Reflection 4

Audrey Beedle

COMM 211 – Reflection 4

            Chapter 9 was about Intercultural Communication and Popular Culture.  I really enjoyed doing my Discussion Facilitation on this chapter, and it allowed me to really dive into the subject matter and get creative with displaying it for the class.  It ended up being slightly different than what I was expecting to learn about.  Popular culture is not always given the time of day it deserves.  It is such a big part of our daily lives, especially as Americans, and it seems to get forgotten in the conversation of culture.  It certainly functions as a unique form of culture, but nonetheless, it is legitimate and deserves study and understanding.

            I was especially struck by the notion of U.S. power in pop culture and cultural imperialism.  The United States has a strong presence in pop culture all over the world.  It is hard to see that from here, but when you travel, it is unavoidable.  For example, when I was in rural Nepal, villages of people who live off almost nothing but the land, it was even present.  Buses that drove by were colorfully painted with Hindu and Buddhist symbols alongside American advertisements, sometimes even spelled wrong.  Images of the Nike swoosh, Michael Jackson, McDonald’s arch, Wal-Mart logos, and choppy English phrases, the list goes on and on.  My older sister, who lives in Kathmandu, Nepal, pointed out what seemed to be a recycling bin to us on the side of the street.   When you looked inside it was filled with trash and other waste.  She explained that they copy what they see in images and videos of the U.S. but do not fully understand the purpose of it; they just want it to look like what is in the Western World.  There was certainly no recycling service in the streets of Nepal.

 This is the actual basket I mentioned! ^^^^^^^^

               Another example was when Rikki and I were stuck at an airport hotel in Istanbul, Turkey.  As we settled in after a long day of traveling, we switched on the TV, expecting to see various Turkish news stations, soap operas, and movies.  Instead we were bombarded with American television!  We watched MTV music videos from our hotel room in Istanbul, Turkey.  Although I had experienced this massive American influence hands-on, it was interesting to actually read about research and statistics that have been gathered on the issue.