The Americanization of Popular Culture in the West

It is relatively easy to understand what is currently meant by the term 'Americanization' although the term 'popular culture' is a tad more controversial and needs to be examined in a little more detail. In the early 1900s Americanization was the term used to describe the process through which immigrants from most parts of Europe settled in the New World and acquired a different identity as American citizens. Today, the use of the word Americanization denotes the process and the extent to which other countries begin to substitute American values, customs and culture in place of their own. 'The spread of American media including TV, film and American music ...has been the main component of Americanization of other countries' (Wikipedia).

America, currently the richest and most powerful state on the planet, is at the forefront of industrial and technological progress. As such, it is no surprise that other industrially developed countries in the West, but also including English-speaking modern states like Australia and New Zealand, have close commercial and cultural ties with the USA. Western Europe, specifically after the Second World War was beholden to the United States to kick-start their devastated economies. In the UK, it is commonly believed that cultural products and artefacts developed in the States would percolate into the British way of life within a period of less than ten years.

'Of the ten global brands seven are based in the United States. Coca Cola, which holds the top spot, is often viewed as the symbol of Americanization'. Indeed, the term Cocacolonization has been often used to characterize the extent of American power, influence and visibility in other countries across the world. The spread of supermarkets, multi-lane highways (motorways), shopping malls, cinema complexes and theme parks in almost all the countries with any pretensions to progress can be directly attributed to innovations first seen in the USA. The mention of theme parks must also remind one of another pervasive influence of the Americanization process, fast foods. Even within the USA, there are critics who see such developments as not in the best interests of its citizens. They see these as attempts to appeal to the lowest common denominator ('dumbing down') in terms of taste and preferences when commercial interests appear to override all other considerations. Two books which deal with such claims head-on are: 'The Disneyization of Society' by Alan E. Bryman (2004) discussing the extension of theme park commercialism to other aspects of life, and 'The McDonaldization of Society' by George Ritzer (2008), revealing the application of fast foods technology to many aspects of life including, most worryingly, education.

It is clear from the above brief discussion of Americanization, that almost all the countries of Europe and Latin America, not to speak of Australia and New Zealand are at least structurally aping, for good or ill, the most up-to-date features of American society. Has the American popular culture also found followers, adherents and imitators in these countries? Before we answer that, let us look a little more closely at what we mean by popular culture.

Popular culture (or pop culture) can be deemed as what is popular within the social context - that of which is most strongly represented by what is perceived to be popularly accepted among society. ... It comprises the daily interactions, needs and desires and cultural 'moments' that make up the everyday lives of the mainstream. It can include any number of practices, including those pertaining to cooking, clothing, consumption, mass media and the many facets of entertainment such as sports and literature. ... Pop culture finds its expression in the mass circulation of items from areas such as fashion, music, sport and film. (Wikipedia).

The drum beat of disco music emanating from night clubs on Saturday night in all major cities of Europe is a testimony to the all-pervading commercial and cultural influence of the US on the mass participative youth culture across these countries. 'Many American artists are known throughout the world; artists such as Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley are recognised worldwide and have sold 500 million albums each. Michael Jackson's Thriller, at 100 million sales is the biggest selling album of all time.' (Wikipedia). In 1971, Coca Cola devised an advertisement with the slogan 'The real thing' with a multi-cultural group of youngsters singing 'I'd like to buy the world a Coke' This was re-recorded by 'The New Seekers as 'I'd like to teach the world to sing (in perfect harmony). It became a worldwide smash hit. Little need be said to underscore the pervasiveness of US commercial interests influencing popular culture across the globe.

Where there is some disagreement about the definition of pop culture stems from the fact that it is contrasted with 'high' culture, or the cultural preferences of the elite in a given society. One of the ways by which '"Pop culture" can ... be defined (is) as the culture that is "left over" when we have decided what "high culture" is.' It is also distinguishable from what traditionally had been known as folk culture.

Globalization is another aspect that 'can free people from the tyranny of geography'. However, according to Thomas Friedman it merely globalizes 'American culture and American cultural icons.' (Friedman 1999). The extent to which Americanization occurs as a result of globalization is summarised by Naomi Klein when she argues that 'the buzzword in global marketing isn't selling America to the world, but bringing a kind of market masala to everyone in the world. ... Despite the embrace of polyethnic imagery, market-driven globalization doesn't want diversity; quite the opposite. Its enemies are national habits, local brands and distinctive regional tastes.' (Klein 2000).

As counter arguments to the above thesis, some have provided the example of the 'great British curry', where the UK has far more Indian restaurants than McDonalds outlets, with curry replacing 'fish and chips' as the Brits' favourite takeaway food. In the opposite direction, while America continues to use imperial measures (yard, gallon, pound etc.), most European states have adopted the metric system (metres, kilos, litres etc.). While the rest of the world does not appear to be enamoured with the American national sport of (American) football, the US appears to be moving towards accepting the European sport of soccer. However, these are probably minor aberrations while the main thrust of the argument of pervasive Americanization, appears to be substantiated.

