Media Imperialism
The effects that products from one
country can have on the culture of another are hard to describe. Some products
like movies and literature can portray significantly different cultures than
those present in many places of the world today. Media imperialism is defined
by Martin and Nakayama as “domination or control through media.” It is
important to understand media imperialism because many U.S. media products are
marketed internationally. These products could become the source of tension
between two different cultures, like the United States and Iran.
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| Example of media that may offend Iranian culture |
The
government of Iran makes sure that only Iranian broadcasts are televised to its
citizens. This is the definition of media imperialism; the Iranian government
is controlling exactly what kind of media, culture, is being displayed. From
the Iranian standpoint, they are safe-guarding the Iranian culture from foreign
influences. Also, the Iranian government may be trying to prevent foreign
cultures from taking control through media.
To
understand better the Iranian point of view, consider aerial propaganda
leaflets. These allow for communication with enemy troops in their own native
language. Similar leaflets have been used for centuries to persuade enemy
forces to give up their arms or defect from their cause. Now, Iran may be
imposing its own media imperialism to prevent its citizens from realizing how
certain aspects of their government should be amended.
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| Iraqi Leaflet: "Dumping oil poisons your waterway, family." |
With
this knowledge I have gained about media imperialism, I have a greater
understanding of the impact media has on our daily lives. Not only does media
affect our daily decisions and how we interact with our locality, but it also
affects how our locality influences, or is influenced by, foreign places. If
you would like to see examples of past and current propaganda leaflets used in
conflicts the U.S. has been a part of, click here.
References:
Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2009). Intercultural
Communication in Contexts. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Media has had such a daily impact on our lives for a long time and this goes hand in hand with media imperialism. I had no idea about the country of Iran controlling the things that are broadcasted within the country to their citizens. Different countries could display distorted views of one another if they see advertisements of popular culture items within their means of broadcasting. Great post Geoffrey!
ReplyDeleteMedia is all over no matter where you go! Great topic to choose and you gave a lot of good information. Nice job on relating it also.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. I think considering Iran and countries that control the media in their countries is a good way to apporach this topic. It is also interesting to consider the changing technologies and social networking. It has become more difficult to fully shield citizens of Iran from the rest of the world, though still possible through blocking websites.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what happens in countries where the cultural is so strictly controlled (such as Iran), and people actively try to resist. What culture is left?
DeleteThe book had some interesting points when it explained the US impact in media. It is interesting to think of that as possible our main export, especially when we owe so much money to other countries. I wonder if that is taken into account as having a material value for the nation.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to imagine the impact of media imperialism when we live in a country that is so dominated by media. And my question is similar to Jake's. What does happen to a culture that is so strictly controlled when it comes to media? Are they completely dominated by folk culture? Great blog and very interesting!
ReplyDeleteLove the image from American Dad.
ReplyDelete