Paul Lauter has argued that ‘the globalization of American culture requires the localization of its study’ (Lauter 2001: 35). Explore the implications of this statement with regard to the workings of an aspect of American popular culture in the world in which you live. In particular, pay attention both to the production process as well as to the act of consumption. To what extent is consumption constrained by the way in which a specific cultural product is structured and distributed? How do specific historical, political or social contexts affect the reception of American culture?
Examine Arjun Appadurai’s suggestion that ‘images of the media are quickly moved into local repertoires of irony, anger, humour, and resistance’ (Appadurai 1996:7). How might this relate to the consumption of cultural products such as music, television and film?
To what extent do you think the attempted re-assertion of American military power in the world after the September 11th attacks affected arguments about how American culture is consumed? To what extent do you think cultural Anti-Americanism is linked to the conduct of American foreign policy? Try to make connections between the issues discussed in Chapter 9 about the exercise of American political and military power, and the processes of Americanisation.
Using your local environment as a resource, go out with a digital camera and record how the cultural landscape has been Americanised. Examine leisure, retail, fast food outlets, supermarkets, billboards and fashion. All these are sources of imagery and ideas that can then be analysed in the light of readings and debates suggested in this chapter. Produce a photographic essay with analysis on the themes of local Americanisation.
Assess the relationship between new social media and the processes of Americanisation. By August 2015 over a billion people were using Facebook in a single day. How does this connect with the issues discussed in chapter 10?
Does the proliferation of trans-national media outlets suggest that the era of dominant Americanisation may be coming to an end or does it provide fresh opportunities for the spread of distinctively American forms of popular culture?
Explore the impact of specific areas of American popular culture like music, Hollywood, television on other societies. How have they been resisted or accommodated?
Has the development of new media technologies provided the opportunity for fresh forms of surveillance and regulation rather than liberation? Examine the debate over the strategies of the National Security Agency, both in America and abroad.
Pew Global Attitudes Project - An extensive range of surveys of international opinion on key issues, including assessment of the United States.