture is boring and homogenous, a threat to national
cultures? Is popular music just another means for America to impose
their own culture and values on other nations and thus keep their
hegemony in the world? Is it that easy?
I
think the answer to this has to be "No!".
Of
course it is true that American popular music is dominant in the
world music industry and has been in the last century. Artists from
the United States are the best-selling musicians in the world but it
would be wrong to conclude from these facts that national and local
music is stifled or oppressed. Studies have shown that alternatives
to American music have always existed and that American popular music
is not consumed uncritically. On the contrary consumers, especially
young people have always adapted American popular music changing and
incoorporating it into their own music and life styles that suited
their current national and cultural circumstances. These music genres
and styles have in turn influenced and transformed other nations
including the United States themselves (Think of "The
Beatles"!).
This
shows that the crutial point when looking at the influence of
American popular music is that in other countries the audience of
this music is not a passive recipient of anything that is forced onto
them but rather questioning the music that is offered and selecting
those elements that have a value for their own life and music and
rejecting those that have not.
One
might argue that American record companies still dominate the music
business and therefor have the power to promote certain music and
styles but again it is up to the recipients to decide whether these
promotions actually have the big impact on the music market they
would like to have. Especially since new forms of communication like
the internet have taken over a great part of the distribution of
popular music the resistance to mainstream music has grown.
Maybe
Johnson's views of the influence of American culture are true to some
extend but his explantions, in particular his thoughts on the song
"These Foolish Things", also demonstrate the adaption of
American popular music as well as the influence of very different
cultures and heritages that create great popular music.
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