Peter Shr - Week 8 - American Entertainment
The USA’s focus on entertainment is huge, representing a third of the 2.32 trillion USD global media and entertainment industry. This reflects not only the prominence of entertainment within American society but also the scope of Americanization throughout the world. But how did the US come to have such a large entertainment industry? I think it comes to the nation’s abundant resources and its emphasis on artistic freedom.
The late 1800s was a time of rapid technological advancement, hope, and expanding mass culture. The time of relative peace gave countries the freedom to pursue entertainment. The earliest films began in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They were black and white, silent, and had simple plots. This radical new form of entertainment displayed everyday events as well as singing, dancing, and music and quickly gained popularity. Theaters thrived with moving films projected by the Vitascope, one of the many devices Edison’s company made to satisfy the American public. Hollywood became the film capital of the world in the 1920s, making the majority of American films and consisting of wealthy stars like Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks. The abundance of land, capitalistic opportunities, demand for entertainment, and the lower classes' growing ability to pay for nonessential goods all contribute to fostering America's media industry earlier than other nations.
The same patterns appear in the development of other forms of entertainment. The first successful arcade video games, Spacewars! and Atari Pong, came from the US, and now the nation shares the largest portion of the global video game annual revenue. The US not only patented the first phone (with Alexander Graham Bell), but it also created the first smartphone, the Simon Personal Communicator, as well as the largest current smartphone company, Apple. The amount of social media companies based in the US displays America’s dominance in online media. While these are parts of varying industries, they all indicate the US's ability to invent and embrace new forms of leisure, leading to a cycle of growing demand and production.
This all serves to illustrate the range of Americanization, which has many other factors. The US's history in war, imperialism, and social Darwinism certainly played a role in spreading American ideals, as many countries depended on the US for trade or allies. These countries’ native cultures then gave way to the English language and entertainment. Companies like McDonald’s also expanded to a global audience, spreading American culture along the way. However, on the topic of the entertainment industry, the US had a head start. Other nations’ fledgling film industries reached fewer people, as consumers could enjoy American classics instead. Many talented filmmakers sought more expansive opportunities in Hollywood, furthering the gap in entertainment output between nations. Eventually, the US went on to create phenomena that took the world by storm. For example, the Star Wars franchise captures a very “American” statement. It criticizes a representation of the government in a vividly imaginative fashion, symbolizing America’s openness to creative entertainment.
Hi Peter! I agree with your message that America’s dominance in the international entertainment market is largely due to its emphasis on artistic freedom. However, I feel that other country’s entertainment industries are beginning to catch up to Hollywood; one of the biggest examples that comes to mind is Japan. Anime is gaining popularity throughout the world (even in America), and the movie industry is also growing. I recently watched Godzilla: Minus One, and it has honestly become one of my favorite movies, even though it was entirely in Japanese—the acting, CGI, and storyline were all exquisite. The growing competition that Hollywood faces internationally can likely be attributed to the very things that made America dominant at first—new inventions and forms of leisure. In the modern day, America is no longer the only place where technologies are being invented, since multiple foreign countries are equally as economically and technologically prosperous as the US now; the result of this is that American dominance in the international entertainment market will continue to decrease as time passes. However, as you explained in your blog post, much of the world has been Americanized by prominent American media, and this effect is unlikely to change quickly. On another note, I really liked the structure of your blog post this week because it clearly separated your main points from the examples you were giving to support those points.
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ReplyDeleteHi Peter! I really liked how you tied in the topic of movies into America, not just saying that the movie industry within America was massive, but instead depicting the process in which America became the global leader in the movie and entertainment industry. Unlike other countries, America never really had a very strong legacy, past, or defined culture, except for maybe Native Americans, who, instead of being accepted, were persecuted by the colonists. Thus, I find the current cultural dominance that America seemingly holds over other countries very surprising. For example, many Asian countries like to replicate Western entertainment, restaurants, and music. America's cultural boom, as well as its economic success and resource abundance in the 19th to 20th century, as you describe it, provides a very reasonable explanation for the current influence that America holds over other countries today. However, I feel like the opposite is currently becoming true. Many other countries are slowly closing the gap in Hollywood and other entertainment dominance. As more and more immigrants move to America, the influence that other cultures have on the U.S. also becomes stronger. For example, a lot of Asian media, such as anime and light novels, have become a lot more popular in recent ages, representing Japanese dominance over the 2-D animation industry. Chinese restaurants are popping up everywhere around the U.S., and have been popularized in America. Every day, more and more European movies are being shown in American theaters. Many American movies have begun an obsession with Western European settings. I believe the entertainment industry will become increasingly diverse and varied as the global network continues to strengthen.
ReplyDeleteOverall, your blog was written very well. Without being too roundabout, you captured a lengthy, and clearly well-thought-out topic in a short amount of words. In addition, your transitions, such as movies to other entertainment, and then to reasoning for Americanization, were very smooth and natural.