Americanization and EuropeBy Line Bang Jensen, Peter Roman and Jenifer Laursen
1
Contents
Introduction...............................................................................................................................3
Methodology........................................................................................................................................4
Consumer Society.....................................................................................................................7
Processed foods...................................................................................................................................9
McDonaldization...............................................................................................................................12
American Cinema and Culture.............................................................................................16
American and European Cinemas...................................................................................................16
Cultural Challenges of Americanization..........................................................................................18
Language and Americanization.............................................................................................22
Historical background.......................................................................................................................23
Americanization of Danish...............................................................................................................24
Has it transitioned to the twenty-first century/conclusion?.............................................................27
Rise of Nationalism.................................................................................................................30
Conclusion...............................................................................................................................32
Works Cited.............................................................................................................................35
2
Introduction
With the growing standards of the world and the existing concepts and complexities in
political, economic and socio-cultural ideologies, the start of the twentieth century gave birth
to the idea of making the world a single community. Americanization has arguably expanded
in Europe and in the rest of the world in the twentieth century, and with all of its influences,
some historians refer to the twentieth century as to the American Century. However, many
wonder if the idea of the American Century has carried on and continued into the twenty-first
century. America’s sphere of influence can be definitely visible in many different areas, such
as consumerism, language and audio-visual products of an average European individual.
Americanization is often combined with the term globalization, as it is applied both to
“domestic and international contexts, and encompasses political, linguistic, cultural, and
economic dimensions” (Desmond). In international context, the term Americanization refers
to the influence of the United States across the globe. The term is usually used to explain a
process of change in patterns of social organizations, political structures, and consumption,
which comes as a result of contact with ideas, goods, or practices typically associated with the
United States (Desmond). The perceptions of Americanization are often accompanied by
feelings of anti-Americanism, rising in countries in an attempt to reject these ideas, goods, or
practices.
Anti-Americanism is a general set of opinions expressing criticism or hostility towards
the United States and what the country represents. Over the years, anti-Americanism has
evolved from mere cultural criticism through the fear of American hegemony in the
nineteenth and twentieth century to the global era in the twenty-first century, in which the
previous objections coexist with those resulting from international value conflicts
(Mlodzianowska). The fear of the United States’ economic, political, and also cultural
hegemony have not, however, stopped the global consumption of all things American,
including films, books, and foods.
By the middle of the nineteenth century, the United States was quickly becoming a
global consumer leader. The nation were propelled by a vast market and the lack of strong,
pre-consumer traditions, which helped spread American chain stores, American foods, and
American movies (Steams). Especially an international conglomerate like McDonald’s
generated consumer experiences across regional and cultural boundaries, also giving way to
the Americanization of how people eat.
3
Methodology
The first section of this paper focuses on the historical and cultural evolution of consumerism
as a form of Americanization in the twentieth century in the European continent. It starts out
with an introduction to the topic by presenting a comparison between the contemporary
consumption in the United States of America and Europe and also the sub-question.
Following this, the focus is put on the historical evolution of consumerism and the
consumption of goods prior to the event in history known as the Industrial Revolution. In
order to make the connection between Americanization and the expansion of processed food,
the history of food preservation up until the Industrial Revolution is explained as well.
In the next paragraphs, the tin cans are finally being linked with Americanization by
explaining how this country helped improve the invention, notably because of the presence of
American Can Company, and moreover, how thanks to the two World Wars they used this
item to gain more influence in the region by being able to support the allies and de-
regionalizing this food.
In the second part the notion of McDonaldization is being discussed as another form of
Americanization. First off, before getting to McDonald’s itself, we focus on the long history
of the classic American hamburger and how it came about becoming a consumer good. Then,
the McDonald’s itself gets the attention, how it evolved from being very small to the biggest
food chain in the world right now. After presenting the corporation, we defined its meaning
and principles that constitute the event know as McDonaldization of the society. In this
section, George Ritzer’s principles of efficiency, calculability, and predictability are
presented.
Finally in the last paragraphs we contemplate about an argument against
McDonaldization, which says that the concepts that this notion presents are tweaked
according to different countries and no longer represent the same value as they had originally.
Therefore McDonaldization does not really take place.
An introduction of this section incorporates the idea that the end of the First World War
saw a change in the American thought process when it came to filmmaking. A contrast of this
is the made considering that the European market fell behind in the so-called ‘quality race’
and how this led to the rise of American dominance in the film market. Quoting Historian
Niall Ferguson, who referred to the United States as a “new Rome”, makes a contribution to
his argument. The problem formulation of this section is then presented. To what extent can it
4
be argued that the idea of Americanization and the distribution of American cinema have
affected European cultures in the twentieth through to the twenty-first century?
Synchronized sound dialogue in movies is argued to be one of the factors changing the
film industry. Furthermore, the First World War saw the rise in newsreel and propaganda as
forms of influential film in Europe. Hollywood’s solution to try to solve the problem of films
in English, which would not be accepted by non-English speaking countries, is explained.
The importance of the post-war period from 1945 to 1960 is presented with the fact that
with the Second World War ending, Hollywood executives sought to resume the pre-war film
trade between America and Europe. Moreover, in addition to the economic reasoning behind
European protectionist measures in the after-war period, cultural motivation also played a part
in European countries wanting to regulate the import of American audiovisual products.
The section on cultural challenges of Americanization explains how the notion of anti-
Americanism in Europe has only grown over the years as the United States asserted it’s global
dominance, culturally, politically, and economically. However, European countries and
consumers do, nevertheless, play a part in continuing the spread of American goods and
values.
Finally, however much European governments wish to be more independent of
American audiovisual goods in order to inspire hope and success in domestic cinemas,
Hollywood and American television have become such huge parts of common European
culture.
In the last section of the paper, a section on the effect Americanization has had on
language in Europe is presented. The argumentative segment is based on a formulated thesis.
To what extent has Americanization from the twentieth through to the twenty-first century
affected the use of American English in European cultures from a historical and
anthropological approach?
The section is introduced with an overview of Americanization and its definition. A
brief statement from Vinod Sharma about Americanization is quoted. Due to a problem of
distinction between these two concepts, ‘globalization’ and ‘Americanization’ are defined
against each other. Assuming Americanization can be argued to be a natural evolution of
culture, the question of whether American culture should then be the main global culture is
stated.
As the argumentative section begins, the connection between the spread of American
English and the popularity of American television, music and films in the twentieth century is
made clear. From this, the issue of linguistic diversity is discussed.
5
To set a base for the next argumentative section, a segment on the historical background
of the rise of American English in Europe is presented.
In order to give a more detailed view on the Americanization of languages in Europe, an
in-depth examination of the Danish language from the twentieth to through the twenty-first
century is made. In this section tests and investigations conducted by Danes such as Maegaard
and Ruu with their highlighting of the importance of distinguishing between British English
and American English.
After demonstrating that American English has influenced Danish language in the
twentieth century, a counter-argument is presented. The concept of ‘Pseudo-Anglicism’ is
defined as being words in languages other than English, which were borrowed from English
but are used in a way native English speakers would not readily recognize or understand
(Webster 62).
Finally a section on the transition of the Americanization of language, specifically
Danish, to the twenty-first century is given. Here it is stated that the spread of American
English is largely of very recent origin.
6
Consumer Society
The consumer society that emerged in the twentieth century has spread all across the western
world. It usually comes attached with specific terms, such as Americanization, globalization,
consumerism or McDonaldization. The statistics argue, that: "The average U.S. resident, in a
year, consumes 275 pounds of meat, uses 635 pounds of paper, and uses energy equivalent to
7.8 metric tons of oil. Forty-five years ago, the average American ate 197 pounds of meat,
used 366 pounds of paper, and used energy equivalent to 5.5 metric tons of oil. In the U.S.,
there is about 1 passenger car for every two people." The comparison can be made with the
Europeans, which: "have about 1 passenger car for every 3.1 people." Moreover: "Developing
countries have, on average, about 1 passenger car for every 49 people" (Goodwin, Nelson 1).
