History paper - Disney and US Imperialism Cultural Imperialism Imperialism can be defined as the guiding principle of broadening a nation's power by the acquiring of other countries, or by the formation of financial and political authority over other nations. Cultural imperialism can then be defined as the cultural impact of imperialism. This can mean many different things, as culture is such a broad term. When looking at popular culture and cultural imperialism, it is important to look again at the concept of dominant culture. The dominant culture is created, controlled, and spread by the ruling class. The ruling class refers to those individuals or corporations with the most economic power and cultural influence. The political actions of a nation, or the values and beliefs of a society, could be examples of cultural elements that are affected by cultural imperialism, and that is what is being referred to in this lecture. The Commodification of American Culture The global power of American culture has been in full effect since the 19th century, when distinctly American commodities were exchanged with other nations on an increasingly large scale. These consumer products ended up being sold in countries such as Britain, or other Western European countries, and this helped to spread dominant American culture. With the advent of mass media, particularly radio and television broadcasting, American consumerist culture was further circulated throughout the world. American cultural commodities, such as films, cars, fast food, music, etc., have increased American influence on an international scale. In turn, some of the commodities produced by the United States since the 1950's have arguably become symbolic of American culture. Coca-cola , McDonalds, and Disney products have gained international recognition of what America represents, and this is problematic for a number of reasons. Most importantly, consumer products, or the ideologies that are attached to them, should not ultimately define American culture. Unfortunately, people from nations that have no direct knowledge of American people or their values, have developed opinions about the United States that are based upon capitalism, and its products. Consumerism and Identity Regardless of whether the ideologies, or beliefs that have become attached to popular commodities have been placed there intentionally or not, the "cultural work" that these American products perform must be examined. This "cultural work" functions by implying to audiences, or consumers, of cultural products, that they should think or feel a certain way, and that buying this consumer product ultimately means that the consumer is buying into the ideology attached to it. For example, McDonalds is known around the world, and there is a McDonalds restaurant in nearly every country in the world today. The beliefs attached to McDonalds' products on the surface reveal family values, fun, and enjoyment. However, underneath th.

1. History paper -
Disney and US Imperialism
Cultural Imperialism
Imperialism can be defined as the guiding principle of
broadening a nation's power by the acquiring of other countries,
or by the formation of financial and political authority over
other nations.
Cultural
imperialism can then be defined as the cultural impact of
imperialism. This can mean many different things, as culture is
such a broad term. When looking at popular culture and cultural
imperialism, it is important to look again at the concept of
dominant culture. The dominant culture is created, controlled,
and spread by the ruling class. The ruling class refers to those
individuals or corporations with the most economic power and
cultural influence. The political actions of a nation, or the
values and beliefs of a society, could be examples of cultural
elements that are affected by cultural imperialism, and that is
what is being referred to in this lecture.
The Commodification of American Culture
The global power of American culture has been in full effect
since the 19th century, when distinctly American commodities
were exchanged with other nations on an increasingly large
scale. These consumer products ended up being sold in
countries such as Britain, or other Western European countries,
and this helped to spread dominant American culture. With the
advent of mass media, particularly radio and television
broadcasting, American consumerist culture was further
circulated throughout the world. American cultural
commodities, such as films, cars, fast food, music, etc., have
increased American influence on an international scale. In turn,
some of the commodities produced by the United States since
the 1950's have arguably become symbolic of American culture.
Coca-cola

2. , McDonalds, and Disney products have gained international
recognition of what America represents, and this is problematic
for a number of reasons. Most importantly, consumer products,
or the ideologies that are attached to them, should not
ultimately define American culture. Unfortunately, people from
nations that have no direct knowledge of American people or
their values, have developed opinions about the United States
that are based upon capitalism, and its products.
Consumerism and Identity
Regardless of whether the ideologies, or beliefs that have
become attached to popular commodities have been placed there
intentionally or not, the "cultural work" that these American
products perform must be examined. This "cultural work"
functions by implying to audiences, or consumers, of cultural
products, that they should think or feel a certain way, and that
buying this consumer product ultimately means that the
consumer is buying into the ideology attached to it. For
example, McDonalds is known around the world, and there is a
McDonalds restaurant in nearly every country in the world
today.
The beliefs attached to McDonalds' products on the surface
reveal family values, fun, and enjoyment. However, underneath
the surface, it is merely
fast food
, that is produced in mass quantities. The identity that is formed
by consumer products is very powerful, and can affect the
attitudes and beliefs of those who purchase them. To be defined
in some way by the products that a society consumes has
become a facet of capitalism. What kind of coffee do you drink?
What music do you listen to? Do you own an i-Phone? What
does that say about you as a person? What does that say about
your personal identity? These are all questions that relate to the
consumerist culture's formation of identity.
Making Meaning from Products

