Eng. 1310.126
Micah Robbins
27 November 2007
Word Count: 1,122
America Spreading
The world is an interesting place because there are so many different people, cultures and nations covering it. Why then, would any one country seem dominant over others? American culture seems to be spreading like wildfire, and for many, it makes complete sense that it would because America is “the best.” But the American culture spreading all around the world, even in countries that supposedly hate us, is not the same as globalization, where every country influences each other equally, or to some degree. American food, television, and movies have all influenced many other countries, like Japan, much more so than other countries have influenced us. What is going on in today’s world is much more American universalism than simply globalization.
It is obvious that American culture is not confined to America. That is because the American industries fight to spread their products to as many people as possible. American products can be found all around the world, such as McDonald’s in Central American countries. In Globalization and Diversity-Geography of a Changing World, Rowntree writes, “Coca-Cola, GE, Intel and Procter & Gamble are household words from Bangladesh to Argentina” (Rowntree 74). American products are well known names to people around the world, not because we are forcing our culture on them and making them want our products, but because we many times make nice, cheap products that people want to buy to make their lives a little easier.
Of course the big American owners and presidents or corporations are going over to other countries. It doesn’t cost any more money and it is spreading their product. Most everything has to do with money. If our American products were not making money in those other countries, we wouldn’t be selling them there. So obviously, people are buying our products and wanting more of the American culture. We are not forcing them to want to eat at McDonald’s or drink a Coke. We are just putting it out there for them to choose whether they want to or not. And it seems like they want the products we are offering.
Yes, globalization exists to a point, we are influenced by other countries somewhat, and not all, but most countries are influenced by each other in some way. But that does not compare to the influence the United States has on the rest of the world. Todd Gitlin said in “Under the Sign of Mickey Mouse & Co.,” “the United States presides over a sort of World Bank of styles and Symbols, an International Cultural Fund of images, sounds, and celebrities” (825). What he is saying is the world is a kind of collection of cultures which all influence each other in small ways, but America reigns supreme in influencing others in what to eat, drink, wear, listen to, and watch.
The white Hollywood sign on the side of the hill in California is one of the most recognized signs globally. Not because it’s pretty, or spells out something interesting and life altering, but because it symbolizes beautiful, rich, talented people whom many wish to become. Worldwide, people know about these people living in luxury in America, and they have dreams about one day becoming famous. That is because American films are shown all over the globe in theaters for everyone to see. “All but one of the top 22 highest-grossing movies in the history of cinema were produced by American film companies” (The Internet Movie Database). Why? Because people like American movies. They go to the movies to see these American actors and actresses and to be entertained. That is something America is very good at, entertainment.
Dinesh D’Souza comments on Jerry Springer’s impact on the rest of the world when he says “if we could get them to agree to stop bombing our facilities in return for us shipping them Jerry Springer to do with as they like, we should make the deal tomorrow, and throw in some of Springer’s guests” (774). This shows that although people say they disapprove of American “values” seeping into their culture, they still embrace it. They can’t because they enjoy watching crazy families fall apart for everyone to see, just like Americans. Even though we are all from different places and cultures, it has been proven by the entertainment industry that the same things entertain all people. For some reason, even in middle eastern countries where their values are supposedly so high with God, people watch and enjoy degrading shows like Jerry Springer, not because we force them to, but because it was put there for them to choose to watch it or not. Many choose to watch, some choose not to.
Interfering with other cultures’ beliefs and values is not smiled upon by anybody. I am not saying what America has done and well undoubtedly continue doing, spreading our culture to other places, is morally right, but it is what it is, progress. The world is constantly evolving and changing and growing into something different. There is no stopping it. And right now, America is the front-runner for progress and change in other countries. Later on, it might be Japan or some other country, but for now, it is the United Sates of America. D’Souza says, “Unity, however, is not sufficient for the challenges ahead, America also needs the moral self-confidence to meets its adversary” (776). Although America is genius at making money, the American values are something frowned upon by other countries.
Many countries talk about how horrible America is and how they hate us so much. And there is some room for agreement, that maybe we are a little selfish at times. But then why, if they hate us so much, do they continually buy our goods and support our economy? Because even though they dislike American values, like Jerry Springer, they enjoy what they can get out of us. David Kazanjian explains, “as it happens, only the United States has been permitted to pursue concentration, which Carey calls ‘the national system’ (296), whereas all other nations of the world have been forced into centralization by European, particularly British and French, imperialism” (219). America is different than other countries, it grows and changes differently, and unlike European nations, we do not force any nation to become something, we simply give them the option, says Kazanjian.
American universalism is obvious; it is everywhere. Our culture is spreading worldwide to countries, and they are embracing it with full force. McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Jerry Springer, and Hollywood are essentially American but spread all over the world. Whether foreign countries like us or hate us, they still enjoy our products we provide for them, and without even realizing it, are become more and more “American” as time passes by.
Work Cited
D’Souza, Dinesh. “America the Beautiful: What we’re fighting for.” Rereading America-Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. Ed. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. Boston: Bedford, 2007. 768-779.
Gitlin, Todd. “ Under the sign of Mickey Mouse & Co.” Rereading America-Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. E. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen and Bonnie Lisle. Boston: Bedford, 2007. 824-834.
Kazanjian, David. The Colonizing Trick-National culture and Imperial citizenship in Early America. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2003.
Miller, Emma. Viewing the South-How Globalization and western television distort representations of the developing world. Cresskill, New Jersey: Hampton press, Inc., 2007.
Rowntree, Lewis, Price, and Wyckoff. Globalization and Diversity-Geography of a Changing World. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005.
The Internet Movie Database. 2007. 25 November 2007.
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