Americanization has many meanings and many points of view. Thomas L. Friedman stated "globalization is in so many ways Americanization: globalization wears Mickey Mouse ears, it drinks Pepsi and Coke, eats Big Macs, does its computing on an IBM laptop with Windows 98. Many societies around the world can't get enough of it, but others see it as a fundamental threat." This statement may seem harsh and not defining the real fundamental idea of what being and living in America is all about. To America’s dismay, it does contain truth in a sense that this is how America is view by the rest of the world. It becomes easy to form and stick to this judgment of the most powerful nation in the world especially if one has never been here. According to Uzi Rebhun and Chaim I. Waxman, “Americanization is the act, or the process, of conforming to America's culture, ideologies, and material goods. It can largely be seen as an aspect of economic-technological development involving changes in lifestyle and consumer behaviors.” From this point of view, the definition of Americanization is to be like an American and in all of its aspects.
The interesting part about the two definitions is their authors and where they come from. Friedman is an American journalist and author while Uzi Rebhun and Chaim I. Waxman are Israeli writers and journalists. Their definitions may not match but they are similar in a sense that they compliment each other. Friedman’s definition states the harsh reality of being an American through an outsider’s point of view while Uzi Rebhun and Chaim I. Waxman define Americanization by becoming conscious of its power. The reality of the situation is that the majority of the world recognizes America for McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and the advancement of technology. They don’t appreciate real meaning of America, which is being an individual, have freedom, and opportunities to have a better life. At the same time, many countries want to be just like America, whether they are positive or negative features.
This brings us to an important question: why does the rest of the world want to be just like America in all regions such as political, economic, and in other forms of perception if they view us in a negative manner? The major reason for the rest of the world to want to be just like America is money and credit money. The distinguishing factor of the two is that credit money can be used to earn money. In this land, even if one doesn’t have money, they have the alternate route by borrowing credit money such as loans, which in the long run can lead them to stabilize themselves financially by putting themselves through school, investing, or start a business. The magic of this nation is that it has the power to make things happen through the many opportunities it has available. So, who is responsible for this image of America? The business of marketing. Since our reason is money, then marketing is its best friend. Since businesses such as McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Disney, and Apple have already taken over the nation of America, why not take over the world if it means more money. Marketing has become a powerful way to profit. It is also more crucial when the sources of marketing are form of entertainment because that is where the real competition between businesses is.
Marketing being such a powerful force of attraction, it can cause nations such as Israel to feel threatened. They feel threatened for a few reasons. One of them is the fear of loosing their own culture. America feels that we are spreading capitalism while the Israeli companies and people feel that we are spreading materialism. Israeli people want to be like America to a certain extent but do not want to be Americanized. They want to have money and more opportunities but do not want to loose their own identity and become another nation. “Some might argue that the most obvious sign of the Americanization of Israeli culture is the increasing number of McDonald's fast-food restaurants throughout the country” (Rebhun, Waxman). Since major business companies market their product so much, their product leaves an impression of America and it causes other factors of being an American to go unseen and unrecognized. The desire for more is leading to many Israel people fleeing to America. This is another threat to the government of Israel. The table below illustrates the emigration of Israeli people.
Yearly Average of Israeli Emigrants to the U.S., by Period of Emigration, 1990
Period of Israeli-born Foreign-born
Emigration Jews Israel is Total
Total 1,673 1,257 2,930
1950-59 667 1,421 2,088
1960-64 979 1,858 2,837
1965-69 892 1,037 1,929
1970-74 1,264 774 2,038
1975-79 1,875 1,286 3,161
1980-81 2,496 778 3,274
1982-84 2,087 615 2,701
1985-86 4,311 1,759 6,070
1987-90 4,613 1,431 6,044
Source: Adapted from Cohen and Haberfeld, "The Number of Israeli Immigrants in the United States in 1990;" 1997, p. 206, Table 4.
restrictions on their radio stations and in grocery stores to limit the amount of American products in their country. The influence of American culture on Israel is also felt in the changes that have taken place during the past several years in spoken language. English words increasingly enter Israeli vocabulary and become part of daily speech patterns. Words such as "overdraft" "deadline" "check-in" "homeless" "action" "shopping" and "baby-sitter" among many more, are now part of the local Israeli vocabulary. The adoption of English words increases exposure to American television programs and the use of technology (Rebhun, Waxman). In addition to chains of American stores and restaurants in Israel, such as McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, Office Depot, Ace Hardware, and Blockbuster Video, local businesses carry names such as "Best Buy, "Big Deal" "American Restaurant" etc. Names such as "Tom" "Lee" "Ben" "Shirley," "Betty" and "Karen" have become increasingly popular.
The topic of Americanization becomes controversial and many people of Israel become hypocrites. They want to be like America to the point where they are naming their kids American names and adopting English words. They have gone as far as developing franchises. They are living an American lifestyle by watching American television programs, eating fast food, and creating businesses resembling American one. At the same times, the government feels threatened by Americanization. Their fear has come true because kids all the way to adults are making subtle changes in their lives that resemble American lifestyle but refuse to acknowledge it. So, how bad is Americanization? If its so bad, then why do people, businesses, nations, and the rest of the world, desire to be part of it? It is the difference between want and need. Americanization tests a nation’s identity by offering everyone both.
Sources:
Friedman, Thomas L. The Lexus and the Olive Tree. 1st ed. Vol. 11. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2000.
Rebhun, Uzi. Waxman, Chaim Isaac. The "Americanization" of Israel: A Demographic, Cultural and Political Evaluation. Israel Studies - Volume 5, Number 1, Spring 2000, pp. 65-91
Adapted from Cohen and Haberfeld, "The Number of Israeli Immigrants in the United States in 1990;" 1997, p. 206, Table 4
1 comments:
This post is on you topic generally speaking, but does not fulfill the terms of the framing assignment. Go to Blackboard, re-read the assignment, and revise this work. Who are the key players? Their perspectives? Points of contention? A few other notes:
1) Be wary of being reductive. Coca Cola and McDonalds are not all that the U.S. is known for, and not everyone views it negatively.
2) Cite your research. I have trouble believing that Coca Cola bottling plants in Albania primarily made their packaging decisions based upon the popularity of the polar bear commercials. Can you substantiate these claims? What proof do you have that the French feel "used" by the American working class?
As it stands now, this post is unclear in how it fulfills the tasks outlined in the assignment and does not indicate that you've done reliable research. Intriguing topic and questions, but you need to treat this as an academic assignment.
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