Topics for Composition and Discussion

• Do you think that the United States and Europe are mostly to blame for cultural globalization?

• Is globalization McDonaldization?

• Does globalization destroy culture?

Text b. American Cultural Hegemony?

Many Europeans are concerned about the possibility of American culture dominating other cultures. Many Americans believe that their culture is indeed the dominant culture in the world. The terms "cultural hegemony" and "monoculturalism" seem to refer to American culture and its presence outside of America. In Europe and other places, American culture appears in many forms, such as movies, music, clothing, and television. But does the presence of these kinds of American pop culture mean that a cultural takeover is happening, or happening unproblematically?

Of course, America is a very powerful country. Its wealthy transnational corporations, its power within international organizations, and its military might give it a great deal of power in controlling economic and other interactions all over the globe. But, does it follow from this that America's pop culture is easily taking over the globe?

Many scientists believe that cultural takeover is not so easy, and that many barriers to American cultural hegemony exist. It is important to see what happens in these sites where two different cultures meet.

People who have been in many parts of the world can see signs of American culture everywhere. At the same time, most nations value their own cultures and work actively to preserve them, consuming local media, food, etc. alongside whatever foreign stuff they like.

India is a great example of a society which needs no special measures to preserve its traditional culture – unlike, say, France. Indians love TV, and have plenty of it: at least two or three channels for every major language (of which India has 14 or 15, including English), and at least one each for Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, and Buddhists, plus one for each of the major branches of Hinduism. In addition to news and worship, there are channels showing Indian-produced TV series and movies, and channels of Indian music videos. A few channels show imported TV, movies, and music, plus CNN International/Asia and BBC World, but these are vastly outnumbered by local programmes. It is not surprising because India has been absorbing foreign cultures for 3000 years.

So, the next time you get worried about American culture taking over the world, look around you. If you are an American living in America, just look at your American hometown: how many “ethnic” restaurants do you have? And what is American culture itself? It’s just a rich soup of the many cultures that Americans originally came from.

It is true that American television, movies, and music are all over Europe. In Switzerland, for example, at the local theater you can see Shrek, at the cafe down the street you can hear Madonna singing about what it feels like to be a girl. But let's not conclude that all of this means hegemony. You will find that the presence of American culture is just not a clear matter of hegemony and monoculture. To understand it, you have to look more deeply at the context and form in which American pop culture appears, how and if it is consumed, and how it is interpreted.

American cultural hegemony is a popular myth. It would be naïve to think that American culture, as represented in widely-exported American movies, TV shows, fast-food restaurants, and brands, is replacing the traditional cultures of other countries. Do you really think that this will result in a homogenized world in which everyone gives up their own food and entertainment to eat at MacDonald’s and listen to hip-hop?

Exercise 14.

• Read Text B and answer the following questions:

Cultural hegemony: Who’s dominating whom?

How effective is 'Americanization'?

What is American culture itself?