Cultural imperialism

This concept of cultural Imperialism is the argument that a large bulk of media products flow from the West, especially the United States, and so powerfully shape the cultures of other nations that they amount to a cultural form of domination" (Croteau, Hoynes, and Milan Location 8298).

In this essay I will explain whether or not this concept provides a useful framework to understand global media, what the strengths and weaknesses are, and will provide example from ll aspects of this concept Cultural Imperialism is the extension of a countries power and influence on many other nations through, in this case, media production. Western corporations embed values and images of Western society in the media products sold. The United States has, for many years, been the most dominant nation when it comes to media and the production of media.

American films and music dominates the world's media and could be found in almost every country. "There Is no denying the overwhelming presence that U. S. culture has in other countries. American television, films, and music are common In most societies across the globe. "(Croteau, Hoynes, and Milan Location 8298). For an example, you don't see many artists from Spain coming to the united States on tour and performing at Madison Square Garden.

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However, you do have many artists from America (most of the main artists), like Pitbull and Miley Cyrus, going on tour in almost every continent. "For example, global music stars such as Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga were able to sell albums regardless of linguistic differences. " (Croteau, Hoynes, and Milan Location 8298). There is a big reason why this cultural imperialism lies in the hands of the United States. That is because of the substantial budgets that the U. S projects have.

This concept provides a useful framework to understand global media. Since the U. S. has all of this money from the constant consumption of their product, they have the money to afford technological Innovation. "All these things are very expensive to produce” more expensive than most non-U. S. production studios can afford. " (Croteau, Hoynes, and Milan Location 8433). One reason why some U. S. media products have been so successful is that U. S. projects tend to have substantial budgets, resulting in very creative and attractive production values.

Therefore, since some nations simply do not have the resources to develop the infrastructure necessary to produce high-quality media products, like the ones produced in the U. S. , it is basically cheaper to buy U. S. made products to produce their own, which yet again leaves the U. S as the dominant media producer. However, there are a few weaknesses with the limitations of cultural imperialism. These limitations are: 1) It does not distinguish different types of media. U. S. products dominate sectors, such as the movie Industry, while other media continue to be mostly local, such as print. ) It assumes a passive audience, which means that we do not know If the other countries are Interpreting U. S. media products differently or as Intended by the media. 3) underestimates the role played by local media producers. Locally produced media content, flnely attuned to local culture, tends to De enormously popular. Local producers nave In some cases successTully competed ith the global media companies by providing local alternatives that distinguish themselves from international media fare. The biggest example of a vibrant film industry outside of the West is not new at all. "Bollywood," the section of the Indian film industry specializing in Hindi-language films, is based in Mumbai and dates back to the silent film era of the early 20th century. " (Croteau, Hoynes, and Milan Location 8419). In conclusion, cultural imperialism is the extension of a countries power and influence on many other nations through, in this case, media production, which is ominated by the U. S.

Since they have the substantial budget to effective create new technological inventions and continuously creating the highest profitable films and music, no other country is able to compete. "The basic argument of the cultural imperialism thesis was that Western media products introduced into other countries, especially "developing" countries, contributed to a decline in local traditional values and promoted, instead, values associated with capitalism. " (Croteau, Hoynes, and Milan Location 6322)

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