So to what extent can it be argued that McDonaldization and the increased consumption of
processed food is in fact Americanization? In the following part, we focus on the notion of
consumption, its meaning in both American and European environments respectively, while
applying the historical and anthropological approach.
Consumption is one of the terms that usually come to our mind when we think of
Americanization.
"Consumption is the process by which goods and services are, at last,
put to final use by people. Consumption is at the end of the line of
economic activities that starts with an evaluation of available
resources and proceeds through production of goods and services and
distribution of goods and services (or the means to acquire them)
among people and groups. At last, the goods and services themselves
come to be used. The effect of this consumption, including depletion
of resources and generation of waste as well as enhancement of
human survival and flourishing, determines the resource base for the
next round of economic activity" (Goodwin 1).
It is attached to an even larger term – capitalism. The modern version of this economic
system originated in the United States and has been established in the majority of European
nations in the twentieth century. "Capitalism has not only become integrally related to the
growth of the United States into a global industrial power, but in doing so has acquired an
7
iconic property as the generic expression of American ideas and experience. […] Capitalism
in the United States is an enveloping ideology which has become so synonymous with the
conditions of the New World that any triumph of capitalism is customarily portrayed as an
affirmation of the American way" (Foley).
Historically, the notion on consumption has gone through several changes through its
history. Even though we associate this term with the United States of America, consuming
traces back further than the history on this country itself. "Consumerism has emerged as part
of a historical process that has created mass markets, industrialization, and cultural attitudes
that ensure that rising incomes are used to purchase an ever-growing output" (Goodwin,
Nelson 4). Prior to the event in history known as industrialization, the social hierarchy divided
the people into, generally speaking, two groups, according to consumption. The first one was
the group of lower class people, who could not spend significant money on consumer goods at
that time.
"Before the Industrial Revolution – that is, before the late 18th century
in England, or the middle of the 19th century in the rest of Western
Europe and North America – the vast majority of each country's
population lived in rural areas and worked in agriculture. Their
clothing and household possessions were extremely limited by today's
standards and were typically made by household members or by
artisans from the same village. Fashions, technological change, and
social pressure did not drive people constantly to make new
purchases; rather, individual material goods were used, with repairs if
needed, for decades" (Goodwin 4).
The other group was the higher-class people, who could enjoy higher standards of
consumption and afford luxury products and services. Moreover, they were the ones creating
employment for a small numbers of artisans and merchants. Despite all of this, their economy
was constantly dependent on agriculture since the money they received came from taxes, rents
and other rural payments (Goodwin 5).
When it comes to modern food processing, we are talking about a process that has gone
through a long history. Ever since humans were hunter-gatherers, they were trying to develop
various techniques to preserve their food in order to facilitate their life and to bring
sustainable sources of nutrients. "Humans have been “processing” food ever since we learned
8
how to cook, preserve, ferment, freeze, dry or extract. Processed food has powered the
evolution of the species, the expansion of empires, the exploration of space" (Kim 50-55).
This was due to the progressive settlement of people around houses, around which people
grew crops and domesticated animals. All of these attributes are a part of what we call
a civilization, which developed in different ways at different times according to the available
resources, as well as the means of food preservation. Among many of the examples of new
foods, we can cite roasted meat, bread, beer, tortillas, wine, cheese, olive oil, pickles, noodles
etc. (Kim 50-55).
Industrialization, which took place for the first time in the 18th century in England, with
the Industrial revolution, is a synonym of modernity and progress. It changed people’s lives
forever in many different areas.
"The development of a spinning machine by Sir Richard Artwight in
England led to a new economy of manufactured products. The iron
and textile industries, with the development of the steam engine,
played majors roles in an era that saw improved modes of
transportation, communication, and banking, and resulted in an
improved standard of living for many" (Ury 104).
After its debut in the British Isles, it started spreading all across the British Commonwealth,
France and the United States of America as manufactures were being transformed into
factories, which helped to create a bigger number and a greater diversity of products. The
evolution went even further by replacing the human power with machines and robots that
work by themselves. This rapid increase and access to the goods led to an immediate boots in
consumption in the industrialized countries. The process of industrialization is still going on
today in many areas in the world.
Processed foods
In order to establish a link between Americanization and processed food, we should look at
some of the inventions that the U. S. gave to the world that had a significant impact on the
way we eat. An important invention is the one of the tin can, which was technically not
American but French. A French chef Nicolas Appert who studied food preservation came up
9
with the idea of storing food in tin cans in order to support Napoleon’s forces that fought at
many places.
"In 1803 his preserved foods (which came to include vegetables, fruit,
meat, dairy and fish) were sent out for sea trials with the French navy.
By 1804, his factory had begun to experiment with meat packed in tin
cans, which he soldered shut and then observed for months for signs
of swelling. Those that didn’t swell were deemed safe for sale and
long-term storage. […] The first metal canisters were made of tin-
plated steel or even cast iron, with heavy lids that had to chiseled open
or stabbed through with soldiers’ bayonets. […] Appert spent many
more years working to improve his method amidst the chaos of post-
Napoleonic France. His factories remained innovative but
unprofitable, and he died a poor man in 1841 and was buried in a
common grave" (Barksdale).
However, what allowed the U. S. to stand out were the improvements on the tin can that
took place in the 19th and twentieth centuries, which led to a rise of many companies on the
market. "Following the global depression of 1873, U.S. exports of canned foods boomed, led
by the Campbell, Heinz and Borden companies" (Barksdale). "In 1904, the Max Ams
Machine Company of New York patented the double-seam process used in most modern food
cans. Today a double-seam machine can safely seal more than 2,000 cans a minute—a long
way indeed from Appert’s pea-packed bottles" (Barksdale). Therefore, alongside the materials
used to make them, the production increased as well, stimulating the consumption level.
American Can Company is really an institution that changed everything in the way we
view processed food nowadays. This giant on the market was incorporated in 1901 and was a
can manufacturing plant until its closure in 1988. The American Can Company had its
headquarters in Manhattan, New York City until 1970, when it moved into a Greenwich,
Connecticut facility. It consisted of a complex of six buildings with associated facilities, such
as adjoining metal buildings, loading docks, and connecting rail lines. Constructed between
1907 and 1929, the American Can Company property is listed on the National Register of
Historic Places. The site is situated on 6.63 acres of land and is bounded by Orleans Avenue,
North Genois, Toulouse, and North Cortez streets. "Throughout the twentieth century,
the American Can Company has been making containers for everything from green beans to
10
soda pop and soup." (International Directory of Company Histories) "American Can emerged
as one of the "twin giants" of the can-making industry, the other being Continental Can"
(International Directory of Company Histories).
As the Americans intervened in World War 1 and World War 2, they brought with
themselves the new technology of food preservation – canned food, which helped the British
and the French soldiers to deal with the task of feeding the soldiers. Both wars depended on
the rationing system due to the scarcity of available food. Therefore canned food became a
good option at the time because of its ability to last longer and to be stored practically.
"Starting March 1, 1943, three hundred items were rationed, including canned or bottled or
frozen fruits and vegetables, canned or bottled juices and soups, and dried fruits. Fresh fruits
and vegetables were not rationed, nor were pickles, relishes, or Jell-O" (Sundin). Because the
food was quite rare:
"Home canning was encouraged. A poll in January 1944 found that 75
percent of housewives canned, and those women canned an average of
165 jars per year. This met the family’s needs and preserved ration
points for foods they couldn’t grow. Extra canned fruits and
vegetables were often donated to the needy" (Sundin).
However, Americans were able to produce enough food for themselves and the Allies.
"In addition to meeting civilian needs, US farms also fed the military and the Allies"
(Sundin). With enough food supplies, the United States were probably trying to get more
influence in the region and to make the public to lean more towards them.
