Cultural Imperialism
Assignment One
6. How and why is the argument of cultural imperialism unanswerable?
In order to answer the question of such a complex issue, I wish to delve into the ambivalent relationship between traditionalism and modernisation as more cultures are forced to interact with one another, focusing primarily on the personal level, that of self identity, and the roles particular individuals play when constantly bombarded by modern media from around the world. Taking these factors into account as well as drawing from my own examples, I hope to be able to come to a conclusion as to why various instances of cultural imperialism are difficult, if not impossible, to accurately confirm.
As a starting point, I feel it necessary to identify the meaning behind the phrase ‘cultural imperialism’ and how it relates to the media industry.
When you break the phrase ‘cultural imperialism’ down to its separate components, the word ‘imperial’, taken from the Latin word imperium (Oxford Dictionaries, 2012), denotes something with an immensity of scale and sheer dominance akin to that of an empire. In that sense, ‘imperialism’ is the process such an empire goes through in order to attain and maintain that dominance and influence. In a premodern era, this was more readily achieved through physical, more overt means, such as the use of military force and colonisation. Since the advent of new technologies and the emergence of media as a prevailing world industry, the nations that benefitted most from their past colonial exploits, mainly the ‘West’, had the economic power and widespread influence to be able to broadcast their cultural ideals and values onto other, less prominent nations with the help of radio, television, film, the press and the internet. This is when the term ‘cultural imperialism’ came into the public consciousness; and it was through media that allowed these superpowers, particularly the United States, to broaden their spheres of influence further than ever before.
6. How and why is the argument of cultural imperialism unanswerable?
In order to answer the question of such a complex issue, I wish to delve into the ambivalent relationship between traditionalism and modernisation as more cultures are forced to interact with one another, focusing primarily on the personal level, that of self identity, and the roles particular individuals play when constantly bombarded by modern media from around the world. Taking these factors into account as well as drawing from my own examples, I hope to be able to come to a conclusion as to why various instances of cultural imperialism are difficult, if not impossible, to accurately confirm.
As a starting point, I feel it necessary to identify the meaning behind the phrase ‘cultural imperialism’ and how it relates to the media industry.
When you break the phrase ‘cultural imperialism’ down to its separate components, the word ‘imperial’, taken from the Latin word imperium (Oxford Dictionaries, 2012), denotes something with an immensity of scale and sheer dominance akin to that of an empire. In that sense, ‘imperialism’ is the process such an empire goes through in order to attain and maintain that dominance and influence. In a premodern era, this was more readily achieved through physical, more overt means, such as the use of military force and colonisation. Since the advent of new technologies and the emergence of media as a prevailing world industry, the nations that benefitted most from their past colonial exploits, mainly the ‘West’, had the economic power and widespread influence to be able to broadcast their cultural ideals and values onto other, less prominent nations with the help of radio, television, film, the press and the internet. This is when the term ‘cultural imperialism’ came into the public consciousness; and it was through media that allowed these superpowers, particularly the United States, to broaden their spheres of influence further than ever before.
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