The Role of the Global Media In Facilitating the Expansion Of American Culture

THE ROLE OF THE GLOBAL MEDIA IN FACILITATING THE EXPANSION OF AMERICAN CULTURE

Tijani Hassan Abdulkarim

Department of Mass Communication

Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

ABSTRACT

The mass media are seen today as playing a key role in enhancing globalization, facilitating culture exchange and multiple flows of information and image between countries through international news broadcast, television, programming, new technologies, film and music. Before the 1990s, mainstream media systems in most countries of the world were relatively national in scope, since then, most communication media have become increasingly global, extending their reach beyond the nation-state to conquer audiences worldwide. The international flows of information have been largely assisted by the development of global media, new technologies and the increasing commercialization of global television, which has occurred as a consequence of the deregulation policies adopted by various countries in Europe and the United States of America in order to permit the proliferation of cable and satellite channels.         For the purpose of this assignment we shall be taking a holistic look at the concept of International communication which breed the transfer of information, messages and culture across national borders as well as; the Mass media itself, globalization and the global media, Americanization, Popular culture, the American Film Industry (Hollywood) and lastly the role of the global media (News Agencies) in the expansion of American Culture.

INTRODUCTION

International communication is a complex and fast growing sub-field within the major fields of mass communication and media studies. It encompasses the issue of culture and cultural commodification, (i.e. the turning of cultural products into commodities), the diffusion of information and news broadcasting by countries around the world, and the challenges faced by the developing world in the light of these processes. Mohammed, (2005).

According to Robert Fortner (1993), he sees international communication as communication that occurs across international borders, i.e. over the borders of nation-states. He explains further that message must transcend international border before it could be regarded as international communication. These messages could be in the form of news, videos/films, music, and other media content and products.

Advances in communication and information technologies in the late 20^th century have greatly enhanced the scope of international communication going beyond government-to-government and including business-to-business and people-to-people interacting at a global level and at a speed unimaginable even in decade ago. In the contemporary world, international communication encompasses political, economic, social, cultural and military concerns which transcend the territories of different countries across the world.

GLOBALIZATION

Globalization is an all encompassing concept used to describe the process that intends to harness and conglomerate all the systems of the world’s economic and political activities and transacting it as a village. Bayors and Smith, 2001: Ohuabunwa,(1999).

Globalization is the acceleration and intensification of economic interaction among the people, companies and governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology coupled with the advent of international system of communication. Initially, globalization tend to cover just the economic and political sphere but dramatic changes has taken place as globalization had begin to have pressure on many areas such as the media. Also, globalization refers to the rapidly developing process of complex interactions between societies, cultures, institutions and individuals world-wide. It is a social process which involves a compression of time and space, shrinking distances through a dramatic reduction in the time taken either physically or representational to cross them, so making the world seem smaller and in a certain sense bringing human being closer to one another.

Since the advent of globalization in the 1990s, the world has witnessed phenomenal changes in all ramification or facets of life which communication is not an exception. Communication has become more rapid and complex; working patterns have changed and transformed; financial transactions also move freely among countries and political boundaries within the international community.

Several scholars have written about the different perspective of globalization, for Tomlinson (1999), globalization involves a rapid process of complex interactions between societies, culture as well as individuals across the globe.

GLOBALIZATION AND GLOBAL COMMUNICATION

The advent of globalization has led to the revolution in communication technologies and has affected individuals across the globe. Basically, global communication refers to the process of transmitting and receiving information on a world-wide scale; people have been communicating on a global scale for centuries. Unlike international communication that relies on the traditional and mainstream media for communication, global communication came about as a result of breakthrough in technological innovations which makes interactions between individual(s) and organization around the easy and faster.

According to Ekeanyanwu, (2005), global communication is concerned with the gathering, dissemination, interpretation and analysis of global news and information. Musa (2003) observes that in line with the game of globalization, the global media plays the role of disseminating the international communication ideology as well as diffusing western values and culture, which appears dominance in the world today.

With the evolution of technology, global communication has become increasingly easy, faster, clearer and more effective. The evolution of global communication can be linked closely to the evolution of technology, as new creations, such as internet are continually being invented, improved and converged with other products, they are enabling new modes of interaction.

Before delving into the causative concept of “global media” which has facilitated American culture to spread and expand into different part of the world, let take a succinct look at the mass media.

THE MASS MEDIA

The mass media are the vehicle or means through which mass communication messages are disseminated widely and rapidly to a large and heterogeneous audience who are displace in different locations with the use of technological devices such as the radio, television, newspaper, magazine, film, and the internet. When this information or message transcend beyond a nation’s boundary, it becomes international communication and in that regard, the global media is used in communicating with the global audience.

