American Cultural Imperialism

Then Bay of Pigs/iraq have nothing to do with this..so lets leave it at that.

Remember, we're talking about cultural imperialism. Whether we took over iraq for oil is neither here nor there.

My point with the english language is this. English has spread and is spoken in virtually every country around the world. At the same time this is happening, there are people all over the world learning foreign languages. If English is homogenizing the world, why are people still lining up to learn russian, mandarin, arabic, etc? I dont think globalization kills diversity. The english language and mcdonalds bit i already mentioned prove this. In the face of a homogenizing force(english language/mcdonalds) there is more diversity than ever..

Peaceful protestors arent destructive. The ones that were in quebec city and seattle were.


I would hardly agree that we are forcing christianity on the rest of the world. What example do you have of this? Christianity(and religion) is dying in our own country.

supply and demand have to do with everything. If our movies are sold side by side with local movies, and ours win out, is it our fault? Are we trying to destroy cultures because they pick ours over theirs?

 

Inca Kola is very big in Peru. My point was that they don't have the massive resources that Coca Cola have to pump into their product to market it beyond Peru, especially into western markets. It could certainly never compete with Coke in America. You made a good point, people do think that American products are cool. But ask yourself why this is? That's exactly what I'm talking about by cultural imperialism. Advertising, media, celebrity and promotion are perfect ways in which to promote an image, the image of 'cool'. These things don't just spring up out of nowhere. I agree, small scale businesses can compete with big business, but you'll have to admit, big business is going to make it bloody hard for them to do so....

 

i do find it funny that we are talking about westernization and Cola..isnt cola western? Isnt the simple fact that peru is making cola a sign that they have 'caved' into western tastes? Whether they can compete with coke is neither here nor there, they are using a very western thing already.

 

Are you just worried that everywere will look the same ?. I don't believe this.
bollywood is bigger than Hollywood , we eat a mulitude of diffrent food from all over the world. Big company provide local jobs for local people. And are not as bad as they are made out to be.

American Cultural Imperialism ... in many people fantasys not realy in reality..but not in reality. Each country is as bad as each other in a way. its just the norm to put america before everything i guess.

 

in what sense is bollywood bigger than hollywood? All top grossing movies are hollywood...in pure production of movies?

Well matthew, i'll tell you a story that REALLY bothers me. When i was in thailand this summer, i went to pick up some moisturizer(i was sitting in the sun!), and i picked up one called 'skin whitening cream.' I went back and the whole entire row of nivea was skin whitening cream, EXCEPT one single section. That is outright disgusting, i wish people would be happier with what color they are..

 

That's more just a fashion trend though. How many people in the West buy fake tans? It's the same sort of thing.

 

look at how many screens the No. 1 is on ...look at the NO. 6 ...vast diffrence they all perform the same...

bollywood is big business and dominates india more than Hollywood films..but they do steal ideas hahah.

 

Why do white people sunbathe?

As for Inca Kola, it's not actually a cola at all, it's more like cream soda....

 

Yeah, but peopel arent buying tans to look more black or hispanic...asians are doing it to look white..

 

to be a brazen god *struts*

edit: all those carbonated processes are american/western....

 

Don't you think that may have something to do with the dominance of white cultures?

 

Of course, its disgusting though. If India was the superpower, we might all be trying to look/sound indian..thats just as disgusting...but it happens everytime a country gets some power, people imitate them..but now for the first time its on a global scale...

 

I think the skin-lightening issue has more to do with class than race. Thais aren't trying to look white so that they look like Europeans. They're trying to look white because being pale means you're not out in the sun a lot. For them, a tan suggests a lower class person who has to labor outdoors.

 

That's quite an interesting take on it, and makes a lot of sense. Do you have any sources that back that up?

 

This was definitely true in the UK in days gone by... it's what told a working class person from middle class/ aristocray...

Class is just another form of segregation, black / white / middle class / upper class etc etc... all just labels...

I read somewhere that women use skin lightening products in Jamaica (sorry was ages ago and cant remember the source at all ) ...

I am gonna try look for more info i think...

Cxxx

*edit* i think it was marie claire

 

So what? You want them to be a greedy expansionist corporation like the ones you're villifying?

Yeah, Coke and Pepsi dominate the U.S. cola market, but that doesn't mean another competitor can't rise up. Even given the fact that big companies will try to employ monopolistic tacts to protect or expand their market share, I'm still not convinced that competition is dead; it's just really tough.

Why does the idea of cool as put forth by American businesses appeal so much to so many people? Weren't many ideas about what's cool about America established before we became such a dominant cultural force? Coolness such as Frank Sinatra, James Dean, cowboys, gangsters, Jerry Lewis, etc. Apparently there's some sort of American mystique which resonates worldwide.

