Cultural Imperialism Is Power Essay
Cultural Imperialism Is Power
“Cultural imperialism” is what takes place when a large, powerful, economically dominant nation promotes, imposes, or otherwise spreads its own culture to less powerful, economically subservient nations. A. Examples Cultural imperialism is already evident throughout the world: Palestinian Arabs chanting “Death To America” do so while wearing Nike tennis shoes and t-shirts; Brazilians who curse George W. Bush nonetheless cheer for Madonna and Britney Spears; Turks who protest the ongoing occupation of Iraq may still stroll into a local McDonald’s for lunch; MTV reports 280 million subscribers throughout the world (Galeota, 2004).
B. Hows and Whys In 1984, Harvard business professor Theodore Levitt warned that “the world’s needs and desires have been irrevocably homogenized,” adding that those companies that attempted to accommodate local tastes were “doomed to failure” (Galeota). II. The Means Today, with global travel and communication easy and quick, American Culture can be disseminated more widely and faster than ever. A. Marketing Images are everything. American corporations have been highly successful at portraying America as “The Land of the Cool” (Galeota, 2005).
This results in an increasing demand for American goods, films and music. B. Communications The Internet has revolutionized communications, and because of forethought and planning, the U. S. has come to dominate the global traffic and marketplace of ideas and information. This has created a tremendous influence over the tastes and desires of people all over the world. III. How It Makes America Strong Darwinism is a fact of life, whether biological, social, or economic; only the strong survive.
When the powers of Europe began staking their claims to overseas territories in order to feed their industries and expand their markets, the U. S. had a choice: stay out of the game and continue as a second-rate backwater, or get into the game and reach its full potential. U. S. power and prestige in the world owes a great deal to those visionary leaders who were willing to force open the medieval kingdom of Japan in 1854, to annex the Kingdom of Hawaii and seize Puerto Rico and the Phillipines when the opportunity was there.
Today, America owes its incredible economic might to those leaders, who laid the foundations of Empire when Admirial Perry sailed into Tokyo Bay over 150 years ago. Conclusion: For better or worse, American culture is pre-eminent in the world today. Ultimately, this will be to the benefit to the entire world, ultimately making America a safer, more prosperous place. Works Cited Cohen, Nick. “This Comic Is No Laughing Matter: Michael Moore Is a Bestselling Author Not Only in the US, but Also in Britain, Japan, Germany, Australia and Many Other Countries.
Has American Imperial Culturalism Taken over the Left as Well? ” The New Statesman Vol. 132. Issue 4664. 17 November 2003, p. 23. Julia Galeota. “Cultural Imperialism: An American Tradition. ” The Humanist. Vol. 64 Issue 3. May-June 2004, p. 22. Harper, Jennifer. “BBC Airs Global View of Americans; Many Foreigners Have Love-Hate Relationship With U. S. The Washington Times. 17 June 2003, p. AO8. Rothkopf, David. “In Praise of Cultural Imperialism. ” Foreign Policy, No. 107. Summer 1997, p. 38