Fighting Back Against American Pop Culture

One thing I find interesting is that it is viewed differently around the world. It is undeniable that American pop culture has a worldwide influence, but many countries, especially ones whose culture is very different from American culture, are beginning to fight back. This can be seen in Korea, with Hallyu and the growing popularity of Korean cultural exports in much of Asia. These countries are rejecting the influence of America, and instead seeking pop culture references that more closely reflect their own lifestyles. Unlike American pop stars, the stars of Hallyu recognize their position as ambassadors for Korean culture and they make a conscious effort to portray Korea in a positive light and to reach out to fans in other countries. These stars even learn the languages of countries where they have a large fan base so when they perform there they can sing in the native language and make a connection with the fans. This mutual appreciation is not something you see in American pop culture.

Another example is the news broadcaster Al Jazeera in the Arab world. Rather than allowing their news to come from an American station like CNN where the news is designed for American, not Arab audiences, Al Jazeera was created as a regional source of news. Now Arabs can hear their news from a network that understands their culture and knows what they are interested in hearing about. Regional media and production centers are being built all over the world to allow countries to create movies and TV shows that reflect their own culture, rather than American culture.

When talking about these topics in class, I remembered hearing about a similar movement that is going on in France, relating to French radio stations. In 1994, the French government passed a law saying that 40% of the music played on all radio stations must be French-language. This law was passed in response to fears that French culture was being diminished by the infiltration of a large amount of American music on French radio stations. To help make this law possible, the government also urged French record companies to increase their production of French music that would appeal to the young generation and compete with the popularity of American rock music. This once again illustrates how countries around the world are fighting back against the influence of American pop culture and trying to create their own brand of pop culture that will eventually have a global influence.