Unlike Marx, who believed that the workers of the world would eventually unite and overthrow capitalism, Gramsci instead argued that culture and the media exert such a powerful influence on society that they can actually influence workers to buy into a system that is not economically advantageous to them. Strongly influenced by the theories and writings of Karl Marx, Italian philosopher and critic Gramsci originated the idea of cultural hegemony to describe the power of one group over another. To begin discussing the topic of cultural imperialism, it is important to look at the ideas of one of its founding theorists, Antonio Gramsci. From a spread of Western ideals of beauty to the possible decline of local cultures around the world, cultural imperialism can have a quick and devastating effect. However, cultural imperialism has potential negative effects as well. On one hand, foreign cultural institutions can adopt successful American business models, and corporations are largely willing to do whatever makes them the most money in a particular market-whether that means giving local people a shot at making movies, or making multicultural films such as 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire. This is neither entirely good nor entirely bad. Multinational, nongovernmental corporations can now drive global culture.
American movie studios are generally much more successful than their foreign counterparts not only because of their business models but also because the concept of Hollywood has become one of the modern worldwide movie business’s defining traits. Today, cultural imperialism tends to describe the United States’ role as a cultural superpower throughout the world. The culture was still a mix of nationalities-many Dutch and Germans settled as well-but the ruling majority of ex-Britons led British culture to generally take over. Just as imperial Britain economically ruled the American colonists, so did Britain strongly influence the culture of the colonies. In its broadest strokes, imperialism describes the ways that one nation asserts its power over another.
Identify the attributes of McDonaldization.Describe how hegemony applies to different aspects of global culture.