In international communication, News agencies are in charge of supplying news reports to organizations in the news trade; newspapers, magazines, and radio and television stations across the world. They are also known as wire service or news services. Although most of them are sponsored and influenced by the governments of the world power in whose country these news agencies operate from and have headquarters. In the realm of international news, US/UK based media organizations produced and distribute much of the world’s news and current affairs output from international news agencies to global newspapers and radio stations, from providers of television news footage to 24-hour news documentary channels, the US/UK presence seems to be overwhelming. Some of the five notable international news agencies we have include; Associated Press (AP) with headquarter in New York City, United State of America, Agency France Press (AFP) with headquarter in Paris in France, ITAR-TASS in Moscow Russia, also Reuters which is located in London in the United Kingdom and lastly, United Press International (UPI), whose headquarter is located in Washington D.C, United States of America. All these major international news agencies are vanguard in transmitting the cultural ideology of the countries which the represents especially America where the AP and UPI has been playing the role of the tools used for the expansion of American culture.

WHAT IS GLOBAL MEDIA?

In a world of increasing globalization, the media has much potential. It has the possibility of spreading information to places where in the past it has been difficult to get diverse views. It has the potential to contribute to democratic processes and influences especially on countries and regimes that are not democratic. The advent of global media has the ability to push the ideas and cultures of more dominant interest such as the American interest and culture which is being imposed on the world; facilitated by the global media who works in the form of international media (news agencies) spreading the Americanization ideology.

Global media systems have been considered as a form of cultural imperialism. Cultural imperialism takes place when a more advanced country (such as the United States as our case study) dominates other countries through its media exports, including advertising messages, films, television and radio programming. America’s dominance in the entertainment industry makes it difficult for other cultures to produce and distribute their own cultural products. Supporters of American popular culture argue that the universal popularity of American media product promotes a global media system that allows communication to cross national boundaries

However, the receiving countries of the exported American media content via the global media and facilitated by the advent of globalization have often complained of media imperialism, arguing that global media is having negative effects on the culture and traditional values of their citizens. The idea is that cultural autonomy is undermined by imbalance in the flow of mass media content and therefore, its national identity in an age of globalism is in danger of being subverted. Our country Nigeria is an illustration of a country that has been heavily infiltrated by the American culture due to our exposure and over-dependence on global and foreign media content.

McQuail (2000), points out “the unequal relationship in the flow of news increases the relative global power of large and wealthy news producing countries and hinders the growth of an appropriate national identity and self image”.

AMERICANIZATION

Americanization is the term used for the influence the United States of America has on the culture of other countries, resulting in such phenomena as the substitution of a given culture with the American culture. Every day, life has been Disneyfied, McDonalized and Coca-colonized. Ritzer, (2004) and Barber, (1996). There have been a lot of iconography and attention on American brand such as Microsoft, McDonalds, Nike or Pizza which transcend both distance and language barrier.

The spread of American media including Television, films and American music artists, has been the main component of Americanization of other countries. American TV shows are broadcast around the world many of the shows are broadcast through American broadcasters and their subsidiaries such as HBO Asia, CNBC Europe, Fox Channel and CNN International. All of what is known as the “big four” American broadcasters have international distributors, for example HBO broadcasts to over 200 countries. Many of these distributors broadcast mainly American on their TV channels.

American culture has been globalized to different countries through the media, many see their culture as inferior and try to imitate this popular way of dressing, art, music and others. Local cultures are eliminated or renovated due to this. America culture has arrived through wide spread internet and smart phone technology since 2008, with a large fraction of the new applications and hardware being designed in Silicon Valley. In Europe, however, there is growing concern about excess spread of American culture through Google, facebook, twitter, the iphone and uber, among other American internet-based corporations. The European government has increasingly expressed concern about privacy issues which are now most invaded as well as anti-trust and taxation issues regarding the American giant.

Similarly, through the study of vocabulary and spelling of English words in books, dictionary and tweets, American English is more common in communities in European Union (E.U) compared to British English. This trend is more apparent in the events following World War II and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 which has contribute to citizens of different countries trying to learn and speak the American English including Nigeria.

THE AMERICAN FILM INDUSTRY (HOLLYWOOD)

The American film and Television industry since the 1920s has dominated most of the world’s media markets. It is the chief medium by which people across the globe see American fashions, customs, scenery and life styles which models their own life styles. In general, the United States government plays only a facilitating role in the dissemination of films. Television, books, journal and so on.

America films are also extremely popular around the world (even animated films mostly those from Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks and illumination), often dominating cinemas as a result of high demand of U.S product exported.

