Influence of U.S. Media

As global tensions tighten and shift, the media industry of the United States is under scrutiny, and not always with a positive eye. Segrave mentions that long the standard setter for entertainment, especially in television and film, Hollywood has dominated the world entertainment market for years (1997). With simple story lines, action plots, international stars, and aggressive marketing techniques, Hollywood movies have prevailed in the world film market The American film studios have perhaps exploited advantages and formed an intentional "Hollyworld" (Segrave, 1997). Some of the factors in this situation are direct ownership of theaters, price fixing, block booking, and favored treatment from the U.S. government. One of the current debates in the field of media studies is the factor of U.S. media stomping all over the world, in a rampage of cultural imperialism, the bourgeois liberalization or homogenization of entertainment (Kahn, 1993; Nye, 2002). Sreberny-Mohammadi and others comment that particularly in the field of television this is a sensitive subject (1997). It is the purpose of this paper to provide an overview of the influence of U.S. media in other countries with a particular focus on Japan and China, two significant world nations.

Some believe that the Hollywood moguls turn out sex-laden, violence-driven movies and television, creative an image of the U.S. that is negative and not representative of the U.S. as it actually is. For instance, Boston Uni

Related Essays

Asians and Hispanics in the US Media .... cinema. Likewise, great mobilization of Hispanics in the US has increased their presence and influence in the media. From cable .... (2147 9 )

US Media and Israeli-Palestinian Conflict .... with respondent survey data to examine the influence of exposure to .... Framing US coverage of international news. .... Media effects: Advances in theory and research. .... (1854 7 )

Latino Influence on American Media .... The Spanish stations seem not to influence the mainstream English stations. .... of her book Latin Looks: Images of Latinas and Latinos in the US Media that Chicanos .... (4845 19 )

Food Politics The Role of Corporate Influence in US Nutritional .... Such influence was felt keenly by government officials intent on .... and thus create dips in the US economy .... meat and dairy consumption, but when the media picked up .... (1552 6 )

Influence of the Mass Media on Violence .... set forth attributes of the pervasive influence of the .... though it was exercised, at US government behest .... vivid, representations of violence in the mass media. .... (5095 20 )

now may lessen as other countries catch up to the early influence of the U.S. As the U.S. loses its media power, the anxiety about its dominance may ease around the world. Perhaps there will be fewer complaints about American arrogance and somewhat less backlash against America (Nye, 2002, 5). Japanese writers Morita and Ishihara say in their book, A Japan That Can Say No, that the Japanese people seem to be asleep, that they are like ET of the Spielberg film, evolving into something with pronounced eyes and a top-heavy development with weak limbs and a thin body, possibly indicating a metaphor for mindlessly taking in too much American culture, not seeking out the best of the older ways within the Japanese culture (Morita & Ishihara, 2). They lament the dependence upon America's military strength and America's inability to foresee the market and need for semiconductors. There are concerns about whether Japan can create a new culture for itself based upon the development of high technology (Morita & Ishihara, 5). The dregs of World War II and the aftermath are still very much on the minds of leaders in Japan; however a shift in consciousness has begun. These two Japanese writers see that America is declining somewhat. One

Category: Psychology - I