1. C h a p t e r s 3 & 6 PA RT I I
Globalizing the Body Politics
&
Jamming Media and Popular Culture

3. U.S. POPULAR CULTURE & POWER
CLAIM 1: US Americans are in a unique position in relation to popular culture
– Products of U.S. popular culture are widely circulated internationally.
– US Americans are rarely exposed to popular culture from outside the US.
CLAIM 2: It is particularly difficult for non-English-language pop culture to be
widely distributed.
– Popular culture plays a big role in understanding relations around the globe, and we rely on
popular culture to understand world issues and events.
– Important to be aware of the interrelatedness of ethnicity, culture, nationalism in the context
of economics, technology, and capitalism.
Power, Hegemony
U.S. Maintains Control Over Production, Ads,
& Pop Culture
Distribution Of Pop Culture
Examples: Infrastructure, knowledge, capital
HEGEMONY
Domination through consent
Examples: Allure, pleasure, enjoyment, the “cool” of U.S. pop culture; status marker

4. MUCH OF THE
INTERNATIONALLY
CIRCULATED POPULAR
CULTURE IS
U.S. POPULAR CULTURE.
 Hollywood continuously seeks
overseas markets
 Makes more money outside of the
Some governments
U.S. than from domestic box office
are concerned about
receipts.
the amount of
 Widely available U.S. media
popular culture
include television & newspapers, social
coming into their
networks
countries.

5. Why might some governments be
concerned about the high level of
popular culture entering their
countries??

6. Domination through the spread of
cultural products.
***Interrelationships among economics, nationalism, and
culture.***

7. Dictionary of Human Geography
defines Imperialism as:
"the creation and/or
maintenance of an
unequal economic,
cultural, and territorial
relationship, usually
between states and often
in the form of an empire,
based on domination and
subordination.”

8.  Emerged 1960s
 After WWII
 Economic expansion of core capitalist societies. (i.e. United
States)
 Decolonization processes occurring worldwide (Cuba, Ghana,
Senegal, Nigeria, Uganda)
 Intense concentrations of multinational capital
Resulted in debates
REALIZATION:
on  An instrumental power in communication &
 Domination information
 Dependency  Both played a role in the expansion of the
 Control capitalist world system
Within economic  This power has a cultural effect on Third World
and political terms nations

9. Media, Popular Culture and Intercultural
Communication
 How is intercultural communication impacted by
stereotypical representations?
 How can you challenge/change these representations?
 How is identity affected by the media and popular culture?
 Do you usually have a dominant, negotiated or oppositional
reading of media texts?
 How are cultural identities impacted by global circulation of
media and popular culture?

10. Resisting and Recreating
Media & Popular Culture
Increased Awareness &
Creative Production
Informed Action
• Alternative or • Citizen media or
independent media participatory media
• Refuse to consume • Culture jamming
products that
dehumanize groups
of people

11. Popular culture plays a POWERFUL role
in how we think about and understand
OTHER groups as well as one’s OWN
group representation.

12. WHAT IS
RACE?

13. The Myth of “Race” as Biological
Evolutionary biologist Joseph L. Graves (2005) states,
“The traditional concept of race as a biological
concept is a myth,” (p. xxv)
 More genetic diversity within “races” than across
 No biological basis in the categorization of people based on physical
characteristics.
 No biological basis in the association of physical, mental, emotional or
attitudinal qualities

14. HOW DOES RACE FUNCTION?
Functions by using physical differences to categorize
people into hierarchical groups
Attributes value-laden qualities Race is socially
to these categories based on constructed within
physical differences. historical, political and
economic contexts.
EXAMPLES:
Industrious Resulted in social
Smart inequities that continue
Athletic
to impact us today in the
Lazy
context of globalization
Violent

15. Inventing Race & Constructing the
“Other”
Race is a social construct with
tremendous consequences both
historically and today
THE HISTORICAL WHITE SUPREMACY
CONSTRUCTION OF A historically based, institutionally perpetuated
“RACE” system of exploitation and oppression that
establishes and maintains wealth, privilege and
THE STORIES WE TELL power of white race
ABOUT “RACE”
HISTORICAL EXAMPLES:
HISTORICAL ROOTS OF  “Racial whitening” in Latin America
RACISM AND WHITE  “One-Drop Rule” in North America
PRIVILEGE  Four-tiered racial system in South Africa

16. Race in the Context of Globalization
Does “race” mean the same thing today as it did 60,
100, 200 years ago?
How have the Civil Rights movement and anti-colonial
movements impacted our understanding of race?
What does it mean when we say we live in a
o Race-less society?
o A color-blind society?
o A post-race society?
Are these accurate?
What are the consequences of these ideologies?

17. How has race been re-signified in the
context of globalization?
FROM “RACE” TO WHITENESS
“CULTURE”
A location of structural
advantage.
 Racial naturalism:
A standpoint.
Biological hierarchy
A set of core values,
 Racial historicism:
practices and norms in
Cultural hierarchy
which White ways of
thinking, knowing, being
and doing are normalized.

18. Re-signifying Race in the Global
Context
FROM “RACE” TO “CLASS” CONSEQUENCES:
 All about the color of – Masks systemic racism
historically and today
money (not race)
– Hides existing wealth
disparities that are race
 Assimilation and based
allegiance to whiteness – Elevates unquestioned
norms of whiteness
– Obscures processes of
assimilation to whiteness
INTERSECTIONALITY