Due to the wide spread of American films, many U.S based artist such as Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson are recognized worldwide and have sold over 500 million album each. Michael Jackson’s album “Thriller” had 100 million sales, as one of the best selling album of all time.

The American film industry has been embraced by the world that any movie produced from the Hollywood is not only for the consumption of the American audience but for the entire international audience. For example, the recent “Black Panther movie” produced in America has been starring in many cinemas across the globe including our country Nigeria. Even in Saudi Arabia, the film is set to be shown as the first movie ever to be shown in a Saudi Cinema. This contribute to the spread and expansion of the American Culture as people tend to imitate whatever is seen on the screen that what is read on the newspaper or heard on the radio.

Similarly other film industries around the world such as the Indian Film industry also known as “Bollywood” has been greatly influenced over the years as the Indians have isolated themselves from their cultures in terms of their film making and have queue up in portraying American mode of life even in core Indian Movie.

The Role of Global Media in Facilitating the Expansion of American Culture

To narrow this our presentation down to our focal point of argument whether global media facilitates the expansion of American culture, it is pertinent to deduce from all the above explanation of the related concept that our of the primary agenda of the global media or the news agencies is to see that American culture becomes a cultural practice for all the members of the universe.

Media imperialism is a theory based uponan over concentration of mass mediafrom larger nations, in which the national identity of smaller nations are lessened or lost due to media homogeneity inherent in mass and global media from the larger countries. America as a larger significant nation of the world, its content of media is dominant compared to the lesser nations and so therefore its contents are easily passed or transmitted to the lesser nations as more important and dominant. This is mostly facilitated with the advent of globalization which has turned the world into a global village of idea where foreign ideologies are easily shared around different countries.

Technological advancement has given them the ability to monopolize or autonomy in the sense that it gives them the first hand control of what is viewed, listened to or talked about, therefore creating loop-hole for their own ideas and cultures to be transmitted through the media which they own or to a large extent control.

Many African countries including Nigeria are gradually losing their culture because of the overwhelming inflow of ideas and culture from the western world. For example, many African youth trade their traditional attires of their respective ethnic background for the western mode of life because they feel its modern and theirs is old fashioned and no longer in vogue.

The internet is seen as the primary tool of globalization and a media of mass communication which was created by the western countries and have more of its information embedded in it. They facilitate to transfer and expand the American culture more than any global media.

The role of the media in the globalization of culture is a contested issue in international communication theory and research. Earlytheories of media influences, commonly referred to as “”magic bullet” or “hypodermic needle theory” believed that the mass media had powerful effects over audiences. In the early stage of cultural imperialism, researchers focused their efforts mostly on nation-stateas primary actor in international relations. They imported rich, industrialized and westernnation-states with the intentions and actions by which they export their cultural products and impose their socio-cultural values on poorer and weaker nations in the developing world. The study conducted for this purpose demonstrated that the flow of news and entertainment was bias in favour of the industrialized countries. This bias was clear both in terms of quantity, because most media flows were exported by western countries and imported by developing nations, and in terms of quality, because developing nations receive scant and prejudicial coverage in American media. We can easily say in a nutshell that the global media has facilitated the expansion of American culture through the mobilization, enlightenment and entertainment of individuals, countries worldwide.

CONCLUSION

From the foregoing narrations, we can conclude that the global media market is dominated by west, most of which are based in the United States of America. They propagate the third world cultures negatively and marginalized the positive aspect of these developing societies. They invade passively into the social, political and even a religious system. They (i.e. America) win the consent of the masses of the third world and even other developed countries through media by propagating the information, which are in favour of them. The global media due to their constant portrayal of American norms, values and tenets, obviously facilitates the widespread and expansion of the American Culture to different societies and countries around the world.

REFERENCES

Tomlinson, J. (1999): Globalization and Culture, Cambridge: Polity Press.

Tomlinson, J.D. (1991), Cultural Imperialism. Baltimore MD: Joun’s Hopkins University Press.

Kraidy, M.M. (1999), “The Global, the local, and the Hybrid: a native ethnography of

  Globalization”. Critical studies in Mass Communication.

Stead, W.T. (1901), the Americanization of the World. Horace Markley.

Marwan, M.K. (2002), Globalization of culture through the media, University of Pennsylvania.

Ekeanyanwu, N. (2005), International Communication: Issues, concept and researches in the 21^st

Century. Akure: Standard Mass Concept Company.

McQuail, D. (2000), McQuail’s mass communication theory (4^th ed). London, Thousand Oaks &

New Delhi: Sage Publications.

The concept being discussed above is a work which was presented as part of The C.A for MCOM 301 International Communication at the Department of Mass Communication. ABU, Zaria.

It is meant to help undergraduate students in the field of Mass Communication And Journalism as well as serve research purposes.

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