Mirko  Gropp, Landeskunde Americanization  

Table of contents

1.  Introduction -------------  3

2.  Defining Americanization -----------  4

3.  Chronology -----------  4

4.  Language -------------  6

5.  Popular culture -------------  9

6.  Conclusion -------------  16

7.  Bibliography -------------  18

8.  Appendix I -------------  20

9.  Appendix II -------------  22

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Mirko Gropp, Landeskunde Americanization

1. Introduction

The American influence is a part of Globalization which everyone can see in the media, taste in the food, and sense in the products we buy. Hence, it is perceivable for everyone, every day. Satellites, the internet, airplanes, and container ships are carrying the American culture to Europe all around the clock.

In fact, the English language, or better said, American English and its variations are dominating the stage in all fields of intercultural exchange such as business, sciences, and entertainment. Just 100 years ago, German scientists dominated worldwide research, and thus most publications were in German. Nowadays most publications are in English, due to the concentration of the best researchers at American universities and the function of English as the “common denominator”. In times of the rule of “publish or perish” one is forced to adopt English in order to obtain international recognition. But the impact is far deeper. It goes back to our cultural identity itself. When you switch on the television, when you go to the cinema, or when you open a magazines you will recognize this American influence such as in the case of Anglicisms like “Star“, “Opponent” and “Internet Kids”.

The term Americanization covers many different ideas and means different things to different people. Obviously, a member of the indigenous people who had settled in America prior to its „discovery“ has a wholly different understanding of it as a European or an immigrant. The meaning has also changed over time. In the beginning, the word was used to describe the movement to integrate immigrants in order to create a national identity ¹ . During the Cold War it was often used in the context of the confrontation between the forces of democracy and international communism. Thus, Americanization was a symbol in the communist propaganda of the “enemy’s attempt” to undermine the victory of international communism. Nowadays (especially since September 11th), it is seen in a more religious context, as the clash of an economically strong western culture with the rest of the world ² . In the following sections, I will concentrate my examination on particular fields of culture, where the American influence is typically observable. Let us firstly define “Americanization” in order to get an understanding of the different meanings.

¹ The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001, www.bartleby.com - “ Americanization” .

² see Huntington, Samuel P., (1996), „7KH&ODVKRI&LYLOL]DWLRQVDQGWKH5HPDNLQJRI:RUOG2UGHU´

New York, NY : Simon & Schuster.

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Mirko Gropp, Landeskunde Americanization

2. Defining Americanization

The word Americanization was first introduced by English journalist William T. Stead around 1902 ³ . Stead used the word to describe the creation of a unified „nation“ out of the different nationalities and social origins of the first settlers and their followers on the soil of today’s United States. Furthermore, he already supposed that this dynamic homogenization would ultimately cover the whole world. The distinction between these two different stages was pretty important.

Firstly, there is Americanization out of the view of an immigrant, who has to adopt and adapt to a new nation and hence a different culture. It is possible to become an American citizen not simply by the act of birth, but also by a conscious choice to accept new identity. As immigration is an expression of free will, the altered state is the outcome of a more or less voluntary action.

Secondly, there is the Americanization of other cultures which takes place outside of the US and is accompanied by the spread of „laissez-faire“ capitalism and liberal democratic values. In this line, the compound of typical American beliefs, values, and habits is projected abroad through the vast interconnections between the countries, therefore changing the character of a nation’s culture and identity. This second form, the outward domain, will be the focus of this essay.

3. Chronology

The first impacts of American culture can be traced back to the twenties. Due to a more liberal sentiment and less rigid social structures in the US, a couple of reforms could be implemented far earlier than in Europe, such as legalization of divorce, a result of the emancipation movement ⁴ . When European women asked for the same rights as their American counterparts, this act was propagated as the negative American influence. In the end, it was nothing more than a step towards the overdue modernization of society in order to adapt to city life and a technologically-defined environment. Furthermore,

³ Stead, William T., (1902), Ä7KH$PHULFDQL]DWLRQRIWKHZRUOG³

⁴ Von Saldern, Adelheid, (1996) “ Überfremdungsängste. Gegen die Amerikanissierung der deutschen

Kultur in den zwanziger Jahren“ in Lüdtke, Alf, Marßolek, Inge and von Saldern, Adelheid (ed);

“ Amerikanisierung - Traum und Alptraum im Deutschland des 20. Jahrhunderts,“ Stuttgart: Franz Steiner

Verlag. pp. 213.

