Popular culture consists of beliefs, practices, and objects that are part of the everyday traditions of a culture or subculture. It is also a powerful political tool as it is able to produce and articulate feelings which can shape people’s thinking and form the public opinion of people from all over the world. As a result, the US uses it to influence the internal policy of the Middle East countries. America influences it by using “soft” instruments of power that is the American-style higher education, the mass media, and Hollywood. These tools present the American values as open, democratic, individualistic, free, and liberal that are considered to be attractive by the majority of people. Although some experts claim that American cultural influence …show more content…
According to QS Top University Rankings Worldwide, in the top 5, there are two American-style education Universities they are American University of Beirut and American University in Cairo. Moreover, they claim that the Internet is effective propaganda tool that makes American influence in the Middle East countries stronger. According to the internet world stats, there were 49,400,000 Facebook subscribers in the Middle East on Nov 15, 2015. It follows that Facebook is the most popular social network with 94% of the Middle East’s social media users. Besides, the influence of Hollywood is hard to overlook as it dominates the global movie market and the Middle East region is not an exception. Hollywood television shows broadcast across the Middle East are proving to be effective “agents of influence” in the ongoing battle over hearts and minds of ordinary people in the region. Talk-Diva Oprah Winfrey’s show is just as popular in Kuwait as it is in the California. Dramas like “Desperate Housewives” and “Grey’s Anatomy” make people sit behind their television screens, just like in America. (Fraser) On the whole, all these tools create an attractive image of American culture and people in the Middle East continue to consume it helping to successfully spread American values and beliefs in the