"On September 17, 1944 after a good harvest—and in preparation for
the presidential election—all processed foods except canned fruit were
removed from rationing, but were returned to rationing on January 1,
1945 due to the demands of the Battle of the Bulge. After V-J Day on
August 15, 1945, processed foods were no longer rationed" (Sundin).
McDonaldization
Alongside the tin cans, there is another American contribution in the area of processed food
that changed the way we perceive food and that is fast food restaurants, more specifically, the
11
food chain McDonald’s. The world’s largest fast food chain has a long and interesting history.
The history of the food called a Hamburger, traces back to the Mongolian Empire, when
Genghis Khan and his army ate raw beef in order to survive long days sitting on their horses.
As their empire spread, they brought this dish to Europe with the Invasion of Moscow in the
13th century, the dish transformed into what is now known as a tartar steak. "In the late
eighteenth century, the largest ports in Europe were in Germany. Sailors who had visited the
ports of Hamburg, Germany and New York, brought this food and term "Hamburg Steak" into
popular usage" (Stradley). However, it is not so simple to determine, who invented the first
real hamburger with a bun. There are many different stories that ma answer this question,
such as the one by Charlie Nagreen of Seymour, Wisconsin who "at the age of 15, sold
hamburgers from his ox-drawn food stand at the Outagamie County Fair" or by the family of
Frank and Charles Menches from Arkon, Ohio who "claim the brothers invented the
hamburger while traveling in a 100-man traveling concession circuit at events (fairs, race
meetings, and farmers' picnics) in the Midwest in the early 1880s" (Stradley).
Nevertheless, the food chain of McDonald’s started out in 1940. "The business began in
1940, with a restaurant opened by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald in San
Bernardino, California. Their introduction of the "Speedee Service System" in 1948
established the principles of the modern fast-food restaurant" (Love).
"The original McDonald’s at the corner of 14th and E Streets, just a
few blocks from historic Route 66, bore little resemblance to today’s
ubiquitous “golden arches,” beginning with the menu. Hard as it may
be to believe, the future fast-food giant started out by serving up
barbecue slow-cooked for hours in a pit stocked with hickory chips
imported from Arkansas. The feature item at McDonald’s Famous
Bar-B-Q was a barbecued beef, ham or pork sandwich with French
fries for 35 cents. The eclectic 25-item menu included everything
from tamales and chili to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to ham
and beaked beans. The 25-cent “aristocratic hamburger” sounded like
an offering better suited for Burger King" (Klein).
"The present McDonald's corporation dates its founding to the opening of a franchised
restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois, on April 15, 1955. Kroc later purchased the
McDonald brothers' equity in the company and led its worldwide expansion" (Kroc). The first
12
ever case of this is in 1960 with the opening of a McDonald’s restaurant in Canada and Puerto
Rico. Nowadays, the McDonald’s Corporation on the global level, had over 32 thousand
restaurants in 117 countries, which in total employs over 1.7 million people and serves over
69 million people on a daily basis (www.mcdonalds.com.my).
The spread of McDonald’s restaurants and their principles is a process sometimes
referred to as McDonaldization. "Today it is not uncommon to see Coca-Cola franchises in
Cairo or New Delhi and interpret them to be evidence of an emerging global culture, or
globalization, a process some have even referred to as McDonaldization" (Anderson,
Peterson, Toops, Hey 68). According to Michelle H. Smirnova & George Ritzer in their book
Encyclopedia of Global Region, McDonaldization is:
"the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant and
popular consumer culture in general are coming to dominate more and
more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world,
extending even to the realm of religion."
This claim may be due to the fact, that the principles that McDonaldization applies stretch far
beyond the food chain restaurant environment, but are applicable in other areas of life. The
first one is Efficiency, which by definition is:
"the optimal way of achieving a solution to the problem at hand. With
the fast-food industry, efficiency is achieved by providing the most
direct way to make the transition from hunger to satiety. This quest for
efficiency is similarly demonstrated in other realms of society (hence
the McDonaldization of society)—online dating offers an efficient,
goal-directed means for meeting “the right one;” televised evangelical
sermons afford viewers a daily religious experience without their
having to leave the comfort of their own homes; standardized tests
enable universities to efficiently evaluate applicants by reducing them
to a series of numbers; and so on" (Smirnova, Ritzer).
Another principle is the Calculability, which means that "all value has been
standardized and can be quantified and reduced to variables such as size and price; as a
consequence, more of that standardized unit must be better" (Smirnova, Ritzer). The third
13
significant aspect is predictability, which translates into the response for the consumers
demand to get the same product at any McDonald’s restaurant in the world at any time they
desire.
"In a globalized culture in which the number of choices continues to
grow exponentially, people come to need, expect, and demand such
predictability. The expectation that much the same product or service
will be delivered each time one visits any McDonald's at any time or
at any location has been extended to many different con-texts—from
clothing stores to religious sects. People develop a relationship with
the brand, product, or political party and thus come to expect
consistent experiences when dealing with them" (Smirnova, Ritzer).
With the widespread presence of McDonald’s restaurants around the world, there is no doubt
that these principles are carried along as well.
However, one of the opposing arguments to Americanization and McDonaldization can be
that the new aspects of culture or ideas do not simply enter a culture but they adapt and
change their form according to the context they find themselves into. In other words, it may
be true that Americanization has introduced its cultural aspects for the Europeans, however,
they did not wipe out completely the former ways of living, instead they were rather
transformed and tweaked to fit the country where they are. "It is important to recognize that
culture does not cease to be culture because it borrows and adapts. When the Plain Indians
adopted the horse and the rifle from Spanish conquerors, traders, and settlers, they completely
transformed their society. They did not, however, become Spaniards" (Anderson 68). This
example perfectly describes the reconstruction of a cultural idea according to the context.
McDonald’s fast food chain is a large term by itself, because even though people are
expected to get the classic meals from this restaurant, it really depends on where around the
globe you find yourself. Some of the examples may be the different climate and soil, which
directly affect the taste and the texture of the burgers. Moreover, alongside hamburgers and
French fries, the restaurant itself adapts to the cuisine of the country they reside in. "The
biggest seller in France after the Big Mac is a mustard-topped burger called Le Royal Deluxe.
Some Asian locations serve fried shrimp in a Big Mac roll, while McDonald's in India don't
serve beef at all, relying instead on burgers made from veggies, rice and beans. Brazilian
14
McDonald's offer baked banana pies for dessert" (Randy). McDonald’s in France,
Netherlands, Germany and Austria serve beer, while the Greek version of McDonald’s serves
Meat with Tzatziki on a pita bread. This may be due to the fact that even though McDonald’s
presents itself as an American restaurant, it wants to show that it is not so distant from the
country where they are situated after all, and therefore attract more customers by making them
feel somewhat "safe".
This phenomenon raises the question, whether or not could this be considered
Americanization, since McDonald’s is no longer what it used to be by its composition and the
choice of meals, even though the company originated in the United States of America and its
headquarters is still located out there.
15
American Cinema and Culture
With the invention of sound in movies in 1927, the American film industry grew in size and
cost whereas the European cinema lacked proper financing. The end of the First World War
saw a change in the American thought process when it came to filmmaking - the film studios
had started investing more in expensive feature films, which included scripts, directors and
actors, effectively perfecting the studio production system (Merziger 795; Feigenbaum 109).
In contrast, the European market fell behind in the so-called ‘quality race’, in parts because of
the disruption of cross-border exchange, efficiently making the gap with American studios too
wide to be closed (Merziger 795). This became a crucial part in the American dominance of
the film market, and the connection between Hollywood and Americanization has since the
interwar period been regarded as a fact of modern life (Glancy 16).
Often, the American dominance in audio-visual productions has been partially credited
with the spread of American thought and culture. Historian Niall Ferguson even referred to
the United States as a “new Rome”, in that the country, “with the classical architecture of its
capital and the republican structure of its constitution” has a great capacity for spreading its
own language and culture across the globe (qtd. in Bolton 148). In more recent years, English
scholars have looked especially at the part the distribution of American mass media have
played in spreading the American English language and American values and ideas to other
parts of the world (Bolton 125). However, many European countries have viewed and
continue to view this Americanization of their culture and language as a threat to their own
national cultures (Feigenbaum 109). As such, to what extent can it be argued that the idea of
Americanization and the distribution of American cinema have affected European cultures in
the twentieth through to the twenty-first century? This question will be answered by applying
the historical and anthropological approach to relevant sources.
