Interpretation Of The History Of Contemporary American Popular Culture

Culture is a historical phenomenon. It is a deposit of social history as well as the carrier of history, so culture is considered to be a historical culture form and it can be interpreted from a historical perspective. Culture can show a comprehensive reflection of the political regime, economic regime and life style of a society, playing an essential role in the social development and international relationship of a country. For a long time, however, we have tended to pay too much attention to the importance of politics, economy and military affairs in the social development of a country and international relationship, neglecting the functions of culture. In fact, under the present historical situation culture has occupied an increasingly important position in comprehensive national power and it is indispensable to the social development of a country. Cultural strength is increasingly becoming an important part of the comprehensive national power, laying the deep foundation for the development of a country and becoming an important power for the sustainable development of a country and international competition. Culture not only occupies an important position in the comprehensive national power of a country but also has a great influence on the means, ways and style of the diplomatic policies of a country. Culture, on the one hand, can be utilized to promote international collaboration and on the other hand, can be likely to bring about international conflicts and turmoil. With the development of economic globalization and the frequent international communication, culture, as a"soft power"which is corresponding to the"hard power"- military strength and economic strength, is playing a much more important role in international relationship.Mass culture, under the current background of globalization, has become a global culture trend, and entered the various fields of social life, thus influencing people's daily life and emotional thought. Mass culture serves as not only an important battlefield for the struggle in the world-wide ideological areas, but also an immense industry in the socio-economic fields. Besides, mass culture plays an extremely important role in the international political, economic and cultural relations. Thus, it turns to be an important means to implement the political and cultural impact. Cultural hegemony has become an international cultural phenomenon which can not be ignored. Mass culture originates from the United States. By means of its powerful political, economic, and military strength, its advanced science and technology and the operation of its strong market and international companies, American mass culture is widely disseminated in the world and its influence is increasing as well.This dissertation chooses contemporary American mass culture as the research object, starts from the concept of culture, and gives a comprehensive illustration of such aspects as the follows-the origin and the diversity of contemporary American mass culture; the historical roots, the theoretical basis, practical prerequisites, forms and ways, as well as purpose and nature of American cultural expansion. It also analyzes the positive and negative effects of contemporary American mass culture, and further points out the measures for China as well as other countries to respond to American mass culture, and the importance of strengthening our cultural security and cultural openness.The dissertation illustrates contemporary American mass culture from the following six aspects. Chapter One gives a brief introduction to the definition, the features, the patterns, and the functions of culture as well as the definition and importance of mass culture, pointing out the necessity of this research. Chapter Two analyzes the historical origin of contemporary American mass culture, and further indicates that American mass culture is the product of modernization, industrialization, urbanization, and marketization, and the result of mass society and consumer society as well. The emergence of contemporary American mass culture is promoted by the modern scientific technology and mass media, and at the same time, caused by the spiritual requirement of the immense consumer group. Chapter Three summarizes the diversity of the contemporary American mass culture, and analyzes its positive features, including globalization and universality, industrialization and commercialization, modernity and predictability, popularity and entertainment. It also dips into the negative traits of the contemporary American mass culture, consisting of imperialism and hegemony, colonization and monopolization, concealment and deceptiveness, as well as aggressiveness and unidirectional features. Chapter Four probes into the historical roots, the theoretical basis, practical prerequisites, forms and ways, the purpose and nature of American cultural expansion as well. The"God-granted mission concept","racial superiority","natural rights"and"America's exceptionalism"are the historical origins of American cultural expansion;"the end of history","clash of civilizations","boundlessness in culture and human rights","soft power"theory,"democracy and peace"theory, and"unipolar stability"theory are the theoretical basis of American cultural expansion; and"the impact of globalization","the changes of world situation","the support of American super national power"are the practical prerequisites of American cultural expansion. Contemporary American mass culture is expanded mainly by virtue of the mass media such as books, newspapers, periodicals, magazines, radio, film, television, Internet and some other forms such as cultural and personnel exchanges, and foreign aid projects. By means of various forms of "cultural exports", American values are spread all over the world, which aims at achieving "cultural hegemony". America attempts to assimilate other cultures, replacing them by its own culture to eliminate the cultural differences and mould all of the cultures into the pure American culture, replacing "globalization"and"internationalism"with"Americanization"to obtain cultural hegemony and control the whole world. The nature of American mass cultural expansion is that the developed countries enforce the developing countries, which are culturally inferior to them, to accept their culture values by taking advantage of their powerful cultural superiority based on its economic strength. Chapter Five illustrates the effect of contemporary American mass culture, including its positive and negative effects on America and other countries as well. Chapter Six points out how China as well as other countries should respond to the expansion of contemporary American mass culture, and it further suggests that our country should strengthen the construction of our cultural security, and develop our own cultural strategy to defend against the expansion of American mass culture, thus constructing the socialist mass culture with Chinese characteristics. Finally, a conclusion is drawn that contemporary American mass culture has made a great impact on both America and almost all of the countries in the world but globalization is not equal to Americanization, diversity and co-existence will surely continue to be the major trend for the development of world culture.The twenty-first century is an era of global economic and cultural integration. Every country and nation should keep opening to the other countries, making cultural exchanges and cooperation at extensive level, learning from the outstanding cultural achievements of all countries actively, and particularly absorbing the essence of contemporary American mass culture to enrich our own culture and at the same time reject its dross. In addition, we have to formulate our own cultural strategies, develop our own mass culture and strengthen the construction of our cultural security, thus resisting the expansion of contemporary American mass culture.