Americanization is the United States’ influence on other countries’ cultures. The world’s culture will eventually turn out to have its reference on the American culture. Practically, the world’s business practices, cuisine, and even the political techniques tend to approach that of the American culture. The American media, art, fashion and education system have become adopted by many countries of the world.
The American entertainment culture is very wide. It ranges from television programs, music, writing and other forms of art. The TV listings, radio presentations and the videos playing in the local cinemas are mostly American regardless of the country location in the world. Pulling out a computer game, or even an online search lands one into the American influence on the culture. Indisputably, the world’s culture is tending to be converted to have an identity of the American culture.
The integration of American entertainment cultures to the rest of the world’s culture is mainly due to innovation. Often, it is in the United States that emerging forms of communication have been invented and perfected. The American TV networks set the foundation for the first international network for news- CNN. The entertainment culture introduced a zoo of new programs including soap operas, game shows, situation comedies and mystery shows. America’s cultural influence has also been through movies. The word “Hollywood” itself conjures visions of Oscar nights, western gunslingers and other movie stars. All around the world, the movie industries emulate the techniques of movie production that characterize the American setting.
In the popular world of literature, American authors are certainly well-liked. Other world authors emulate these authors and their writing culture. Mainly, it is because of English being the first language in the American culture. Other countries adopt the same culture. The printing press and the internet being invented in American contributed to the relation between culture and the language sharing a meeting point of historical traditions. These traditions manage collective memory and oversee the event interpretations with authority. Young children in schools are introduced to English using the American literature by-passing their first language. Consequently, the American culture is incorporated in all other cultures of the world.
American popular music did conquer the world in the last century. The list of impressive American music appreciated all over the world include Rhythm and blues, hip- hop and rap, rock and roll. These are the American genres of music that have swept across the globe. Introduction of internet downloads and MTV stations led to the international music distribution. As such, the American entertainment culture ingrained in music has made part of other world cultures.
America added its energy and creativity to the edge cutting artistic culture and never has it relinquished this position. Despite the fact that modern artists belong to a global art community, making them impossible to sort by nationality, America remains at the activities’ center. American art gets upheld by the wonderful museums and art collections spread across the American nation. The American art culture has not only spread globally but has also become appreciated where many nations base the growth of their art in museums and other art collections on the American setting.
In the sports culture, one may argue that American football and baseball get played only in the country. The American and British games, soccer and rugby, have similar origins, but they developed in separate ways, and the British ones became more international. However, the American sports culture will still be the world’s culture. Looking at the international games, American does dominate in athletics. Basketball, an invention in the United States of America, has become a world sport. Youths in all the world nations have accepted and possessed the sport as a game in their sports culture. The fact that baseball and American football are not the world’s favorite sports does in no way rule out the possibility of them becoming a basis of the world’s sporting culture (Cismas 389). The complexity of the American sport will lead to an appreciation by the rest of the world which has recently sought the complexity of such games to improve on the related indigenous sport. Eventually, the American sport becomes the culture in the rest of the world.
When American business culture is introduced to a different nation’s culture, there tends to be an inferiority in the local products market. American products and way of business get deemed as a negative culture, and some people tend to oppose this culture. However, the fact that the American business culture is opposed due to the competition it sets among the existing culture will lead to its gradual appreciation. Different business entities will secretly but fully embrace the cultures in American business to match the competition in the market. A nation’s company that seeks to go international will embrace the culture of the most dominant business culture which happens to be that of America.
Politically, America is committed to its democracy and observes equality in institutions and law. The American dream, culture and their way of life epitomize what is most up-to-date, thus becoming more internationally embraced and imported to most countries around the world (Pells 247). As such, the national traditions and identities fade away, and the American democratic culture sets in.
In the American culture, festivals are part and parcel of it. The Christmas holiday is a season in the United States. One may argue that Christmas was celebrated all over the world by Christians. Some people believe the Christmas season is not influenced by the American culture, but I beg to differ. The existence of the culture of celebrating Christmas may not be linked to the American culture in any way, but all the current practices in modern day celebrations are. For most children, Santa Claus, who is the origin of America’s festive culture, defines Christmas all around the globe. Practices such as feasting, going for holiday and shopping has been an opportunity for businesses to experience their peak seasons (Carmen 392). Worldwide, advertisements are spurred in the festive season, a culture that is American.
People consider the American education system biased. Some people feel that adopting the American education system would totally complicate the existing systems. The education culture appears divided between the rich and the middle class. Such a group of people feel that the American culture is not part of their education culture. Unknown to them, the education system comprises of the most viable practices. Scholars who left their nations and attended American institutions of higher learning explicitly display how much ingrained the American culture is. Surprisingly, the same people who are of the idea that American culture has not infiltrated their education culture are normally in support of further studies abroad.
A global look at the fashion industries reveals that they have conformed to the American code of dressing and as the American dress changes, so does the fashion in the other nations (Franklin and Steiner 56). The fashion may necessarily not be acceptable to the older generation, but the fact that they are being phased out retains the appreciation of American culture by the younger generation.
American culture is so variegated and vibrant that it attracts millions of the ordinary people worldwide. It is also very accessible and entertaining to the ordinary people. The elite can control it and its influence on other cultures in other nations of the world. Given that the American cultural industry will still continue spreading into the future, all governments need to conform in as much as they maintain their existing cultures (Brendon 160).
Works Cited
Cismas, Suzana C. “Impact of American culture on other cultures: Language and cultural identity.” Recent Advances in Artificial Intelligence, Knowledge Engineering And Data Bases, 2010: 388-393. Web. Retrieved from http://www.wseas.us/e-library/conferences/2010/Cambridge/AIKED/AIKED-61.pdf
Franklin, Wayne, and Michael Steiner, eds. American Land and Life Series: Mapping American culture. Lowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1992. Print.
O’Connor, Brendon. “Bored with USA?” Print.
Pells, Richard. “Does The World Still Care About American Culture?” The Chronicle of Higher Education. The Chronicle Review, 55.26 (2009). Print.
