Cultural Imperialism

Cultural Imperialism 1898: "Ten Thousand Miles From Tip to Tip." This political cartoon shows the extent of U.S. domination (symbolized by a bald eagle stretching from Puerto Rico to the Philippines).

Imperialismis the policy of extending the control or authority over foreign entities as a means of acquisition and/or maintenance of empires. Cultural imperialismis the practice of promoting the culture or language of one nation in another. Definitions

1846-1848 The Mexican-American War is often viewed as imperialistic Early Imperialism and the United States • 1898 Spanish American War, 1899-1913 Philippine-American War. • In the Philippines, the U.S. killed more than 1 million people. Army General Shefter said: "It may be necessary to kill half of the Filipinos in order that the remaining half of the population may be advanced to a higher plane of life than their present semi-barbarous state affords." Latin America 1898-1998The U.S. has invaded Cuba five times, Honduras four times, Panama four times, the Dominican Republic twice, Haiti twice, Nicaragua twice and Grenada once

The Anti-Imperialist League was formed in the United States against the annexation of the Philippines. Among the writers of that time was Mark Twain, vice president of the League from 1901 until his death in 1910. Mark Twain wrote an essay entitled To the Person Sitting in Darkness. This essay sparked a nationwide controversy. Teddy Roosevelt and the Panama Canal. Now that America's empire stretched from the Caribbean across the Pacific, the idea of a canal between the two oceans took on new urgency. President Teddy Roosevelt embodies imperialism with his actions in digging the canal. Arguments Pro and Con for Imperialism

An American baby food jar with a smiling baby on the label caused African villagers to be horrified. They thought that "the jar must contain food not made for babies, but made of babies". This anecdote illustrates how imperialistic discourses fail to take account how other cultures will adapt and understand messages that are outside their own cultural framework. They often adapt to their own purposes the values found in other cultures Cultural Imperialism Today

The Gods Must Be Crazy

When Coca Cola was first marketed in China in the 1920's, the name was translated phonetically ("ke-kou-ke-la) to mean "female horse stuffed with wax" or "bite the wax tadpole" depending on the dialect. It was quickly revised to sound more like "happiness in the mouth." The affects of cultural imperialism = cultural misunderstandings

Nike made a television ad promoting it's shoes, with people from different countries saying "Just do it" in their native language. Too late they found out that a Samburu African tribesman was really saying, "I don't want these” Cultural misunderstandings • Ford’s low cost truck the Fiera meant "ugly old woman" in Spanish. It's Caliente in Mexico was found to be slang for "streetwalker." The Pinto was introduced in Brazil under the name of Corcel which was discovered to be Portuguese slang for "a small male appendage."

Chicken-man Frank Perdue's slogan, "It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken," was remarkably mistranslated into Spanish. A picture of Perdue with a chicken appeared on billboards all over Mexico with the caption, "It takes a man to make a chicken aroused.” Cultural Misunderstandings • One beer company put its slogan, "Turn It Loose," into Spanish, where it was read as "Suffer From Diarrhea."

When President George Bush went to Japan, he made explicit and direct demands on Japanese leaders. To the Japanese it is a sign of ignorance or desperation to lower oneself to make direct demands. Some analysts believe it severely damaged the negotiations and confirmed to the Japanese that Americans are barbarians Larger Repercussions

The dominant culture often imposes its beliefs, using force to back them up. One race, ethnicity, or group is often margainilzed based on its identity. Imperial Side Affects:Violence, Enslavement, War, Genocide The Dark Side of Imperialism

Cultural influence can be seen by the "receiving" culture as either a threat to or an enrichment. However, the dominant culture’s attitude is often that as a conquered nation, those peoples are inferior. Destroying Culture Edward Said has argued that in accumulating territories and peoples, empires classify them, verify them; but above all, they subordinate them.

90% of traffic worldwide on the Internet is in English Most information and entertainment products are produced by a few, increasingly powerful American companies American movies, television, and music are popular throughout the world. Many argue that these serve to inculcate populations with American values while at the same time destroying indigenous cultures Today:will the Internet be another source of cultural imperialism?

The Internet allows people to continue to participate in their "local" culture no matter where in the world they are. The Internet can be a tool for the preservation and celebration of culture BUT…it can also be argued that...

http://www.css.edu/users/dswenson/web/335ARTIC/CULTCOMM.HTM http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_imperialism http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cache:QA5vnazH5UYJ:www.waikato.ac.nz/film/student/2002/shackelessay.htm+cultural+imperialism+anecdote&hl=en Sources

Cultural Imperialism