Monday, May 14, 2007
The World gets in touch with their inner American"We are all Americans now, like it or not."
G. Pascal Zachary
"Globalization is in so many ways Americanization: globalization wears Mickey Mouse ears, it drinks Pepsi and Coke, eats Big Macs, does its computing on an IBM laptop with Windows 98. Many societies around the world can't get enough of it, but others see it as a fundamental threat."Thomas L. Friedman
In the early 19th century, "Americanization" referred to the movement where immigrants were developed into Americans. Today, the term carries a different and yet almost similar meaning. Americanization is now popularly viewed as the globalization by the U.S. of the world. The American economy is an ever-present force in the world today. Pepsi advertisements clutter the streets of every big city in China, Big Macs are being ordered throughout the entire world, and the term "Always Coca-Cola" is being muttered by all of Europe. This is plain evidence that countries all over the world are being globalized. However, is the word globalisation better known as Americanisation?
'The American Way' has successfully managed to infiltrate every aspect of our lives, even in communist countries such as Russia and China. For example, in the aspect of entertainment, China's youth today can not only watch The O.C. or Desperate Housewives on television, but also the newest films direct from Hollywood. There is also an amusement park in Shanghai called the American Dream Park(which duplicates typical American attractions) to cater to them. Additionally, the Chinese can choose to eat at any of 130 McDonald's restaurants placed all over the country. Mainland billboards, store fronts and television commercials all sell the American dream. Nike's "Flyer Qiao Dan," also known as basketball star Michael Jordan actually outranked Mao in a recent mainland popularity survey.
People seek a good life, one that they feel can be found in the American way of life.
After a half century of isolation under the Communist Party, the Chinese are desperate to catch up. "Chinese, young and old, are tired of political movements," says a Western correspondent in Beijing. The American Dream may be frayed at the edges, he adds, but Chinese still want the amenities associated with it: a car, a house filled with appliances, in short, the good life. "America represents an ideal in China," says King Lai, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising China. "For the Chinese, it's the lifestyle that they aspire to, the spirit of America."However, some other countries do not agree. For example, the Israeli government announced in November that it may require its radio stations to devote half their airtime to songs sung in Hebrew in order to slow down Israel's cultural shift toward Americanization. A few countries like France and Germany are also making plans to slow Americanization. By raising taxes and tariffs on foreign companies and investors, these countries are making it harder for American companies to profit overseas. Thus while Americanization may be welcomed by some, it is often viewed as a threat to national culture.
Sometimes, misconceptions and wrong judgements are made about the American Way. In a recent French poll of images that come to mind when thinking of America, 67% of those polled said "violence" and 49% "inequality" as opposed to only 20% who said "freedom" and 4% "generosity" (3). In Europe, Americans are stereotyped by globalization as being shallow, spoiled, and shortsighted. Hence although Americanization is rapidly changing the world, it may create wrong stereotypes of America. But then again, is Americanization truly the answer to globalisation in the world today?
Attached is an interesting article of how cultural globalisation may not necessarily be purely Americanization.http://chronicle.com/free/v49/i35/35b00701.htm- Culturally yours,
Cultural Expert- Gwyneth Liew
; i'm lovin' it