American and European Cinemas
The introduction of synchronized sound dialogue in movies vastly changed the film industry.
This revolution in cinema, which would change the entire film industry, started in America
with the 1927 New York premiere of Warner Bros.’ The Jazz Singer, and then slowly spread
to the rest of the world (Nowell-Smith 207). However, where American cinema had focused
on developing and perfecting the art of feature film, European countries, during the First
World War, had found other forms of film more significant, like newsreel and propaganda
(Merziger 795). The invention of sound movies created a split in the international film
16
market, as a selection of non-English speaking countries sought to ban these movies for not
being in the mother tongue and would rather produce sound movies themselves, bringing with
it the disintegration of the international film market, previously dominated by the United
States for almost a decade, into many smaller, national markets (Nowell-Smith 213). This
decision, taken particularly in Europe, came to be a major setback in growth in American
cinema. It wasn’t until 1931 that a solution to this problem came, with invention of instead
dubbing sound movies. For major language regions, the movies would be dubbed into the
mother tongue, while subtitling became the solution for smaller language regions, effectively
giving Hollywood the necessary means to try and recover from the setback (Nowell-Smith
215). Hollywood and the American film industry would, however, still suffer under European
import quotas and the Great Depression, whereas European filmmakers had lost their illusions
about dominating the market.
In the post-war period from 1945 to 1960, American cinema sought to reestablish its
roots in Europe to gain back what was lost in the 1930s. With the Second World War ending,
Hollywood executives sought to resume the pre-war film trade between America and Europe.
In their attempt to regain free access to European market, American representatives spoke
against the need to rebuild the Italian film industry at a meeting in 1944, with which the
British disagreed, stating that it was rather an attempt at Hollywood hegemony than a move to
restore democracy in the former Fascist country (Nowell-Smith 436). However, even though
the European governments were anxious to limit imports and protect the balance of payments,
the European consumers, and thereby the European exhibitors, wanted Hollywood films back
on the screens (Nowell-Smith 436). Soon enough, European countries caved, as they needed
American aid more than they needed the marginal improvement to the balance of payments,
securing only modest concessions to protect the rebirth of their industries (Nowell-Smith
436). The economic motivation led way for additional critique of Hollywood dominance on
the film market.
In addition to the economic reasoning behind European protectionist measures in the
after-war period, cultural motivation also played a part in European countries wanting to
regulate the import of American audiovisual products. It meant the rise of thinly disguised
anti-Americanism, most prominent in countries such as France and Italy, accentuated by the
presence of “the United States as (benevolent) power” in Europe (Nowell-Smith 443;
Feigenbaum 108-109). The European countries viewed the Hollywood films as the spearhead
of a generalized Americanization of culture, as though the films colonized the subconscious
of the Europeans, and more positively, that cinema was an expression of national identity,
17
which lead to critique of lack of diversity in Hollywood films (Nowell-Smith 443-444).
Already in the 1950s did America’s cultural challenges in Europe set its first roots.
In 1975, Hollywood entered yet a new age of cinema with the viewing of Steven
Spielberg’s Jaws, followed two years later by George Lucas’ Star Wars, spectacularly
confirming that a single film could earn its studio a profit of millions, and turn a poor year
into a triumph (Nowell-Smith 475). From then on, Hollywood focused increasingly on high-
cost, and as a result leaving studio managers to look for regular, predictable cash flows in the
form of television series productions and, from the mid 1980s, videocassettes (Nowell-Smith
475). With this revolution came the rise of the made-for-TV movies, the introduction of cable
film channels, and particularly the home video revolution. The idea of watching movies at
home, renting the videocassette at a store, was very popular with the American people, and by
the 1990s, the VCR brought $10 billion in rentals and sales in the United States alone
(Nowell-Smith 475-476). Also in Europe did this fresh round of Hollywood films receive a
positive reception, with films like Fatal Attraction, Rain Man, and Cocktail grossing more
money overseas than in American theatres (Nowell-Smith 482).
Through cinema history, the United States has been the major player in film industry,
with perfecting the studio system, inventing sound movies, and mass-producing feature films.
Moreover, Hollywood films have faced its challenges in trying to root itself and become a
constant in European countries. However, the European cinema has struggled in creating
quality-wise good content on par with Hollywood’s great successes, leading way instead for a
sense of anti-Americanism, especially in Central and Southern European countries. So while
the Hollywood studio system had great national success, the reaction of European countries
started out with protectionist policies and further evolved to thinly disguised anti-
Americanism, which became somewhat forgotten as Hollywood revolutionized its film
production and had yet again great success overseas.
Cultural Challenges of Americanization
The notion of anti-Americanism in Europe has only grown over the years as the United States
asserted it’s global dominance, culturally, politically, and economically. It took root with the
manifestation of the term “cultural imperialism”, which had been occasionally used
beforehand, but the critique was first formulated as a coherent argument in the 1960s (Elteren
346). Later, the concept was defined as “the use of political and economic power to exalt and
spread the values of a foreign culture at the expense of a native culture” in the Harper
18
Dictionary of Modern Thought (qtd. in Elteren 346). As Elteren states (346), the process of
Americanization is much more complicated and much less unilateral than the notion of
cultural imperialism assumed it to be, making the argument of cultural imperialism less
believable to alone define the process of Americanization. In addition to Elteren’s statement,
Feigenbaum argues that people do not simply “absorb the claims and ideas of the media
wholly and uncritically, and then behave as the media’s message intends” (111).
Some feel that fear of becoming “Americanized” and the rise of anti-Americanism in
European countries is justified in manifesting. The diversity across the globe means that ideas
create opportunities across countries to have insight in other people’s cultures. In fact,
Feigenbaum argues, “just as education is enriched by including people from diverse
backgrounds, the vibrancy of an economy or a society is enhanced by the injection of new
ideas” (113). Therefore, because of the need to protect national ideas and culture, European
governments fear that the dominance of American popular culture puts the vibrancy of all
societies at risk, as the spread of American audiovisual products may be leading to greater
homogeneity across the globe (Feigenbaum 111, 114). The risk of cultural homogeneity
would alter the conditions of entrepreneurship and innovation, as people rethink their own
ideas when exposed to foreign cultures (Feigenbaum 111). Consequently, cultural
homogeneity would not only affect the countries being Americanized, but would ultimately
also have a negative effect on the United States.
However, while trying to maintain cultural diversity, it can be argued that
Americanization is not a complete takeover and erasure of non-American cultures. Rather, the
Americanization of culture is gradual and subtle, merging the already existing culture in a
country with American culture, as the American values are mediated and modified through
the lens of the receiving society (Feigenbaum 111, 114; Elteren 346-347). Moreover, it can be
reasonably assumed that the cultural references become less familiar and more open to local
interpretation as the distance between the consumers and the producers of movies and
television shows increases (Feigenbaum 112). For this reason, because of the political
similarities between America and Europe, it can be further argued that European countries are
more likely to correctly translate the American popular culture and be familiar with American
values and symbols, and thereby American culture is more prone to merging with their own
national culture.
