American Pop Culture

Introduction

Nowadays it is obvious that America is the most influential country in the world. It dictates us all how to live, what to like and what to admire. It can be said that America somewhat manipulates our everyday behavior, but does it in a subtle way. So that we don’t even pay attention to it. So, how can this country do it so easily? Well, there are many reasons for that, but, according to my way of thinking, one of the biggest reason for this is American mass and popular culture. The U.S. pop culture is the tool that gives us the picture of how American people live, though many of us understand that this picture is not always quite sincere, and doesn’t really depict the true life Americans lead. Actually, we don’t even imagine how

Government had long ago understood the importance of pop culture, and the impact it has on its audience. It figured out that popular culture is a perfect way for reflection and manipulation. On one hand, it reflects values, traits and beliefs of the country, but on the other hand, it manipulates the myths of the same country. Action adventure films like Rambo and Air Force One, for example, reflect the myths of America as a special nation, but they also manipulate audience beliefs — such as stereotypes about different racial groups.(Nelson, A. Address to Center for Popular Culture Studies, BGSU). Country officials realize that through pop culture they can easily influence people’s emotions and use them to maximize profits. In his book “Politics and mass culture” John Street states: “Popular culture’s ability to produce and articulate feelings can become the basis of an identity, and that identity can be the source of political thought and action.” (Street, J. Politics and mass culture, Temple University Press, 1997). He mentions that in the sphere of international relationships pop culture always played, plays and will play a crucial role. America perfectly knows how to “buy” the loyalty of others with the help of mass or pop culture. The perfect example to compare this phenomena with would be the strategy of ancient Byzantium, where the foreign ambassadors, who arrived to the country, were first given an excursion in the Emperor’s palace. They were shown all the Emperor’s wonders and luxuries in order to demonstrate the wealth and the ceasars’ quality of life, and attract them to their “shiny” luxurious