Take the example of the cinema. Although India produces more films than Hollywood, it is mostly intended for domestic consumption. Again, though British films occasionally win Oscars, they do not attain the consistently very wide distribution and acclaim of Hollywood films. 'Not only does Hollywood dominate the global movie market, but it also swamps local products in most countries. American fare accounts for more than half the market in Japan and nearly two-thirds in Europe.'

America also borrows films from other cultures and repackages to suit the predominantly English speaking world. Take for example the Kurosawa film 'The Seven Samurai' (Japanese). It was completely re-adapted to the Western cinema and released as the 'Magnificent Seven' starring Hollywood actors, securing much wider distribution, gross profit and acclaim than the original.

Another example is the global hit film 'City of God'. It was inspired by and derived from a Brazilian film called 'Ciudade de Deus'. 'It has proved compelling viewing for audiences worldwide.' It is in ... 'Portuguese, by a little known director, with a cast that includes no professional actors, let alone Hollywood stars. Its focus is not a person at all, but a drug-ridden, dirt-poor favela (slum) on the outskirts of Rio de Janerio. However, although Phillipe Legrain, the author of the article 'Cultural Globalization Is Not Americanization' defends this kind of cultural cannibalism, the gripe is that the Hollywood version has usurped the function of the original and turned it into a 'pornographification', a pejorative term originally used to critique reality shows on television.

All of the top 20 grossing films ever are American made or have an American influence, either through publishers, cast or financiers. Titanic is currently the biggest grossing film title in various countries including Britain, Germany, France, Spain, among others. Adjusting for inflation, the highest grossing film of all time is Gone with the Wind (Wikipedia).

The proliferation of American-style Reality TV across Western Europe is also a matter for concern and will be looked at more closely below. Before that, it is necessary to see how the concerns of the critics of Americanization are commonly articulated.

Fears that globalization is imposing a deadening cultural uniformity are as ubiquitous as Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Mickey Mouse. Europeans and Latin Americans, left-wingers and right, rich and poor - all of them dread that local cultures and national identities are dissolving into a crass all-American consumerism. That cultural imperialism is said to impose American values as well as products, promote the commercial at the expense of the authentic, and substitute shallow gratification for deeper satisfaction. (Legrain 2003)).

Reality TV is the increasing predilection for television companies to resort to broadcasting 'real life' incidents making them dramatic and entertaining in the process. In the UK, 'Big Brother', where a group of celebrities are isolated from the world's daily activities and news, while holed up in a sealed, or self-contained flat or house, and are kept under observation, has become extremely popular. This is of course, one type of reality TV. Daytime talk shows are also an example of this type of TV. Similar programs are aired in Germany and France. In the 'Big Brother series, inmates' interactions among each other have become overtly sexual or at times acrimonious to the point of verbal assault. An example is that of Shilpa Shetty, the 'Bollywood' actress allegedly racially abused by the British 'celebrity Jade Goody in a Big Brother episode. The Yahoo headline of 03/03/2008 proclaims: 'A new batch of reality TV shows debut while critically acclaimed dramas come to an end.' Of the Weekly Top 10, six are reality TV programs including 'The Real Housewives of New York City', 'The Secret Life of a Soccer Mom', and 'High School Reunion'. No wonder Reality TV is dubbed 'trash TV', 'dirty minded teleporn', and 'cultural junk food'.

Tyler Cowen (2002) 'points out (that) cross-border cultural exchange increases diversity within societies - but at the expense of making them more alike. People everywhere have more choice, but they often chose similar things. That worries cultural pessimists, even though the right to chose to be the same is an essential part of freedom.' How popular choice is manipulated to make people 'choose similar things' appears to have gone unnoticed. The following is a case in point.

David Kupelian (2004) in a two-part article in World Net Daily describes a 2001 PBS documentary "Merchants of Cool" narrated by Douglas Rushkoff. 'What emerges in the following 60 minutes is a scandalous portrait of how major corporations - Viacom, Disney, AOL/Time Warner and others - study America's children like laboratory rats, in order to sell them billions of dollars in merchandise by tempting, degrading and corrupting them...Today ... five enormous companies are responsible for selling nearly all of youth culture. ...These are the true merchants of cool: Rupert Murdoch's Newscorp, Disney, Viacom, Universal Vivendi and AOL/Time Warner.' Among the above media giants, only Vivendi is not completely American owned. It is French. These companies sell 90 percent of the music in the US. They 'also own all the film studios, all major TV networks, all the TV stations pretty much in the 10 largest markets. .. They own all or part of every single commercial cable channel.'

These companies are said to have colonized the teenage market ... 'their weaponry (being) films, music, books, CDs, Internet access, clothing, amusement parks, sports teams.' David Kupelian reveals how the companies create demand through marketing campaigns. He calls these campaigns shocking, as the tendency is more and more towards lowering of standards of taste by appealing to the lowest level of intelligence. He gives examples evident in the popularity of the "mook" and the "midriff", 'two creations of this corporate youth-marketing consortium.. Let us take a closer look at the "midriff", the must have fashion look for today's young ladies in the US and most European countries. Just like "mook" was manufactured for the testosterone-driven adolescent male, the midriff exposure was manufactured as a sexual clich? which appeals to the nubile female across cultures.

