Should The Canadian Identity Be Saved From The American Imperialism


by Mary Anne Winslow - Date: 2006-12-02 - Word Count: 491 Share This!

Historically, individual cultures existed relatively independent of one another. Media outlets operated on a local or national level without interference from neighboring countries or large corporations. The public sphere was shaped by units such as national cinemas, national newspapers, and state-owned public television. Today, however, the mass media operates on an increasingly global scale. This trend towards globalization is often attributed to the rise of huge, 'monopolistic' media outlets where a very small percentage of individuals and corporations dominate the majority of the world's media. As cultural and communications systems are becoming increasingly global and international, the preservation of national, local and distinct cultures is still important. In other words, scholars argue that globalization of media is just another word replacing 'cultural imperialism', or even, 'Americanization' and that as a result, the media will no longer remain agents of the public, but become representatives of a corporation.

Cultural imperialism can be defined as when one culture either attempts to control or force its own ideologies onto another culture through the use of the media. Scholars assert that "as a so-called global economy spreads, breaking down nationalistic barriers for production, distribution, and consumption, thousands of formal and informal culture and political rules are under assault." The globalization of media can result in bias, as specific groups of people outside of the so-called status quo can become entirely neglected or misrepresented. As individual communities absorb foreign information, their own culture is weakened, and a new, uniform culture emerges at their expense. The heavy importation of international foreign media can have disastrous outcomes as individual cultural outlets are vulnerable to stronger media giants seeking to absorb their social and cultural distinctions in pursuit local outlets that aid in cultural preservation will face considerable competition and as a result, will have difficulty surviving in the wake of the new global ideal.

Countries such as Canada, which do not have a singular defining culture, are perhaps the most vulnerable to the forces of globalization. These countries lack the unified cultural identity to successfully combat the demands of globalization. Canada at its basic level is a country divided into two main languages and backgrounds - English and French. Additionally, the country is also a mosaic of varying cultures from across the globe. Frederick Fletcher studies the effects of globalization on Canada and Quebec and concludes that, "because Canada lacks a powerful unifying myth, it has been particularly vulnerable to external cultural influences, whether from the United States, or a more global culture." Canada as a nation is particularly susceptible to the negative cultural consequences of globalization due to its geographical and cultural closeness with its hegemonic neighbor. Subsequently, it is suggested that any nation or place that hosts more than one main culture system will have inherently internal divisions and will therefore, be unduly influenced by media intake from other centers. As stated above, the existing relationship between Canada and the United States is a primary example. of global capitalism.


Related Tags: american, identity, canadian, imperialism

Mary Anne Winslow is a member of Essay Writing Service counselling department team and a dissertation writing consultant. Contact her to get free counselling on custom essay writing.

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