European countries and consumers do, nevertheless, play a part in continuing the spread
of American goods and values. In the twenty-first century transnational consumer society,
consumers play a role in regulating supply and demand. According to Elteren (347-348), at
19
any given moment, consumers are given a wide selection of goods, and it is the European
people themselves, however fearful of Americanization they are, who choose the options
stemming from America. For example, in the year of 2006, on the world box-office Top 20
list, there were fourteen American movies on the list, while the remaining six were American
co-productions (Halliwell and Morley 220). More specifically, when talking on a global scale,
the American cinema clearly dominates the film market, indicating no prominent change in
discourse despite European anti-Americanism. As referred to earlier, the continued spread and
consummation of American films and television shows have also helped spread the notion of
American values and most basic culture. Another instance of how American film industry
continue to affect European audiences, is the way people become more familiar with
American folkways than with their own, resulting in, among other things, accused in French
courts addressing the judge as ‘Vôtre Honneur,” rather than the proper address, “Monsieur le
Juge”, or German law students asking professors on how to approach a jury, not knowing that
Germany has no juries (Feigenbaum 112). These examples show to the extent that American
television shows and movies playing on screens in Europe provide many of the symbols of
everyday, American speech and affecting, especially, the youth.
On the other hand, the United States do also find themselves inspired by other cultures.
The United States is, to begin with, a collection of many different cultures co-existing and
merging together spread over 319 million people. The fact that the country draws inspiration
from other cultures to mesh together with its own is visible in the case of Starbucks -- a
company with the name of the first mate of Pequod in Herman Melville’s American novel,
Moby Dick, but inside, costumers are presented with aspects of Italian coffee culture
(Feigenbaum 128). Additionally, American television has love for borrowing British shows
and re-making them, while the American cinema uses French films as inspiration for
Hollywood blockbusters (Feigenbaum 128).
While Americanization can on some levels be harmful in regards to creating cultural
homogeneity, the sharing of cultures is by no means a one-way street. Cultures impact other
cultures all across the globe, and this cultural diversity has indeed become a good source of
new ideas, many of which can be lucrative or otherwise beneficial in furthering one culture.
Still, the clear American dominance on the film market is a prominent way of insuring the
continued spread of an American set of values, with both the positive and the negative results
that follow this.
20
The effect the transnational spread of American values and ideas has had and continue
to have in the day-to-day lives of Europeans is evident. From the heightened protectionist
politics of the 1930s, and the rise of anti-Americanism in the 1950s, and twenty-first century
fear of cultural homogeneity, American dominance on the film market have continuously had
an effect on European policies and societies. However much European governments wish to
be more independent of American audiovisual goods in order to inspire hope and success in
domestic cinemas, Hollywood and American television have become such huge parts of
common European culture. The Americanization of European cultures has become evident
also in how the languages have changed. European consumers of American films and
television are prone to adopting phrases, words, and symbols often expressed in those
products, as in the case of both the German law students and the accused in French
courtrooms.
21
Language and Americanization
As the world becomes more globalized the need for an international, common form of
communication is enhanced. According to long-time English teacher Patricia Ryan, this can
be directly related to the concept of Americanization (Don't Insist on English!, online video).
At the turn of the twentieth century, millions of immigrants moved into the United States. At
this they encountered the challenge of integrating into the already set traditions of the country.
The Americanization Movement was then born, and sought “to change the unskilled
inefficient immigrant into the skilled worker and efficient citizen” (Luce 32) and to show
them “the spirit of America, the knowledge of America, and the love of America.” (Luce 32).
However, it is argued that this concept with time became incredibly popular, essentially
causing its migration, and expansion to other areas of the world like Europe. Furthermore, its
core purpose was misinterpreted by some (Herzstein 13). This is believed to have been the
beginning of the spread of ‘Americanization’ in the world.
Diana Ayton-Shenker, senior of Philanthropy and International Affairs at Bard College,
by quoting Vinod Sharma, describes the result of ‘Americanization’ as “an increasingly
global, multicultural world brimming with tension, confusion and conflict in the process of its
adjustment to pluralism.” (Sharma 213). She adds that “there is an understandable urge to
return to old conventions, traditional cultures, fundamental values, and the familiar,
seemingly secure, sense of one’s identity. Without a secure sense of identity amidst the
turmoil of transition, people may resort to isolationism, ethnocentrism and intolerance.”
(Sharma 214).
Globalization affects almost every human being because the process of globalization is
said to have expanded almost throughout the entire world either through culture, commerce,
or communication. Contrary to popular belief, Americanization is often confused with the
former concept. They do, however, differ on a great scale. Some people define
Americanization more as cultural imperialism, where the process of global unity is based
more on American traditions and ways of life than a general understanding of these, which is
what globalization attempts at promoting.
Considering the fact that culture constantly evolves, and outside influences, such as
Americanization, is a part of that natural change. We should ponder: is American culture a
good influence on other cultures? In a way, some would argue that Americanization is part
globalization with a focus on materialism and individualism.
22
It is in recent times stated that the modern mass media, including film, television, and
the Internet have played a great role in “spreading particular languages or varieties of a
language within societies.” (Fromkin and Rodman 251). It has been evident that the fast
spread of American English worldwide in the twentieth century can be argued to be partly due
to the popularity of American television, music and films, in so many countries around the
world. In fact, according to Henry Luce “American jazz, Hollywood movies, American slang,
American machines and patented products, are in fact the only things that every community in
the world, from Zanzibar to Hamburg, recognizes in common.” (Nicholson 63). However,
many have associated specifically the expansion of American English with the issue of
linguistic diversity in the world today, as a majority of all spoken languages around the world
are naturally threatened in their continued existence. Moreover, often it is seen that primary
schools around Europe emphasize the importance of learning English today. Furthermore, the
age at which this language is initially taught becomes increasingly early, as it is believed to be
an essential skill in an internationalized world. With this in mind, to what extent can it be
argued that Americanization has from the twentieth through to the twenty-first century
affected the use of American English in European cultures from a historical and
anthropological approach? An adequate and full anthropological exploration of this issue
must include not only linguistic aspects of the question but also the relevant cultural,
historical, and social dimensions as well.
Historical background
The post cold war era led to the increasing influence of what some people these days call
quasi-governments, which may be referred to as the International Monetary Fund and the
World Bank (Appadurai 45). Therefore, these companies took on the role of the world's
economic ‘police' telling particularly poorer nations how to spend their money (Appadurai
47). In order to receive further support, these institutions demanded that countries “open up
their economies to liberalization under Structural Adjustment Programmes that encouraged
governments to fund privatization programmes, ahead of welfare and public services”
(Appadurai 48). Not only that, but the influence of multinational organizations like the United
Nations Organization were also greatly structuring global issues. This was the beginning of a
new era.
However, in the then new millennium, things took a different path. Suddenly countries
were being introduced to the rhetoric titled globalization. “Globalization is an umbrella term
23
for a complex series of economic, social, technological, and political changes seen as
increasing interdependence and interaction between people and companies in disparate
locations (Appadurai 50). Within the field of political economy, it refers to “the increasing
integration of economies around the world, particularly through trade and financial flows”
(Appadurai 50). The term sometimes also refers to the movement of people and knowledge in
the form of labor and technology across international borders. However, there are also broader
cultural, political and environmental dimensions of globalization.
U.S.A, which has had the world's biggest economy and strongest known army since the
end of the Cold War, has taken important steps in persuading the rest of the world to think
and act like them. For example, the transmission of American culture has happened through
different art forms, but the number one medium has, in recent times, clearly been the
electronic media. Television in particular has done a lot in Americanizing those who view
images especially from Hollywood. In fact, the development of the Internet and its evident
control around the world can partially be said to have been demonstrated by the heavy
influence of the United States.
However, according to Peter Trudgill “The electronic media are not very instrumental in
the diffusion of linguistic innovations, in spite of widespread popular notions to the contrary.
The point about the TV set is that people, however, much they watch and listen to it, do not
talk to it. [...] Face-to-face interaction is necessary before diffusion takes place, precisely
because it is only during face-to-face interaction that accommodation occurs.” (Trudgill 40).
Still, considering the daily exposure to the U.S. variety of English in so many homes around
the world, it would seem apparent that the media have played and continue to play a major
role in the spread of the spoken and written forms of the American English. This in turn
provides evidence of the powerful influence of media in fermenting language change, as a
linguistic process.
While it may be true, that in previous generations, due to the difference in times, the
role of media played only a secondary role in language change, the impact of electronic media
on language in the twenty-first century should not be dismissed.
