Cultural Imperialism

The most interesting topic we talked about this week was cultural imperialism.
Cultural imperialism is one culture, especially Western culture, erodes the other cultures and values. America or Western countries are seen to dominate the world capitalism and their popular culture; Hollywood, the English language, and companies that include Nike and MacDonald are some examples that show western cultural imperialism over the world (http://wiki.media-culture.org.au/index.php/Cultural_Imperialism_-_The_Internet)
For example, in the global music industry, the majority of music is sung in English -mostly by American artists. If one becomes a star in America, the one can be a star all over the world.
Cultural imperialism has been people's concern, but now the trends are mixed: in the course of westernization, many countries also fight with it to protect their own local cultures.

MacDonald are scattered all over the world. Because of this, so-called, American fast food, people's eating habits must have been changed in many cultures. However, each culture has its own local menu to meet the interests of the local people. For example, in the class, we already know that the MacDonald in Korea has Bulgogi burger. Similarly, MacDonald in Japan has Teriyaki burger and a green tea shake and also there is a rival company called MOS burger, which has the fast food with a little higher quality than MacDonald and has more kinds of burgers that Japanese might prefer. And in India, they have the Maharaja Mac, a Big Mac made of lamb or chicken instead of beef, because the Hindu people do not eat beef.
MacDonald represents American cultural imperialism over the world, but many countries do not simply accept the American culture. They devise some ways to keep their own local culture and meet the local interest.
MOS Burger

As to the movie industries, the United States has played a dominant role in the phenomenon of
cultural imperialism. Hollywood movies are seen throughout the world.
But we have to remember that it is not only one way street. Many other countries contribute to the movies in the global marketplace; especially these days, Hollywood is more open to foreign countries and they remake other countries' films.
As far as I know, there are many American remakes of Japanese horror movies: The Ring (2003), The Grudge (2004), Dark Water (2005), SILENT HILL (2006), One Missed Call (2008). And there are also remakes of Japanese movies from other genres: Shall We Dance? (2004), Eight Below (2006).




Now many other cultures are increasingly producing their own cultural and media products that succeed both domestically and on the global market. The cultural imperialism is not simply Westernization or Americanization today. The phenomenon is more complicated and mixed than might be apparent at first sight. Local cultures are resistant to the wave of Western culture and also Western industries now develop the strategies to cope with the local cultures, not merely threatening them.