Week 3 Blog Post

The Global Influence of American Pop Culture

Which art movement, media genre, type or style has influenced your life and changed the way you view the world or cultures other than your own? How and why?

According to Jan Nederveen Pieterse, globalisation is being shaped by technological change (Nederveen Pieterse, 2004, pg. 9). Globalisation encourages the media and social movements to cross the boundaries between nations and goes together with regionalisation (Nederveen Pieterse, 2004, pg. 8). Globalisation is not only driven by major corporations, international institutions and governments but also by social forces, such as consumers and social movements (Nederveen Pieterse, 2004, pg. 10).  Globalisation, however, does not refer to symmetric or equal international relations (Nederveen Pieterse, 2004, pg. 13). This is evident in the notion that ‘the West’ controls the flows of globalisation.

“In most places, global time still ticks to the clock of CNN, and we may do well to recognise the extent to which the Anglo-American media continue to provide for many people, the constitutive horizons of what has been called the ‘Global Familiar of our times” (Morley, 2006, pg. 41).  The world has subsequently become ‘Americanised’ through cultural dominance, assuming there is a one way flow of information from the West to the rest of the world. There is an asymmetrical flow from the United States of America to the rest of the world, whereby many countries and different cultures are extremely interested in their lifestyle and culture.

It is obvious that most of the films and television shows we see in Australia have been produced by Americans and set in famous cities, such as New York and Los Angeles. Since I have been young, most of my interests in television and film have stemmed from America. From Barbie, to the Powerpuff Girls, to, more recently, my love for Gossip Girl and Friends, everything I have enjoyed on television has come from America. The strong interest I have in American culture has transpired from the images I have seen on television. As a matter of fact, there are currently several reality television shows which are all based in Beverly Hills and New York, such as ‘the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’, ‘Beverly Hills Nannies’ and ‘Million Dollar Homes Los Angeles.’

The cast of the 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills'

I recently returned from a holiday in America where I visited New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. I had heard the saying ‘the whole world meets in Times Square’ before I had left, but I never knew to what extent this would be true. There were a vast amount of tourists I came across during my time there from many countries and different cultures all over the world. It was quite evident to me that the entire world is fascinated with America and has a desire to travel there. The United States remains the main source of non-European feature films and is also involved in co-productions with the European ‘big five’, France Germany, Italy, Span and the United Kingdom. Most commercial channels in the European Union take up 83.5 per cent of programs from non-European sources, which further demonstrates their captivation with Western culture.

During my travels to Europe in 2011, I found that everywhere I went, the English language was spoken at a remarkably high level. When I questioned people about their familiarity with our language, they expressed that they had learnt most of their English whilst watching their favourite television shows. Many foreign inhabitants knew the latest box-office films and everyone expressed their interest in travelling to New York and Los Angeles one day. When I visited my family in Italy, I turned on the television to find the ‘Twilight Saga’ playing and many, many more films which were available in English and Italian. All of my cousin’s friends were attracted to American actors, recording artists and television personalities. It surprised me how well they knew American celebrities and how interested they were in travelling to America one day.

It is evident that the media is responsible for the influx of American culture into countries all over the world. According to Nederveen Pieterse, what matters is not technology, but the way it is harnessed by economic, political and social forces (Nederveen Pieterse, 2004, pg. 10). Many countries and cultures have welcomed Americanisation and accepted it into their everyday lives. 

Source: Nederveen Pieterse, J, 2004, 'Globalisation: Consensus and Controversies', Globalisation and Culture: Global Melange, Rowan & Littlefield, Lanham, MD., pp. 7-21.

Photograph Source: www.neontommy.com