Americanization of Danish
Europe has been almost dramatically influenced by Americanization in the last few centuries
and it is a well-established fact that the impact of English on the Danish language has grown
dramatically since 1945. Linguists agree that this stems primarily from American English
24
rather than British English. However, no systematic attempts have been made to document
this in any detail. This section will therefore be structured according to the following thesis: There is a connection between The United States’ growing influence in the period 1945-1975 and the
development of the Danish language. Moreover, as the American phenomenon, things, and thoughts
after world war two slowly merge into Danish culture, the amount of new words and syntactic
structures from American English registered in Danish after 1945 increases.
According to Danish linguists who have studied the English influence on the
development on the Danish language, the process is an impossible endeavor as the roads that
language travels through are far too complex to map and analyze. However, it is important to
notice that there are two main forms of English, American and British. The former being the
one investigated in this paper. Therefore, before addressing this issue, a brief distinction
between these forms will be made.
The extent of the English influence on Danish has been examined by Maegaard and Ruu
in their “Hyppige Ord I Danske Aviser, Ugeblade og Fagblade” from 1981-86. In their
analysis they in fact highlight the important of distinguishing between British English and
American English. According to them, words such as job and jobs are considered different
depending on which type of English is referred to (Maegaard and Ruus, par. 1). Furthermore,
Henning Bergenholtz talks about a similar investigation in his book “Frekvensordbog baseret
på danske romaner, ugeblade og aviser 1987-88” from 1989. His aim is to show the most
frequent words in Danish. This means that every word in the texts he analyzes is counted, and
thus, the analysis also includes English words without focusing on these as ‘replacement
words’ (Bergenholtz). Sometimes though, it is a problem that the significance of the words
that are counted is not considered in detail. For example, it occurs with the words the and The,
with 201 observations but of these, 30 copies of the word refer to the drink the, while the
remaining 171 refers to English definite article The (Bergenholtz).
Furthermore, Bergenholtz’ study only analyzes words in the printed media, which is
published within a limited timeframe. This of course happened in the interests of the large
counting work that a frequency analysis requires, but at the same time it means that the results
of the study can only say something about the frequency of the Danish words, and thereby
also English replacement words, in certain types of texts and only for a period that cannot be
generalized about the frequency of words in Danish up until today. However, with a particular
aim at examining English replacement words in Danish, Pia Jarvad made a smaller sample
with a selection of Bergenholtz’ data. Here she counted the English replacement worlds and
concluded that “a text, where 80% of the most frequent words are represented, there are 0.6%
25
direct English replacement words." (Jarvad, “Nye ord. Hvorfor og hvordan?”). However,
unlike Maegaard and Ruu, Jarvad does not distinguish between British and American words
in her analysis.
According to Danish journalist Lars Brink, despite its apparent English influence, the
Danish language is in no risk of extinction, even in the long-term. In fact, it is striking that
through time you see the same English ‘replacement words’ transitioning from one generation
to the next. Furthermore, from the 1000 most frequent words in the Danish language, which
on average corresponds to 75% of a text, it is only around 10 of these which can be said to
come from English; weekend, cykel, radio, job, okay, droppe, in, out (Brink 4). Finally, in
relation to British English in comparison to American English, Brinks concludes that the
Danish language is influenced mostly by American English (Brink 5).
Further investigations have likewise been conducted by Knud Sørensen in his book
”Engelske lån i dansk” from 1973. This data is supplemented with Sørensen’s own examples
from newspapers and other texts. The period, which Sørensen’s data comes from, is the
twentieth century, primarily from after world war two where the influence has been more
noticeable. The aim of his investigation is to state a contrasting description of English and
Danish focusing on the English ‘replacement words’ and these words’ future in the Danish
language. To emphasize his findings, Sørensen attempts to describe the areas where English
apparently influences Danish. He mentions areas such as ‘politics and economics’, ‘modern
warfare’, ‘commerce and advertising’, and ‘film, music, literature’. From his findings,
Sørensen concludes that the Americanization of the Danish language can be traced back to the
era of industrialization and the whole development this has had in the aftermath (Sørensen, nr.
8).
A contradiction to the theories and findings stated by the formerly named people is the
fact that there are different types of ‘replacement words’. One of the more relevant ones in
this paper is ‘Pseudo-anglicism’. This term defines words in languages other than English,
which were borrowed from English but are used in a way native English speakers would not
readily recognize or understand (Webster 62). In this case, there are some words, which do in
fact come from English, or are essentially English words, but when used in Danish they do
not have the same meaning. An example of this is military from the sport Equestrianism.
Military is an English word, but when it is used in Danish in that context, it does not have the
same meaning as it would in English. In English speaking countries, within Equestrianism
another word is used for that meaning; cross-country riding.
26
Another important thing to notice about the subject of the Americanization of Danish is
the fact that, even though it is not known by many, a great amount of new words in Danish in
the period 1945-75 were created from Danish. Actually, it is only around 1164 of the 5000
new words registered by Jarvad, which are prevenient from, or English (Jarvad, “Nye ord i
dansk”). The majority of the new words, around 74%, are in fact created from Danish.
However, when looking particularly at different language’s influence on Danish throughout
the twentieth century, American English has by far contributed to the creation of new Danish
words.
It has in the above investigation been evaluated to what extent a cultural influence in the
period 1945-75 can be traced in the language development of Danish, understood as an
extension of Danish vocabulary through the integration to it of English words. It is a fact from
the observations made that in the period after world war two a lot of English words have been
included in the Danish language, however, it is yet to be established whether this influence is
prevenient from American English, or British English. However, generally, when considering
the different investigator’s findings, it can be stated that American English and culture has
had the most influence on Denmark and Danish in the twentieth century. Therefore, the
concept of Americanization can be fairly justified in Denmark.
Has it transitioned to the twenty-first century/conclusion?
The spread of American English is largely of very recent origin. Despite the debates on the
influence of U.S. English throughout the twentieth century, it was not until the latter part of
the twentieth century that American English gained in prestige in regions such as Europe, and
in many societies in Asia.
Looking at the Danish case of Americanization and Anti-Americanism in Europe, 1945
can definitely be considered a prominent dividing line. While the United States had not been
very vocal in political discussions and debates in the interwar years, American culture and
life-style was still highly reflected in Hollywood movies, novels, comics, and popular music
which was at the time enthusiastically embraced by many Danes, especially the young
generations in the same period (Pells 94). Furthermore, due to this, American words started
entering the Danish vocabulary. As early as in 1906, Danish readers were introduced to the
‘hot dog’ in a short story by Johannes V. Jensen, who was one of the few Danish pro-
American intellectuals (van Elteren 103). It was followed by words like “jazz”, “drink”,
“cocktail”, “hot” and “swing” from the late 1910s. In 1934, “OK” was explained in the
27
‘Arbejderens Opslags- og Fremmedordbog’ (The Working Man’s Dictionary) published by
two Social-Democratic intellectuals (Robertson 257). Other American facts were given
somewhat proper Danish names, such as chewing gum ‘tyggegummi’, which was first used in
1922. Or, the American Western movies that became known as ‘cowboyfilm’ from 1925.
However, beyond these changes, adaptions and implementations, it is still questionable
whether or not the twenty-first century can be argued to continue being, in essence, an
American Century.
In the past decade, Criticism of the Vietnam War grew rapidly and was the main form
of contradiction towards the American lifestyle from around 1968 (Herzstein 25). When
Danes celebrated the 25th anniversary of the liberation from German occupation, news
commentators and information sources paralleled the situation of Europe under Nazism with
the present dilemma of the Vietnamese people. In other words, there was an apparent call for
the rise of anti-Americanism around Europe, and Denmark was one of the supporting
countries. However, in 2014 Denmark's public schools experienced a reform. Part of this
reform stated that children should begin learning English in 1st grade instead of in later years
as it had always been. This was, according to local newspapers, because children need this
tool in order to be able to succeed in a global world (Undervisningsministeriet). Therefore, it
can be argued that Denmark is still influenced on a great scale by the globalized, American-
based era.
