The Media And Its Effects On The Global World - 1550 Words

In a globalized society, commodities, ideologies, and hegemonic forces are constantly transferred from a dominating power onto other cultures with lesser global influence. The Disney media conglomerate yields an unprecedented amount of control over the means of media consumption on a global scale. As Souad Belkyr proposes in â€Å"Disney animation: Global diffusion and local appropriation of culture,† â€Å"Disney products function as an apparatus that potentially prescribe consumerist ideologies and individualistic ethics beneficial to the US as a group in power over dominated and less powerful groups† (Belkyr 705). Disney not only owns major television networks such as ABC and ESPN, but also has control over radio stations, and targets the†¦show more content†¦Based on Lee’s argument, Disney’s cultural imperialism is a mode for inserting American cultural values in their products, but what does cultural imperialism mean? According to the Cambri dge dictionary, cultural imperialism is â€Å"the fact of the culture of a large and powerful country, organization, etc. having a great influence on another less powerful country, etc.† (English Definition). In the documentary, Mickey Mouse Monopoly, Disney is expressed as having major influences on national and international culture; shaping and sometimes policing their market image to better represent their cultural imperialism (Mickey Mouse Monopoly). Now that it’s been established Disney has tremendous influence on cultures in a global fashion through hegemony, and imposes the dominant cultural ideas through their products; how does Disney contribute to cultural homogenization? Cristina Lim describes homogenization of culture as â€Å"a result of cultural imperialism where the dominant countries impose upon other countries their beliefs, values, knowledge, norms and style of life† (Lim 21). It has already been established that Disney does incorporate cultur al imperialism, so the dominant values