 | This is a user sandbox of Amelia Albanese. You can use it for testing or practicing edits. This is not the sandbox where you should draft your assigned article for a dashboard.wikiedu.org course. To find the right sandbox for your assignment, visit your Dashboard course page and follow the Sandbox Draft link for your assigned article in the My Articles section. |
Drafted Article on Media Imperialism:
Focus specifically on the U.S. section.
The United States has proved to have quite a significant role in media imperialism. For instance, many forms of mass media demonstrate how the United States exerts media power over other countries, especially those lacking in a strong media presence. Furthermore, a major cultural influencer in other countries is television.[1] Television is a way to display news, movies, videos, pictures, etc. Movies, usually shown in movie theaters or television, have a distinctly American dominance. For example, Hollywood is a major producer of films, and they tend to produce blockbuster quality which is released internationally.[2] To further prove Hollywood's dominance, another large producer of films is Bollywood.[2] Clearly, adopting Hollywood as part of its Indian namesake.
However, television is not the only mass communication channel used for media imperialism. Another form of mass media used is music.[2] Much of today's, and older, music finds itself popular in other countries. Although, a time when the media imperialism seemed to shift from an American lens was during the 1960s and the overwhelming "British Invasion" of music from Britain to America.[2] However, we have yet to see such a large shift of imperialism since then. Furthermore, some could argue that it wasn't that large of a shift of power, because it was still a dominance of Western influence.
Overall, American media imperialism can be seen as a positive and a negative. Part of the mixed beliefs stem from the negative connotation of the word 'imperialism.'[3] The use of this word seems to harken back to a negative viewpoint where large countries created empires of smaller ones. However, it can be seen as a positive when it is viewed as a way to create a consensus narrative. A consensus narrative is a result of, "products that provide us with shared experiences."[2] By having similar experiences, it opens the gateway for communication and development of relationships. Yet, this can also become a problem when the cultural exchange is not balanced or reciprocated. Thus, American culture is being transmitted to other countries, but other cultures may not be received in return.
Therefore, this creates an atmosphere of cultural imperialism where American culture is dominating others and becoming the main one. Thus, cultural imperialism can be seen as a result of media imperialism. For example, "...numerous international observers contend that consumers in countries inundated by American-made movies, television, and images have even less control than American consumers."[2] Moreover, these forms of mass media channels are not the only ones that have an American feeling to them, the internet also has somewhat of an American appearance.[2]
Specifically in relation to news and journalism, America also has a strong presence in the international arena.
Additionally, media imperialism has its own effects within the United States. Many news organizations are owned by a limited amount of corporations. One such example is Rupert Murdoch and his companies ownership of several notable media outlets, including: 21st Century Fox and the Wall Street Journal.[3] Other large media corporations consist of The Walt Disney Company and Comcast. Recently, in 2017, however, the Justice Department did sue to block a merger between AT&T and Time Warner. Thus, blocking the creation of a large media conglomerate, which would further increase the influence of American media imperialism.[4]
[Insert a link in the See Also section of the wiki page. <Cultural imperialism>]
- ^ El-Sherif, Osama (August 20, 2001). "Media Imperialism in the Global Era". search-proquest-com.libproxy.boisestate.edu. Middle East News Online. Retrieved 2017-11-15.
- ^ a b c d e f g 1949-, Campbell, Richard (13 November 2015). Media essentials : a brief introduction. Martin, Christopher R.,, Fabos, Bettina,, Harmsen, Shawn. (Third ed.). Boston. ISBN 9781457693762. OCLC 914290275.
{{cite book}}:|last=has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Oliver, Boyd-Barrett (19 December 2014). Media imperialism. London. ISBN 9781446268704. OCLC 899205069.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Kang, Cecilia; Merced, Michael J. de la (2017-11-20). "Justice Department Sues to Block AT&T-Time Warner Merger". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-12-05.