 

If you want to stop the spread of American culture there is a real simple solution, stop spending money on them. Anyone who knows anything about American corporations is that the profits are EVERYTHING. If a place is not making money it will be closed in a heartbeat. I seriously doubt that it is just American tourists that go to these places.

 

Quoted::::

Why people bleach

Health care professionals and social commentators in Jamaica view the trend with dismay, for example numerous reggae songs censure the practice, such as the early 1990’s hit “Dem a Bleach” by Nardo Ranks. Health officials say skin bleaching in Jamaica dates back over decades. Over the last 5 to 10 years the practice has been increasing significantly, says Dr. Clive Anderson, dermatologist and an executive member of the Jamaica Dermatologists Association.

“There’s a large segment of our population who are convinced that being lighter in complexion is to their advantage, socially, in terms of their relationships and economically, in terms of getting ahead,” he said. Dr. Persadsingh shares the same sentiments. He said some women don’t know why they are doing it. “Some girls feel that with a lighter complexion, their prospects in life would improve. Some are bleaching their faces and when they are asked why, they have no answer. “I have been told that men are responsible for the girls bleaching their faces, as all men only want ‘browning’ (light skinned women) and do not like black girls. This is rather nonsense of course. Some people even claim that the girls are bleaching now because of slavery and that the white people are to be blamed. Again, what utter nonsense,” Dr. Persadsingh scoffed.

Media advertising worldwide greatly enhance the stereotypes that light skinned people are advantaged socially and romantically. In Jamaica, advertisements like these are not broadcast, printed or aired often, but the few depict light skinned women saying for example that “Vanishing Cream fades dark spots and freckles, lightens and brightens skin to a smooth radiant glow.”

An article on the web site www.africana.com said: “One Kenyan TV ad features a young woman staring lovingly at her boyfriend in a college cafeteria. Another pretty woman with slightly lighter skin walks by, upon which the man jokingly asks the girlfriend how he can tell the woman that she is the “most beautiful girl I have ever seen.” Devastated, the young woman responds to a voiceover advising her to use “Fair and Lovely,” a skin cream promising “special fairness vitamins” and guaranteed to lighten her complexion in just six weeks. The young woman uses the cream and, sure enough, keeps her man.” Health authorities

The Ministry of Health (MOH) in Jamaica has released a list of banned beauty products that have been in circulation for many years. A MOH spokesperson says that it’s hard to clamp down on the culprits, because they continue to change the name of the products and distribute to street vendors.

The authorities have so far seized creams such as Movate, Reggae Lemon Gel, Top Gel Plus, Omic Gel Plus, Lemonvate Cream, Tropesone Gel, Tropesone Gel Plus, Neoprosone and Pro-Beta-Zone. Some of these products cost as much as US$9.

“The Association of Dermatologists has no empirical data on the problem, but it is certainly hundreds and thousands of people who are doing this,” says dermatologist Dr. Anderson.

He adds: “This is something we (dermatologists) are seeing daily. I would say a good 10 to 15 per cent of the patients we have been seeing have been doing this.”

The MHO has appealed to citizens to stop misusing these drugs as they were putting themselves at serious risk and overburdening the health system as they sought to treat the damage done to their skin by the creams.

However, this psychology for social acceptance, more opportunities, and improved self-image, is already epidemic. From as young as 10 to as old as 40, many are still using it. “Why? It’s your face, it’s your body, and you can do anything with it. I will stop bleaching when I want to stop. I know what I am doing,” says 36-year-old Trisha Smith, a veteran skin bleacher, whose face is distinctively clearer than the rest of her body.

 

"Skin whitening has a long history in Asia, stemming back to ancient China and Japan, where the saying 'one white covers up three ugliness' was passed through the generations.


"A white complexion was seen as noble and aristocratic, especially in Southeast Asia, where the sun was always out. Only those rich enough could afford to stay indoors, while peasants baked in the rice fields."

- taken from http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/05/13/asia.whitening/

Not an academic source, of course, but I think it's accurate information.

 

It was the same in the UK (and possibly other western countries) until the 20th century. It was always the workers who had suntans as they worked in the fields or on the roads, the 'higher' classes were whiter as they didn't have to be outside in the sun.

The atistocratic classes also used powder and all sorts to stay paler... just look at pictures of Elizabeth I

http://www.coolnurse.com/tanning.htm

http://www.thesunstudio.co.uk/history_of_tanning.html

When I was in Malaysia the television was full of adverts for products like Nivea skin whitener ... all the actresses had pale skin. I don't know if it's westernisation that has caused this or it is just their own fashion.