Research On "American Popular Culture" Based On Soft Power (early 20th Century-present)

ith the deepening of economic globalization and the popularization and application of information technology,the interaction between countries will be more close and frequent.This will make the ideological collision and communication between people with different cultural backgrounds more intense and direct at the global level.As the only superpower,the most developed and largest single country economy entity in the world,the United States will play an important role in the process of economic globalization.It will inevitably push forward its global strategy in the new century,based on its strong hard power,i.e.military strength and economic competitiveness;and its rich soft power,i.e.cultural values.It is in this wide framework that the American popular culture is bound to play a more and more important role in the realization of its global strategy.This thesis mainly focuses on the American popular culture since twentieth century and its role in the diplomatic strategy.Firstly,the concepts of “popular culture” and “soft power” and the relationship between them are explored,the important role of popular cultural soft power in national cultural strategy is also analyzed.Secondly,the composition of American popular culture since twentieth century is divided into three periods: crisis and war(1930s-1940s),Coldar confrontation(1950s-1980s),and the global expansion(1990s to the present).Thirdly,the values of American popular culture in the external communication and the ways in which it spreads to other countries are deeply analyzed.This is the key part of the whole thesis.Finally,the influence of American popular culture on the domestic strategy is discussed.Through the analysis of the American popular culture since twentieth century and its external communication,this thesis discusses the important role of American cultural soft power in American domestic strategy,and then concludes the experience for the transmission of Chinese cultural and the enhancement of Chinese cultural soft power.