On another note, many argue against the assumption that the twenty-first century is
another American Century. In fact, in Europe, several uprisings against this concept were
witnessed throughout the century, essentially leading to a movement of anti-Americanism
(Cumings 271). However, this does not necessarily mean that America’s previous influence
on Europe has not been passed on to the twenty-first century, because it has most certainly,
especially with the age of information and the rise of social media.
The words that surround us every day influence the words we use. Since so much of the
written language we see is now on the screens of computers, tablets, and smartphones,
language now evolves partly through our interaction with technology. Again, people all over
Europe use American English terms on a daily-basis, but now also in written form. Examples
of this are LOL (‘laughing out loud’), Selfie, Throwback, OMG (‘oh my god’) and even the
names of social media are essentially English words like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
Seen from a linguistic perspective, it can be justified that the twenty-first century has
seen a rise in American English influence on languages around Europe due to technological
and communicational developments.
28
29
Rise of Nationalism
As the word assumes, Americanization affects people and states all around the world, as it has
been debated to be directly linked to globalization. It characterizes a world that becomes more
and more interdependent, not only economically, but also politically and culturally as well.
From this it is important to examine the extent to which Americanization fosters and erodes
the political ideology of nationalism. Nationalism is in general terms defined as
“consciousness manifested by members of a group that they belong to a particular nation.”
(Heywood 153) It is therefore correct to state that a common heritage and culture in many
cases creates a national identity and the feeling of a community.
The rise of International Organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO)
and the European Union (EU) took away some amount of decision-making from nation-states.
This has generated negativity upon these organizations as the idea of national identities seem
to be blurred in this exact context. Naturally, the fear of a ‘United States of Europe’ similar to
the US rises. Furthermore, with the introduction of the Euro as new currency for Europe in
1999 and integrative number plates for cars within the EU, nationalist thinking is being
actively eroded by promoting a homogenous Europe.
On another side a global market can also be argued to contribute to the dismissal of
nationalist thinking in a different way. Products from other countries can be purchased and
contribute to a change in national cultures. Cooking with fruits and vegetables imported from
nations at the other end of the world or playing games on electrical entertainment devices
from Japan change a nation’s culture in the long term. However, at the extent of considering
the facts mentioned above, it can be argued that these, based on Americanization, in fact also
lead to the rise of a sense of nationalism. Tomlinson sees the fear of losing cultures as the
main concern of protestors against globalization (Natrajan 226).
The notion of a newly emerging universal culture more or less implies the potential
loss of national culture. In today’s world, the search for identity seems to be one of the greater
tasks for people. This enhances nationalist thinking, as psychologically speaking, humans
tend to turn towards things they know and understand. In relation to the Americanization of
Europe this suggests that as cultures are exposed to the idea of a universal unity, the sense of
traditional, common understandings is highlighted. In other words, contrary to a universal
culture, national cultures have a common and coherent heritage. In general, people who speak
the same language and have identical values find a common ground for relations of any kind.
30
Finally, it could seem apparent that national participation in international
organizations, the loss of parts of a state’s sovereignty over its own territory, and thereby the
international unity of different cultures may force the dismissal of nationalist ideology.
However, these same factors seem to have sparked the rise of modern nationalism in the
twenty-first century. This can, and will be considered in relation to different aspects of culture
such as language, audio-visual products and consumption.
31
Conclusion
The purpose of this paper was to answer the following problem formulation: To what extent
can it be argued that aspects of ‘Americanization’ such as consumerism, audio-visual
products, and language have affected European cultures from the twentieth through to the
twenty-first century? In order to do this, the investigation was separated into three main
sections being consumerism, language, and audio-visual products. Each section aimed at
giving a more in-depth, and detailed examination of the problem formulation, essentially
providing three argumentative perspectives.
The section on consumerism was structured chronologically, by providing an
introduction to the theme along with a definition of the terms investigated, and finally a sub-
problem formulation was stated presenting the main aim of the section. “To what extent can it
be argued that McDonaldization and the increased consumption of processed food is in fact
Americanization?”
In order to make the connection between Americanization and the expansion of
processed food, the history of food preservation up until the Industrial Revolution was
explained as being a near necessity, which in turn divided society in two consumption specific
groups. As the evolution of tin cans was explained based on the aid from the United States of
America, it was argued that in that sense Americanization and consumerism could be directly
linked.
McDonaldization was defined as being another form of Americanization. This argument
was supported by the fact that McDonald’s is one of the biggest fast-food chain restaurants in
the world today. However, it was established that the concept of McDonaldization could not
be generalized to all countries and therefore to an extent loses its argumentative significance.
The section on audio-visual products was structured like the one on consumerism,
focusing mainly on chronology in order to answer the sub-problem formulation stated. “To
what extent can it be argued that the idea of Americanization and the distribution of American
cinema have affected European cultures in the twentieth through to the twenty-first century?”
It is established through a historical approach that the United States of America gained
influence within the film industry, as the world grew more aware of these technological
advances. Even though they lost popularity with the problem of language differences and
diversity in the 1920s, where non-English speaking countries sought to ban films, which were
not displayed in their mother tongue, Hollywood was fast to find a solution to this problem
with the implementation of dubbed versions of American films in 1931. Even through the
32
Great Depression and the problem of European import quotas, America was able to re-
establish its dominance on the film market.
European countries wanted to regulate the import of American audiovisual products,
and this argued for the rise of anti-Americanism movements as the European countries
viewed the Hollywood films as the spearhead of a generalized Americanization of culture.
Finally, the close implementation of Americanization in family homes in 1975 came with the
rise of the made-for-TV movies.
The last section on Americanization and language aimed at arguing both sides of the
following sub-problem formulation. To what extent has Americanization from the twentieth
through to the twenty-first century affected the use of American English in European cultures
from a historical and anthropological approach?
A historical overview of the evolution of language alongside culture, and its connection
with Americanization and introduction of a globalized world was made. After looking at the
spread of American English from an early twentieth century television, music and films point,
it is clear to see that European cultures were heavily influenced.
Denmark was the main country used as subject for this investigation. With evidence
extracted from previous investigations carried out by Danish linguists, it was possible to see a
direct correlation between American English and the natural evolution of the Danish
language. This was even possible after noticing the distinction between American English and
British English. However, according to Lars Brink, Danish is in no risk of being influenced by
English to the extent of losing its linguistic base. In that sense, the idea of the
Americanization of Danish is counter-argued.
Finally, even through the rise of anti-Americanism in Europe, Denmark implemented
the beginning of earlier lessons of English (in most cases American English) in Danish public
schools in the twenty-first century, as it is argued to have become a global tool for success.
After having given a brief overview of what themes were covered throughout the paper
in relation to Americanization and consumerism, audio-visual products and language, and
which arguments and counter-arguments were used, along with the established factual
information and argumentative evidence, a conclusion can be formulated.
Consumerism saw the rise of America through the clever usage, and revolution of tin
cans, along with the spread of McDonaldization around the world. This proves to have
contributed to the expansion and migration of American ideas, and ways-of-life around the
globe, especially in Europe. Even though McDonaldization cannot be generalized to all
countries, the impact it has had on Europe up until today has been argued to be sufficient
33
evidence in favor of Americanization. In terms of audio-visual products, the Americanization
situation in the world wars in the twentieth century were cleverly worked by the United States
of America by taking advantage of propaganda opportunities. This along with the fact that
Hollywood grew rapidly as the leading film industry in the world proves that the idea of
Americanization of cultures in Europe is evident. Finally, language is claimed to evolve
naturally through its exposure to other cultural realities. However, it has been well established
that the introduction of American English to European cultures through different mediums has
left a trace in the languages spoken around Europe in the twenty-first century. This has been
especially enhanced with the revolution of technology and social media in the past decade.
