I think Martha Bayle's article "The Return of Cultural Diplomacy" makes a good point about American pop culture in countries around the world and whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing. Being a foreigner to the United States I have experienced the impact of its entertainment in another country. I understand how watching shows like CSI and Desperate Housewives can cause a negative perception about Americans. I would like to think that people aren’t naïve enough to believe that Americans really live these lifestyles. However, those who have never been to America have no reason to not believe; this is the entertainment America is sending them about themselves, so why not believe it?
I think spreading jazz music during the cold war probably did help cultural diplomacy at the time. However, American popular culture is different now than it was back then. Music like rap contains a lot of profane lyrics, and the TV shows and movies have many unrealistic storylines that may confuse foreigners about what Americans are really like. I enjoy American music, TV shows, and movies. However, the majority of people around the world, especially in Muslim countries may not. Therefore, I think for entertainment purposes American pop culture is great. However, I personally don’t believe it's a good source for cultural diplomacy because a lot of the time popular culture is not a realistic representation of that society.
In regards to the ethnography presentations, one thing stood out for me and that's stereotyping. One of the issues we had to address was the stereotypes we had about the cultural group. I think whenever were outsiders to a cultural group we will have preconceived notions about them. Therefore, I think this may affect our judgment about them especially when doing a project like this. This is definitely something that I will be paying attention to while working on my project.
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Yeah, I noticed that about stereotyping too. It's impossible not to have stereotypes; that's just how our brain works, it tries to categorizes things. But that doesn't excuse stereotyping. It is important to recognize stereotypes in order to separate them from your actions. And my own ethnography project has got me thinking about that too.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree about the stereotyping thing. It really bothered me that the Howard group was berated for honestly acknowledging the stereotypes that they carried into the ethnography. I found it very hypocritical that certain people acted shocked and appalled when they heard about the stereotypes, since everybody has some type of stereotype in some regard. Saying what they said does not mean they are racists, it means they are realists. They recognized their own ignorance and were not afraid to admit they were wrong.
ReplyDelete-Dylan Parker
I think that Maryam echos a good point in the article, and that our cultural exports have become a less attractive international commodity.
ReplyDeleteIt think that if Cultural Diplomacy wants to get its wings back, interested minds should really think about what other than television and music that United States can offer the silent majority of citizens living in unstable countries. How can freedom be attractive to nations on the verge again?
While we're on the topic of American culture's influence on attitudes towards America, I think it's also interesting to note that rap, in sharp contrast to previous forms of pop cultural expression, is strongly motivated by rebellion and noncompliance. In a sense, "sticking it to the man" has become the dominant message broadcast by this country, an interesting phenomenon given that the U.S. is largely seen as today's "man". Perhaps it's the very fact that a "man" is being pointed out that explains the United States' identification with it, or maybe it's simply based on an oversealous foreign policy. In any case, it becomes an interesting state of affairs when the proliferation of American pop culture no longer rallies people towards America, but rather incites them against it.
ReplyDeleteI am reminded of a period around two hundred years ago, when a similar popular movement caused rebellion among its followers. When slaves were brought to this country in the 18th and 19th centuries, they were taught Christianity by their masters in order to "civilize them". When the slaveowners later observed them singing hymns, they simply assumed that the slaves had bought into the system. In reality, however, the slaves were inspired by the Book of Exodus' messages of divine insurrection against a unjust authority, and it helped to facilitate the first connections between local religious authorities and the early abolitionist movement.
What we learn from these experiences is that we should make sure we understand our own culture, and the messages emanating from it, before we attempt to influence that of others.