I found interests in this weeks reading about cultural imperialism. Jonathan Gray’s article, “Imagining America: The Simpsons Go Global”, discusses the United States and it’s cultural imperialistic influence. Cultural imperialism is the influence a country has socially on other countries. The dominant country’s ideologies are inflicted on to another country’s (p. 129). This ideal of cultural imperialism has become even more likely to occur because of media. Media had taken the world by storm. Media is a very powerful, fast and efficient way of imposing ideologies onto different nations. Since the United States is such a powerful country, it is more likely that the United States’ influence on other countries will be stronger.
Grey provides the perfect example of American media that is consumed by other countries outside of the United States. He examines the animated show The Simpsons. He states that people of other countries watch this show for entertainment because of how it portrays Americans. This show does not represent Americans in the best way possible, poking fun at and mocking things us Americans do. Stereotypes of Americans are used, which do not provide an accurate depiction (p. 145). For other nations, this humor is what they enjoy about the show. They see Americans in this way so it is something they can relate to, which keeps them watching.
In class yesterday the example of MTV’s The Jersey Shore was mentioned. I thought this was such a great example of cultural imperialism. I know from personal experience this show was more popular over seas than it was here in the United States. I went on a cruise just before the second season was about to start. The cruise departed out of a port in Miami so there was a good amount of people who were from all different parts of the world. After introducing myself to anyone who wasn’t from the United States, I received the same sort of question almost every time. I was always asked questions about The Jersey Shore. I was asked if I have ever been there, if I watch the show, if I like the show, if I know any of the people on the show, etc. It was astounding yet very embarrassing that this many people knew of this show. I considered it embarrassing because of how the show portrayed Americans, especially those who spend summers at the Jersey shore like myself. The influence of that show was so strong that these non-Americans were actually using the same slang and vocabulary as the show.
Cultural Imperialism is not always a good thing. There are aspects of many cultures that are embarrassing or humiliating but for some reason I feel as though American culture is easily mocked. Maybe it is because we are so wrapped up in the idea of making money; we are willing to do anything, even if it entails presenting ourselves in disreputable ways.
Grey, J. (2007). Imagining America: The Simpsons Go Global. Popular Communication, 129-148.
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/update-snooki-and-the-situation/n12692
Margo G Mcgee says
I also agree that the Jersey Shore is a perfect example of portraying negative cultural imperialism. I grew up my whole life going to Seaside Heights, where the Jersey Shore was filmed, since the first summer I was born. It has become like a second home to me and it really upset me to see the town receive such negative connotation because of a television show. Granted, there are definitely people there that acted like the characters of that show did but there were many people who go there just to enjoy a relaxing summer vacation with their families. I once met someone from the west coast and they generalized the east coast as that personality, so I can only imagine that people in other countries generalize the whole country like that.
mrd5325 says
I thought your example of the Jersey Shore really illustrated how cultural imperialism is not a good thing in society. That TV show has been on for many years and has been constantly scrutinized for the messages it promotes to its audience. Unfortunately, its audience is not just Americans but all cultures, and this type of show gives a bad reputation to Americans. Mediums like television are so different in other countries so when they see these reality TV stars acting in the way they do, they do not know that it is not the norm in America, and that is why we get asked the types of questions you mentioned in your post. Your video clip was a good touch because it showed how humorous Americans think the show is and really highlights the idiotic aspects of that show. The portrayal of Americans across all different types of television shows differ in their level of reality, and although we as Americans know that those portrayals are exaggerations or only represent a small portion of people, other cultures do not have the same background information as we do to conclude to those judgments.
cmf5533 says
I think your example of the Jersey Shore fits into this article and what we were talking about in class very well. I also like how you put in your personal experience as an example to help explain Gray’s article. I also wrote about cultural imperialism in my post, it was interesting to see how you explained it above and the examples you used!
Yuan Yuan says
Hello,
I totally agree with your point that “Media had taken the world by storm. Media is a very powerful, fast and efficient way of imposing ideologies onto different nations” which I also mentioned in my essay. I think you’ve got a good point of the example of “The Jersey Shore”. As an international student, I agree there’re many stereotypes with American because of the media or a show, media has its power to help people shape images about certain things. But if we use the media to shape a good picture to the public, that will also help people to know the world correctly.
Yih-heng Wang says
I absolutely agree with you that the concept of cultural imperialism is more controversial and fueled by the expansion of media. Media is now more powerful than ever due to technological advancements and given that the media industry is mostly owned by the United States, the U.S gets put under the microscope when debating the influences of cultural imperialism. I like the line you draw between cultural imperialism and simply “poking fun” at American culture through the example of the Simpsons from the reading. I agree this example shows that it is a humorous way of portraying the American lifestyle and people enjoy the show simply because it is funny… whether or not there are cultural imperialistic implications involved it is very difficult to tell. I share a similar experience being an international student here at Penn State too when television shows become misrepresentations of the culture as a whole. I think this may sway away from the idea of cultural imperialism and more into proximity. Overall, I enjoyed reading your paper and share a lot of the same opinions as you do.
kmg5550 says
I liked that you brought up the idea of the show Jersey Shore and cultural imperialism again. I too think that it is a great example of how American culture affects the rest of the world and their views of American culture. I was shocked to read about your personal experience with foreign people on the cruise and how they associated you personally with the show and the people on the show. It really goes to show how something produced in America, when shown in countries, has a large effect on how others see the people who live here. Also, even though we know it is not a generalization of everyone in the country, people in other countries take it that way and assume we all act in the way the cast from Jersey Shore did.
Shannon Lachman says
I think the popularity of Jersey Shore internationally is a good example of how cultural imperialism can reflect negatively on the imperializing country as well. I think an interesting part of that show was when they physically went to Italy and went clubbing, stayed in apartments, and physically imperialized the city they went to.