It has been argued that the apparent globalization of the world on the basis of an
American lifestyle has led to nationalist uprisings with the aim of defending and preserving
traditional cultures. While nationalism can be claimed to be the closest competitor of the idea
of a global common culture, European consumers of American products can still be seen to
have been heavily influenced by these in many ways from the twentieth century throughout
the twenty-first century. Finally, it is evident from the themes investigated in this paper that
that there is yet to be an apparent successful demonstration against this fact.
34
Works Cited
Anderson, Kroc, Ray Anderson, and Robert Anderson. Grinding It Out: The Making of
McDonald’s. Chicago: H. Regnery, 1977. Print.
Anderson, Sheldon, Mark Peterson, Stanley Toops, and Jeanne Hey. International Studies: An
Interdisciplinary Approach to Global Studies. Westview, 2015. Print.
Appadurai, Arjun. Globalization. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2001. Print.
Barksdale, Nate. What It Says on the Tin: A Brief History of Canned Food.
Bergenholtz, Henning. Frekvensordbog: Baseret På Danske Romaner Ugeblade Og Aviser
1987-1988. Århus: Handelshøjskolen I Århus, 1989. Print.
Bojsen, Else. Dansk under engelsk-amerikansk fortryllelse? København: Sprog i Norden,
1989. Print.
Bolton, Kingsley. "Constructing the Global Vernacular: American English and the Media."
Media, Popular Culture, and the American Century. Ed. Kingsley Bolton and Jan
Olsson. Stockholm: Fälth & Hässler, 2010. 125-153. Web.
Brink, Lars. Nordens folkesprog i fare? København: Nyt fra Sprognævnet, 1988. Print.
Cumings, Bruce. "Still the American Century". Review of International Studies Rev. Int. Stud.
25.5 (1999): 271-99. Web.
de Grazia, Victoria. Irresistible Empire: America’s Advance through 20th Century Europe.
Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2005). Print.
Desmond, Jane C. "Americanization." Encyclopedia of Global Studies. Eds. Helmut K.
Anheier and Mark Juergensmeyer. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2012.
63-64. SAGE knowledge. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
Eliason, Norman E. "American English in Europe." American Speech 32.3 (1957): 163. Web.
Elteren, Mel Van. Americanism and Americanization: A Critical History of Domestic and
Global Influence. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2006. Print.
Elteren, Mel Van. "Rethinking Americanization Abroad: Toward a Critical Alternative to
Prevailing Paradigms." The Journal of American Culture 29.3 (2006): 345-367. Web.
Feigenbaum, Harvey B. "America's Cultural Challenges Abroad." Political Science Quarterly
126.1 (2011): 107-129. Web.
Fromkin, Victoria, and Robert Rodman. An Introduction to Language. 5th ed. New York:
Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1993. Print.
Foley, Michael. American Credo: The Place of Ideas in US Politics. Oxford Scholarship
Online.
35
Glancy, Mark. Hollywood and the Americanization of Britain: From the 1920s to the Present.
London: I. B. Tauris, 2013. Web.
Goodwin, Neva et al. Consumption and the Consumer Society. Medford, MA: Tufts
University Global Development and Environment Institute, 2009. Web.
Halliwell, Martin and Catherine Morley, eds. American Thought and Culture in the 21st
Century. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008. Web.
Henry R. Luce. The American Century. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., 1941. Print.
Heywood, Andrew. Political Ideologies: An Introduction. New York: St. Martin's, 1992.
Print.
Hoffmann, Charlotte. The Spread of English and the Growth of Multilingualism with English
in Europe. In Cenoz, Jasone and Jessner, Ulrike eds., English in Europe: The
Acquisition of a Third Language. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 2000. Print.
James, Randy. "A BRIEF HISTORY OF McDonald's Abroad." Time. 28 Oct. 2009. Web.
Jarvad, Pia. Nye ord i dansk 1955-1975. København: Gyldendal, 1984. Print.
Jarvad, Pia. Nye Ord: Hvorfor Og Hvordan? København: Gyldendal, 1995. Print.
Julia S. Falk. Linguistics and Language: A Survey of Basic Concepts and Implications. New
York: Wiley, 1978. Print.
Kim, Evelyn. "The Amazing Multimillion-Year History of Processed Food. " Scientific
American 309. 50-55.
Klein, Christopher. "McDonald's Surprising Start, 75 Years Ago." History. 15 May 2015.
Labov, William. Sociolinguistic Patterns. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press,
1972. Print.
Lund, Jørn. Okay?: Amerikansk Påvirkning Af Dansk Sprog. København:
Dansklærerforeningen, 1989. Print.
Maegaard, Bente, and Hanne Ruus. Hyppige Ord I Danske Aviser, Ugeblade Og Fagblade.
Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 1986. Print.
Marx, Leo. "Thoughts on the Origin and Character of the American Studies Movement."
American Quarterly 31.3 (1979). Web.
McCrum, Robert, William Cran, and Robert MacNeil. The Story of English. New York, NY,
U.S.A.: Viking, 1986. Print.
"McDonald's." Corporate Info. <www.mcdonalds.com.my>.
Merziger, Patrick. "Americanised, Europeanised or nationalised? The film industry in Europe
under the influence of Hollywood, 1927-1968." European Review of History: Revue
européenne d'histoire 20.5 (2013): 793-813. Web.
36
Michelle, Smirnova, George Ritzer, Mark Juergensmeyer, and Wade Roof.
"McDonaldization." Encyclopedia of Global Religion. 2012. 764-765.
Mlodzianowska, Marta. "Anti-Americanism." Encyclopedia of Global Religion. Eds. Mark
Juergensmeyer and Wade C. Roof. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.,
2012. 43-44. SAGE knowledge. Web. 20 Dec. 2015. Web.
Natrajan, Balmurli. "Masking and Veiling Protests: Culture and Ideology in Representing
Globalization." Cultural Dynamics 15.2 (2003): 213-35. Web.
Nicholson, Stuart. Jazz and Culture in a Global Age. Boston: Northeastern UP, 2014. Print.
Nowell-Smith, Geoffrey, ed. Oxford History of World Cinema. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1996. Web.
Pells, Richard H. Not like Us: How Europeans Have Loved, Hated, and Transformed
American Culture since World War II. New York, NY: Basic, 1997. Print.
"PRIMERICA CORPORATION History." International Directory of Company Histories.
Vol. 1. St. James. 1988.
Robert E. Herzstein, Henry R. Luce. A Political Portrait of the Man Who Created the
American Century. New York: Scribner’s, 1994. Print.
Ryan, Patricia. “Don't Insist on English!” Ted. TEDTalks, 2011. Web. 12 Dec. 2015.
Sharma, Vinod. Human Rights Violation: A Global Phenomenon. New Delhi: P H Pub., 2002.
Print.
Stearns, Peter N. "Consumerism." Encyclopedia of Global Studies. Eds. Helmut K. Anheier
and Mark Juergensmeyer. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2012. 281-
285. SAGE knowledge. Web. 20 Dec. 2015. Web.
Strandley, Linda. "Hamburgers - History and Legends of Hamburgers." What's Cooking
America.
Sundin, Sarah. "Make It Do – Rationing of Canned Goods in World War II." Sarah Sundin
Author. 28 Feb. 2011.
Sørensen, Knud. Engelsk I Dansk: Er Det Et Must? Viborg: Munksgaard, 1995. Print.
Sørensen, Knud. Engelske Lån I Dansk. København: Gyldendal, 1973. Print.
Tremaine McDowell. American Studies. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1948).
Print.
Trudgill, Peter. Dialects in Contact. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1986. Print.
Undervisningsministeriet. Velkommen Til Folkeskolen. Folkeskolen.
Undervisningsministeriet, 2014. Web. 18 Dec. 2015.
37
Ury, Claude. "The Encyclopedia of the Industrial Revolution in World History." Library
Journal. 104.
Webster, Noah. Dissertations on the English Language. Boston: Isaiah Thomas,1789. Print.
38