As stated in Gray’s article, Cultural Imperialism is the “process of social influence by which a nation imposes on other countries its set beliefs, values, knowledge, and behavioral norms as well as its overall lifestyle.” Although the debate stands on whether or not cultural imperialism is still alive, there are a few different instances in which there is a lot of evidence that it is very much still relevant.
An example of this would be pop culture and the importance of the music industry in our society and more specifically the complete obsession and admiration for celebrities. Although music is a huge part of many cultures, and some cultures utilize music even more than the American culture, the difference is the way that the Americans Idolize musicians. For example, think of the show “American Idol”, the word idol is defined as “an image or representation of a god used as an object of worship”. When you really think about it, it is a little strange to think that we hold a competition that thousands try out for to become the next American Idol. Yes these people have fantastic voices, however, what does it show about our society in how much we appreciate someone with a good voice when we do not give nearly enough credit to those who save lives on a daily basis?
Yes, there are music competition shows in other countries other than America, but the extent to which Americans have taken these obsessions can definitely be seen to have rubbed off on other cultures as well. American celebrities such as Katy Perry and Demi Lovato do not limit their tours to just America, but rather go on World Tours in order to accommodate their fans who live all over the world. Although celebrities from other countries have become enormously popular in America such as Ed Sheeran and One Direction, this only reflects the American culture of a huge fan base that has been seen here for so long.
The American youth can be used as a good example of this when just considering the Beliebers, Directioners, Swifties, Lovatics, KatyCats, Sheerios, and Little Monsters because these fans usually are so passionate about their celebrity they do not have time to be in more than one of these fandom groups. Although it is also up for debate who was the first to put a name to their fans, most sites show that it was most likely an American artist to come up with the trend which now singers across the globe are following and fans are also adopting which supports that cultural imperialism is still alive.
In conclusion, although the American music industry is not entirely unique, many trends such as excessive fandom have allowed for it to become acceptable in different cultures as well as even between cultures. Overall, the American music industry truly has a global appeal and greatly contributes to how music has transformed over the years from just tradition and hobby to essentially an every day obsession first in America and then in other cultures as well.
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