3. Popular culture is multi-directional, and multi-faceted.
Although audiences, or consumers might appear to accept the
ideologies that are attached to the products they purchase, they
often reject them. Moreover, while cultural industries create
products that are targeted specifically at demographic aspects of
a population such as age, race, education, economic status, etc.,
it is the individual who creates meaning from the products they
consume. Thus, the idea that American culture can homogenize,
or make other cultures the same as it through the spread of
consumerism
, is not always applicable. Given the controversial nature of
cultural imperialism, and Americanization, it is important to
look at all the facts before making a decision about the validity
of the arguments for and against it.
The 80's and 90's in Pop Culture
American popular culture took a turn towards
commercialization in the early to mid 1980's. The 1980's was a
decade where the dominant culture became obsessed with
materialism, binge shopping, and credit card usage. Hollywood
films and other cultural industries such as the music industry
reflected the sentiment of excess. This began to change in the
1990's, as the country began to experience an economic
downturn after the Black Monday stock market crash of 1987.
By the early 1990's, musicians such as Nirvana were becoming
popular, and the youth culture was developing the "grunge
scene". This cultural movement was first characterized by music
that was primarily coming out the Seattle area, from the label
Sub Pop. The style was a messy, unkempt look, and the music
was very raw, and full of a sense of gritty realism that the music
of the 1980's did not provide. In the 1992 Nirvana video for
their song
"In Bloom"
, the setting is a 1950's style music show similar to the Ed
Sullivan Show. This video shows the grunge movement's break

4. with the values of the 1950's, which is contrary to the 1970's
revival of those values.
Globalization
Globalization
refers to the ever increasingly global spread of culture,
products, and services. It differs from cultural imperialism, in
the aspect that it refers to the ever-increasing interconnectivity
between nations, and not directly to the acquiring of other
nations by one imperialistic superpower. However, globalization
is problematic in nature because it does carry with it the
potential for cultural imperialism. Those who argue against
globalization feel that Americanization and capitalism spread
through globalization are imperialistic in nature, and have a
negative impact on global cultural diversity. Conversely, the
proponents of globalization believe that the positive aspects of
it, such as economic growth, international trade, and the
worldwide exchange of innovative thinking, communication,
and popular culture, far outweigh globalization's negative
characteristics.
McLuhan and The Global Village
Today, technology has created what has been called a
"global village"
. The global village is a term that was originally coined by
Marshall McLuhan. McLuhan was a Canadian professor,
scholar, and one of the first media theorists. He is known for
predicting the internet thirty years before its inception in the
1990's. The global village is essentially a term for the
communities that exist via the internet, and suggests that the
world wide web has actually made the world a smaller place, by
creating integrated communities of people who were once
separated by geographical distances. The internet knows nearly
no international borders, and therefore, creates cultural
connections. The nearly instantaneous speed of online
communication, and the ability of people to learn about, expand

5. upon, and respond to world news very quickly, compels Western
society to grow to be increasingly concerned with other cultures
and nations, and be more conscious of its global
responsibilities.
Naomi Klein and "No Logo"
One person that cannot go without being mentioned when
discussing popular culture and globalization is the journalist,
writer and activist
Naomi Klein
. Klein's 1999 book, "
No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies"
, is considered to be one of the most important writings about
the alternative globalization movement.
This movement supports global cultural progress and
connectivity, but rejects economic globalization, as it is seen to
have negative social and political consequences.
No Logo
discusses the concept of "branding", and the problematic issues
surrounding consumer brands. She argues that brands have
begun to try and sell consumers a lifestyle through their
products, and that multinational corporations such as Pepsi or
Nike are negatively impacting culture on a global scale.
"Glocalization"
"Glocalization," or the act of thinking globally, but acting
locally, applies to many cultures that experience American
culture through globalization. As discussed in the previous
lecture, the concept that the homogenizing effect of American
popular culture, or the power to make other cultures the same as
it through the spread of consumerism, does not always apply. It
is imperative to understand that when a dominant culture is
spread through globalization, the specific characteristics of the
culture on the receiving end of this transaction work through
developing their own meanings for the messages that are being

6. sent.
In this paper, address how Disney might be considered as a
leading force of US imperialism. Do you agree with this
concept? Why or why not? Give examples.
This paper should be 2 pages of complete content (cover page
and reference page are separate) and have in-text citations. The
paper will be in APA style (both in formatting the paper and
reference page). One scholarly article as a minimum should be
included in the paper.