Identify and Briefly Explain Three Ways in Which the Mass Media May Contribute to “Cultural Imperialism”

The mass media has been pivotal in supporting the cultural imperialism of the western culture across the world, by displaying western ideals. The media, from the internet to the news, often alienates foreign cultures by making the primary language spoken English as well as making other cultures such as Arabic and Islamic cultures seem brutish, causing many people to either further alienate the culture or to symbolically annihilate it. This is also seen in African countries where many people haven’t even used a computer, let alone used the internet, thus leaving them alienated from the western society.

Globalization, and the spread of massive corporations such as McDonalds, has further supported the rise of the western culture, especially in eastern countries such as India and Japan where it is now very common place for there to be a larger chain in a major city. This spread of culture can also be seen in the globalization of fashion, with trendy styles from countries like the US and the UK being more present in Eastern cultures. This also links to the idea of cultural appropriation where western culture has started “adopting” small parts of other cultures and inevitably causing it to become appropriated into the larger, global society.

Another way that media has contributed to cultural imperialism is the symbolic annihilation of other cultures, with western television becoming more prevalent in other societies, as well as the news showing more and more western oriented news. Eastern culture hasn’t been totally annihilated but a lot of Latina cultures have been annihilated causing those who still identify under them to feel alienated from society. This is very common in the US where lots of Mexican culture is frowned upon and often criminalized by the wider society.