Improvements in communication technology have caused major differences in American society but such improvements have also served to expand the number of individuals that are affected by American society. Through new communication technology the breadth of influence enjoyed by American society is larger than at any point in history and as the level of such technology increases so likely will American influence.
One of the aspects of American culture that has been disseminated widely by improvements in communication technology and which has proven to be one of the most popular is pop culture. Although incorporating many different elements of American culture the essential ingredients of pop culture include the events, people, fads, and trends that capture the public imagination. It also includes cultural trends of the past that achieved enduring status. Examples of figures in pop culture in the America include different cartoon characters such as Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck, political figures such as Bill Clinton or Barack Obama, college and professional athletes, movie...
Pop culture also includes items such as Ipods and hula hoops. It includes passing phenomena such as Atari and lasting ones such as Facebook. In short, pop culture is anything that is occurs within American society that has the potential to be passed on to other cultures and societies.
Since the end of the Second World War the influence of American pop culture has enjoyed a phenomenal expansion (Cantor, 2003). America's position in the world as a world power, the fact that the American military has been positioned throughout the world since that time, the large influx of foreign students attending American schools and universities, and, most importantly, the ready availability of information via television, radio, and, the internet has made information about America readily available.
The attractiveness of American pop culture, both in America and throughout the world, is what such culture symbolizes. American pop culture glorifies the simple longings that exist in everyone (Peterson, 1996). These are the need to feel free,…
