Table of Contents
Acknowledgments xi
1 Globalization and American Popular Culture 1
American Popular Culture and Global Politics 2
Grasping Globalization 7
Globalization's Promise 9
Challenges and Complications of the Global Era 13
Globalization Today 17
Understanding Culture 20
"American" Culture as a Case of Culture 24
Popular Culture as a Case of Culture 28
"American" Popular Culture 30
Globalization, Cultural Change, and the "Problem" of American Popular Culture 36
Plan of the Book 39
Conclusion 41
2 "American" Popular Culture 47
Building the American Audiovisual Popular Culture Industry 48
Why Not Europe? 48
The American Exception 50
The Economic Context of the Making of American Audiovisual Popular Culture 52
The Cultural Context of the Making of American Audiovisual Popular Culture 54
How Movies, Music, and Television Became American 56
How Popular Music Became American 56
How Movies Became American 63
How Television Became American 70
American Popular Culture beyond Movies, Music, and Television 76
A Brief Cultural History of Coca-Cola 76
A Brief Cultural History of McDonald's 79
A Brief Cultural History of Blue Jeans 83
Conclusion 86
3 American Popular Culture Goes Global 91
The Corporate Makers of Global American Audiovisual Popular Culture 92
Synergy and Integration in the American AV Popular Culture Industry 94
Franchising American Popular Culture 101
Exploring the Global Scope of American Music, Movies, and Television 106
American Movies Go Global 108
American Music Goes Global 113
American Television Goes Global 117
Understanding the Global Scope of American Fast Food, Fashion, and Sports 122
McDonald's Goes Global 123
Coca-Cola Goes Global 125
The NFL Begins to Go Global 126
Everything, Everywhere, All the Time 129
Conclusion 131
4 American Popular Culture in the Digital Era 137
The Digital Revolution and American Popular Culture 139
American Popular Culture Goes Digital 140
The American Popular Culture Ecosystem in the Digital Era 147
Social Media and American Popular Culture 148
Streaming and American Popular Culture 158
Gaming and American Popular Culture 161
Intellectual Property, Digital Piracy, and American Popular Culture in the Digital Age 168
Conclusion 174
5 Global Responses to American Popular Culture 183
Free Trade and American Popular Culture: A Global Debate 184
The American Argument 186
The Counter-American Argument 187
Popular Culture in International Trade Agreements (1947-2020) 193
GATT/WTO 194
NAFTA/USMCA 198
The Failure of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) 204
American Popular Culture in France, Iran, and Finland 206
France 208
Iran 212
Finland 215
American Popular Culture and China 218
The Dynamics of American Popular Culture in China I: The NBA 224
The Dynamics of American Popular Culture in China II: Disney 227
The Dynamics of American Popular Culture in China III: The Great Firewall of China 230
Conclusion 236
6 American Popular Culture and the Future of Globalization 245
Culture, Change, and Globalization Revisited 247
The Future(s) of Globalization and American Popular Culture 251
Path I Populism and Anti-Americanism 251
Path II Building Walls, Defining Borders 256
Path III American Empire 261
Path IV Hybridity, Globalization, and American Popular Culture 267
Conclusion 276
Glossary 281
Recommended Readings 287
Index 295
About the Author 313