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Mirko Gropp, Landeskunde Americanization

popular culture started its rise with the invention of the gramophone and hence recorded music.

American influence increased perceptibly after the Second World War. This development was due to the contact to Allied troops, the economic dependence of the weakened and destroyed Europe, the recovery programs such as the Marshall plan, the process of denazification ⁵ , and the course of action in order to strengthen the political frontiers between the Cold War parties. Therefore, the US tried to integrate the FRG into the Western community in order to build up an US outpost. “ America houses” were set up to provide language courses, an American library, and political education ⁶ . As history teaches us, the US succeeded. The west integration had its final breakthrough with the German economic miracle and in connection mass consumption and popular culture.

During the peak of The Cold War in the fifties and sixties, American influence was a matter of the confrontation of ideologies. West Germany became an important part of the Western alliance centered around the US. On the other side, the GDR tried to block the American influence at its frontiers for the sake of international communism.

The technical and social advances during the last decade fostered the further diffusion of American culture and products into Europe. Shipping of goods by huge container ships is now very cheap and takes just fraction of time compared to a couple of decades ago. It is cheaper to fly from Frankfurt to New York than to Paris. Furthermore, on the internet an American homepage is just one click away from its German counterpart. As the world comes closer together, America is not a distant country anymore. American products and culture made their ways into almost every German household.

How important is the American influence on culture in Europe? Which criteria should be applied to measure the degree of Americanization? Could it be characterized by the degree of political and economic control, the quantity of US cultural goods consumed such as movies and American sports, the obvious change in behavior, or the signs of an own identity in jeopardy, thus acts of anxiety and defense? The next two sections will

⁵ for example the “ Nuremberg War Crime Trials”

⁶ Schildt, Axel, (1996) “ 'LH86$DOV³.XOWXUQDWLRQ´=XU%HGHXWXQJGHU$PHULNDKlXVHULQGHQHU

-DKUHQ“ in Lüdtke, Alf, Marßolek, Inge and von Saldern, Adelheid (ed); “ Amerikanisierung - Traum und Alptraum im Deutschland des 20. Jahrhunderts,“ Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag. pp. 257.

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Mirko Gropp, Landeskunde Americanization

concentrate on interfaces between cultures in order to examine the reasons that America is so influential. I will focus on language and popular culture as indicators of the American influence on culture in Europe.

4. Language

Today, nearly 380m people speak English as their first language, and an additional 250m as their second language ⁷ . In comparison, there are 88m native speakers of French and another 80m non-native French speakers ⁸ . As a consequence of Britain joining the European common market, French even lost its supremacy in Europe. In fact, English is used in 85% of all supranational organizations as one of the official languages ⁷ and 90% of all UN documents are in English ⁸ . How could English become that dominant?

In the end, the triumph of English is due to its adaptability and the influence of the people who speak it. Firstly, whilst the French Academy is still arguing whether to allow CD-Rom and euroland, these coinages are already part of everyday English ⁷ . There a lot of neologisms which have made their way into the language such as “ internet.” In a second step, these words are used in other languages as well (see Anglicisms). In the case of the word “ internet” we can observe as well the second reason for the success of English, the influence of the people who speak it. Most of the inventions in business, science and technology stem from Anglo-Saxon countries. Looking at the list of last years Nobel-Prize winners (beside Peace), we will recognize that the majority of the scientist is based at American Universities. This is a tendency, already perceptible for a couple of years. Furthermore, the backbone of the information age - the internet - is dominated by English speaking people, who accounted for 48% of all users at the end of 2000 ⁹ . Although this number is expected to decline to 32% by the end of 2002, the tendency has manifested that (QJOLVKVHUYHVDVWKHFRPPRQ GHQRPLQDWRU. As a matter of fact, it is easier to find a common base than learning, for

example, every European language This role has a lot of advantages in respect of improving communication and hence lessening cultural barriers. Furthermore, English words are making their way into almost every language (Anglicisms).

⁷ The Economist, “ $ZRUOGHPSLUHE\RWKHUPHDQV±WKHWULXPSKRI(QJOLVK´ Dec 20 ^th 2001.

⁸ Jeffries, Stuart, (22.10.2001) “ Le Francais? That’ s so Outta Here” in The Guadian,

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4282073,00.html

⁹ The Economist, “ 7RQJXHVRIWKHZHE” , 11/2002, Technology Quarterly , p.26.

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