Analysis of the images and topics in advertising and popular television or cinema

Worldwide Influence of American Culture

Worldwide, American culture is powerful and pervasive. It is strong, and there is some concern that it will erode other nations’ national traditions. (Lynd 134). This is due to the fact that it is seen as more sophisticated and up to date than others, as well as the fact that it is a strength that others admire. The American Dream, which inspired many people to believe they could live better lives like Americans, helped make American culture more appealing to the rest of the world. During World War I, American culture started to be exported through the use of movies and music. The American popular culture spread more after the Second World War, where its culture became world spread with many nationals embracing the American lifestyle.

American Culture and Media

American culture is rampant through the media. From advertising to the favorite television shows or films, the cultural influence of America is visible. Due to its market advantage, Americans can produce millions of television films for its domestic market and also for the global market while maximizing their profits (Campbell, Neil, and Alasdair 293). Due to the availability of these television shows worldwide the spread of the American culture is quickly done. This is made possible by the significant number of English speakers in most countries. The United States of America also has a considerable advantage when it comes to innovation. It is usually the base of new communication production either through invention or by improving on already existing communication technologies. For example, the use of cable television made it possible for the American media to expand their services globally thus resulting in spreading of their cultural influence to the countries where their programs are aired. The populous nature of the American television shows makes it appealing to the global audience who pick up the cultural traits of the Americans from them. This is made possible because the characters in the shows are easy to identify with thus increasing their popularity among the general public of various nationalities.

The Influence of American Films

American films have a significant global acceptance rate as they account for the most shown films in the world. The dominant nature of the American cinema in the global market has made it for secure for the American culture to spread beyond its borders. It is common for individuals who have not yet been to the United States to have the feeling that they can identify with the people in America and hence identify with them (Liden 67). Thus, making it easy to identify with the American culture through the watching of the American films. Viewing of the movie brings about stereotypes about the American people which may be termed as American culture by people who have not been to America to get to know how it is in real life. Images that are seen on the television seem appealing to the global viewers thus making one feel they understand the American culture. . For example, in films such as ’the fosters’ a teenager from outside the United States may identify with the characters in the film because it shows just how a normal American family lives their lives and the normal things teenagers go through. After identifying with the film characters, an individual may end up practicing what they see, and thus the American cultural influence impacts them.

Issues Arising from American Advertisements and Television Shows

There are several issues that arise from the advertisements and popular television shows of American origin. The Americans are predominantly individualistic, and through their television shows, this cultural trend tends to rub on globally even on individuals from cultures which are predominantly collectivist (Oyserman, Daphna, and Spike 76). This may give rise to generational conflicts where the older generation is more aligned to their traditional culture as opposed to the younger generation which is following the modern trends which they view as appealing such the American culture. Violence and sexual promiscuity are additional issues that come up from the American television shows. Global viewing of some of these shows with themes on violence promotes violence as it is seen as a normal thing especially if repercussions of being violent was not featured in the film. This leads to propagation of violence in the society. Sexual promiscuity is also a common feature in the American films. Its effect is that it makes it seem cool. Due to the dominant nature of the American culture and the view that it’s the best sexual promiscuity tends to be appealing to the viewers and the consequences include the high rate of divorce and teenage pregnancies. The films also feature hardworking individuals. This promotes hard work culture especially in teenagers who find it alluring to work like the teenagers they see in the American television films. Advertisements also bring about universal appeal to the advertised products thus making people from different cultural background identify with it, and in the end, it results into new cultural identity. Therefore, American advertisements and television films play a huge role in the cultural influence it spreads to the global community.

Works Cited

Oyserman, Daphna, and Spike WS Lee. “Does culture influence what and how we think? Effects of priming individualism and collectivism.” (2008): 311.

Lynd, Robert Staughton. Knowledge for what: The place of social science in American culture. Princeton University Press, 2015.

Campbell, Neil, and Alasdair Kean. American cultural studies: an introduction to American culture. Routledge, 2016.

Liden, Robert C., et al. “Servant leadership and serving culture: Influence on individual and unit performance.” Academy of Management Journal 57.5 (2014): 1434-1452.