Chapter one essentially starts out giving a brief introduction to the world of mass media and it’s in and outs. From the very simple ideas of how ideas are communicated to the convergence of different media. As the chapter progresses Rodman goes on to talk about cultural imperialism of American society, which I will refer to later, and how giant media conglomerates are formed and why.
The part of this chapter that held my attention the most was the area in which Rodman spoke on the spreading of American culture, or as he called in “Cultural Imperialism”. The area that particularly peaked my interest was when he quoted a survey and said “…the spread of U.S ideas and customs is disliked by majorities in almost every country included in this survey.” The entire world is readily exposed to American culture whether they like it or not, and because of the depictions we create of ourselves in movies many believe us to be “materialistic, sexually immoral, and often criminal people…” However, I can honestly say that I agree with that sentiment to a certain degree. Although these aspects of American culture are dramatized in film and television, I see American culture veering towards many of the practices that should only appear in movies. I don’t exclude myself from this assessment in any way, it just seems American culture encourages promiscuity, materialistic ideals, and criminal behavior far more that that of popular culture around the world.
Another thing I found interesting was Rodman’s picture of the media conglomerates. The fact that multi-national corporations are expanding every day is impossible to ignore, and they steam-roll over smaller companies which continually increases their power. As he said at one point Clear Channel radio owns over 1200 radio station nation wide, which is a staggering figure in itself. The media today had become so monstrous that it’s impossible to control.
5 comments:
I agree that American culture encourages promiscuity, materialistic ideals, and criminal behavior far more that that of popular culture around the world.
I wrote my blog about this and how it has changed since I was a kid. I think mass media is constantly pushing the envelope with what they can produce and broadcast. In some circles they think this is great for business and advancing media, but other circles believe America is forgetting what is important to kids' personal development and how fragile and impressionable the American youth can be.
I like your posting. "promiscuity, materialistic ideals, and criminal behavior far more that that of popular culture around the world" is a good point to discuss American media.
I think these negative things have been happening in the U.S because they emphasized "freedom" too much. There are less restrictions, and the media tries to do more and more excessive things.
Its really interesting that you wrote about this because its related to what really intrigued me in the chapters. I thought it was interesting how Rodman states, while discussing cultural imperialism, that "America is nearly universally admired for its technological achievements and people in most countries say they enjoy U.S. movies, music, and telvision programs". However it also states that America is the "most disliked by the majority of countries due to its spread of American culture and ideas". I agree with you, I personally think that America promotes very unrealistic, unhealthy ideas into society. Allthough for some reason, America along with the majority of other countries in the world, find American culture and entertainment so interesting & intriging. That fascinates me.
Yes - American culture is forcibly exposed internationally. But in some aspects, our culture could be seen as more conservative than others. You cite sexual promiscuity and immorality as "practices that should only appear in movies." On the other hand, you don't walk down American streets or watch American commercials and see topless women, something common in Europe and South America (and something that would infuriate the feminist faction in the US, I might add). At the same time, my estimation is that in those areas of the world, you might not see violence so common in news casts, or homosexuality so obvious in our daily life (I'm offering examples, not facts).
It's easy to criticize American culture for two reasons: despite growth in other parts of the world, the US is still the most powerful nation in terms of culture and influence, and because of that, the spotlight is constantly pointed towards us. It is only natural that the ugliest parts of our society will be emphasized. Before you criticize yourself the homogenization of foreign cultures, remember there are a lot of good parts of our culture, too.
The problem is, the media tends to focus on our failures instead of our successes.
It is very interesting when I was reading your blog because I had the similar idea, but I put it different ways to say it. It is a phenomenon that almost "EVERYONE" desirably looking forward materialistic ideals and sometimes criminal behaviors are just "way too cool" in children's eyes. Especially, those scenes that might never happen in their lives. Sexual scenes, carrying guns, or gangster fighting are just performing in every movie religiously. Media producers try to make their markets large, but sometime I think they don't consider enough for the next generations' behaviors.
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