Everything about Americanization totally explained
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
American culture. When encountered unwillingly or perforce, it has a negative connotation; when sought voluntarily, it has a positive connotation. Before the mid-twentieth century, however, Americanization referred to the process by which immigrants became American.
Media
The spread of American media including
TV,
film 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 20 countries. Many of these distributors broadcast mainly American programming on their TV channels. According to a recent survey by Radio Times
The Simpsons,
Lost and
Desperate Housewives are among the most watched shows, with being the most watched show among the surveyed 20 countries. American films are also extremely popular globally. All of the top 20 grossing films ever are American made or have an American influence, either through publishers, cast or financiers. Titanic is currently the biggest grossing film worldwide without adjusting for inflation, it currently holds the top grossing film title in various countries including
Britain,
Germany,
France,
Spain among others. Adjusting for inflation, the highest grossing film of all time is
Gone with the Wind. Often part of the negotiating in free trade agreements between the America and other nations involve
screen quotas. One such case is
Mexico, after abolishing their screen quotas after the establishment of
NAFTA with the US. Recently Korea has agreed to reduce its quota under pressure from America as part of a free trade deal. Many American artists are known throughout the world, artists such as
Frank Sinatra,
Michael Jackson and
Elvis Presley are recognised worldwide and have sold over 500 million albums each. Michael Jackson's album
Thriller, at 100 million sales, is the biggest selling album of all time.
The song "
Amerika" by the German rock band
Rammstein is often seen as a
satire of Americanization. It has received mixed reviews: some perceive it as anti-American, others as being opposed to
globalization. The band views it as a satirical commentary on "
cocacolonization."
On a similar aspect the leftist rock band
Rage Against the Machine released a song
No Shelter in its 1999 album
The Battle of Los Angeles.
American business and brands
Of the top ten global brands seven are based in the United States.
Coca Cola, which holds the top spot, is often viewed as a symbol of Americanization. Coca Cola has vending machines in over 200 countries worldwide. Of the 25 biggest companies, thirteen are based in the United States. Many of these companies can be viewed as selling Americanized products. Many of the world's biggest computer companies are also American, such as
Microsoft,
Apple Inc.,
Dell, and
IBM. Much of the software used world wide is created by American based companies. The two largest personal computer companies, Dell and Hewlett Packard, which maintain over 30% of the market, are American based.
Fast food
Fast food, along with
Coca Cola, are often viewed as being symbols of American dominance and influence. Companies such as
Starbucks,
McDonalds,
Burger King,
KFC,
Dominos Pizza, among others have numerous outlets around the world. The success of these American companies has led to the spread of localised fast food restaurants.
Humor
In
Sweden, there's a humorous expression stating that it's the most Americanized country in the world, and that the USA is number two.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Americanization'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://americanization.totallyexplained.com">Americanization Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
