CRITIQUES OF

CULTURAL
IMPERIALISM
◦Proponents of the idea of
cultural imperialism ignored
the fact that media
messages are not just made
by producers but are also
consumed by audiences.
◦ Media consumers
view media “texts”
through their own
cultural lenses.
◦ In 1985, Ien Ang
studied how viewers in
Netherlands
experienced watching
an American soap
opera Dallas
Dallas
(TV Series 1978–1991)
◦In 1990, Elihu Katz
and Tamar Liebes
pushed Ang’s
analysis further
◦ Russians think it
contained American
propaganda
◦ American viewers think
that it was primarily
about the lives of the rich
◦The cultural
imperialism thesis has
been belied by the
renewed strength of
regional trends in the
globalization process.
◦ The observation
even applies to
culinary tastes
◦ Globalization is an
unidirectional process
of foreign cultures
overwhelming local
ones.
◦ Globalization will
remain an uneven
process, and it will
produce inequalities.
◦ It leaves room for
dynamism and
cultural change.
◦This is not a
contradiction; it is
merely a testament to
the phenomenon’s
complexity.