What Sets Us Apart
My response to “What Sets us Apart”
In the essay “What Sets us Apart,” by Mortimer B. Zuckerman, he examines the issue of how America is regarded by foreign countries and the impact America has in these countries. Zuckerman acknowledges of Hollywood contributing to “a significant piece of America’s ‘soft power’” on how we are perceived by other countries; meaning that American culture is not viewed favorable by other countries because of Hollywood. Zuckerman’s perception is something that I agree with; unfortunately, America is viewed in a negative way by other countries because of Hollywood contributing to an askew image of America, a misperception by foreign countries, and the tolerance by the American society. First of all, the reason Hollywood has such a profound impact on the appearance on American society, is because they supply “over 70 percent of the European film makers and 90 percent” to the rest of the world. Sadly, Hollywood targets the “younger population audience who constitute the bulk” of the film industry, which has a tremendous impact to what movies contain. Of course, being a younger crowd will imply more “action, violence, sex, and special effects,” which seems as though it will not have an effect but it does. Since Hollywood is the biggest supplier of films to other countries, whatever is shown in these films (action, violence, sex, and special effects) will reflect the “American lifestyle.” Thanks to these images, “Hollywood has made Americanism a dirty word.” Furthermore, these misperceptions of the American lifestyle has made foreign countries once “favorable opinion[s] of the United States” drop in recent years. The liberty portrayed in America gives rise to the fears of an up rise by the people in a communism country. Thus making democracy “less attractive,” rather than displaying the beauty of democracy. People from foreign countries that have strong values see our society with little to no morals, and a lot of promiscuity. All
In the essay “What Sets us Apart,” by Mortimer B. Zuckerman, he examines the issue of how America is regarded by foreign countries and the impact America has in these countries. Zuckerman acknowledges of Hollywood contributing to “a significant piece of America’s ‘soft power’” on how we are perceived by other countries; meaning that American culture is not viewed favorable by other countries because of Hollywood. Zuckerman’s perception is something that I agree with; unfortunately, America is viewed in a negative way by other countries because of Hollywood contributing to an askew image of America, a misperception by foreign countries, and the tolerance by the American society. First of all, the reason Hollywood has such a profound impact on the appearance on American society, is because they supply “over 70 percent of the European film makers and 90 percent” to the rest of the world. Sadly, Hollywood targets the “younger population audience who constitute the bulk” of the film industry, which has a tremendous impact to what movies contain. Of course, being a younger crowd will imply more “action, violence, sex, and special effects,” which seems as though it will not have an effect but it does. Since Hollywood is the biggest supplier of films to other countries, whatever is shown in these films (action, violence, sex, and special effects) will reflect the “American lifestyle.” Thanks to these images, “Hollywood has made Americanism a dirty word.” Furthermore, these misperceptions of the American lifestyle has made foreign countries once “favorable opinion[s] of the United States” drop in recent years. The liberty portrayed in America gives rise to the fears of an up rise by the people in a communism country. Thus making democracy “less attractive,” rather than displaying the beauty of democracy. People from foreign countries that have strong values see our society with little to no morals, and a lot of promiscuity. All