And what is the purpose of these debauched role models for America's future, fashioned out of market research compiled by "culture spies" hired by corporations to predict what the likely next step down - the next shock wave disguised as authentic "cool" ...

Why, to sell kids more stuff, of course.

It only remains to be said that 'America's future' casts a shadow on the future of the world, more specifically on the future of Western Europe where English language has increasingly become the lingua franca of consumer capitalism.

Another American export is also conquering the globe: English. Around 380 million people speak it as their first language and another 250 million or so as their second. A billion are learning it, about a third of the world's population are exposed to it, and by 2050, it is reckoned, half the world will be more or less proficient in it. ... English may usurp other languages not because it is what people prefer to speak, but because, like Microsoft software, there are compelling advantages to using it if everyone else does' (Legrain, 2003).

It may be argued that most European languages, other than English, also have a long history of a vibrant literature in both poetry and prose, and it is unlikely that they will be swamped because of the prevalence of modern American pulp even in translation. Relatively recent novels written in languages other than English have been translated and are having an impact on world literature. For example, the Colombian, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, wrote the highly regarded One Hundred Years of Solitude and Paul Coelho, a Brazilian, wrote The Alchemist with tens of millions of global sales in translation.

On the other hand, when it comes to movies, most English language films are dubbed into other European languages or carry subtitles in those languages, while very few of the European language films are dubbed into English. Again, it is not the language that is at issue here, but the proliferation of the American point of view by the visual medium to the exclusion of most others.

The impact of an American bias in global mass media extends to the information and communication technologies (ICT) especially as it is directed at the young. Peer groups have more say in the socialization process of the young while the older generation tends to get left behind. Indeed, it is the young who often instruct the old in new technology, and have become instrumental in their own socialization into a new world order, indifferent, if not hostile, to the wisdom that is supposed to come with age. A contributor to a 'Report of the Workshop on Global Youth Media Culture' (2004) argued 'that there had been much that seemed unattractive in the loud, crass, commercial and homogenized store-bought media culture in which so many of their contemporaries ... seemed encased. He posed the question whether this culture helped open young people ... to a sense of our common humanity, to unfamiliar ideas, to new ways'. All the evidence so far assembled appears to point to an answer in the negative, where popular culture today happens to be equated with youth culture.

Another reason to be less sanguine about the West's cultural heritage is the changing way the media constructs the concept of youth. 'There was now a sense that the end of childhood is happening quicker and that the period of youth goes on longer'. There is also 'a re-drawing of boundaries, in which young people are increasingly being seen as a distinct and separate market.' The Report exhorts media education for young people, 'including critical analysis of media, and production'. Questions were asked 'on the ownership of youth culture; citizenship versus consumerism; globalization leading to homogenization of media content; on the relation between cultural rights and political rights.' It is of course one thing to be concerned over such issues, but another to be able to buck the trend and do something about it.

Influential social and cultural commentators are not so sanguine. Hannah Arendt concludes that a 'market-driven media would lead to the displacement of culture by the dictates of entertainment' and Susan Sontag argues 'that in our culture, the most ... intelligible, persuasive values are [increasingly] drawn from the entertainment industries', which is 'undermining of standards of seriousness'. As a result, 'tepid, the glib, and the senselessly cruel' topics are becoming the norm.'

In this essay, criteria for deciding to what extent there is 'Americanness' in contemporary popular culture has been implicit throughout and not made explicit. This is because it is no easy matter to isolate individual European cultures in order to assess the degree or extent to which they have been influenced by American culture, other than by way of itemising, as done here, the effect of American music, cinema, TV, IT, and to a lesser extent literature, on the contemporary scene on these cultures. The same difficulty arises when locating examples of these different genres in order to assess their indebtedness (or otherwise) to their American counterpart. What has been possible to do in this essay is to take the most visible, prominent or influential exemplars of each of these genres and elicit to what degree or extent they owe their existence to the commercial might of America in the light of critiques extant in the literature.

Enough evidence has been marshalled to suggest that the American cultural influence on popular, especially youth culture, is overwhelming. However, there is also enough evidence to suggest that Western Europe is not completely under the sway of the Behemoth. Most local languages and national identities still remain impervious to commercial pressure from outside. France still prides itself on its 'haute cuisine'. Italy is pre-eminent in fashion and design (Gucci, Armani). Spain continues to practise bull-fighting. Sociologists for decades have, and are still investigating the 'universals' regarding 'culture' and have not reached the last word on such controversial and abstruse subjects.

This essay has unearthed many more questions than has found answers. That, unfortunately but unavoidably has been the result of looking squarely at the phenomenon popularly known as 'Americanization'. At times it looked as if having seen off the last vestiges of communism in the Eastern bloc, the 21st century juggernaut of American consumer capitalism was about to overwhelm the planet in completely unforeseen and unpredictable ways. Yet, at a time of uncertainty about the continuing economic prosperity of the West, how the emerging superpower, the People's Republic of China would step into the breach should concern us with even greater urgency.