Foreign television entertainment programs viewing and cultural imperialism

Abstract

Abstract taken from Dissertation Abstracts International, vol 49, no 10, April 1989, p. 3073-A:

Emanating from this debate, a survey, that used an instrument constructed out of concepts derived from both schools of thought, was used in a study carried out in Windhoek, Namibia. A random sample of 340 respondents from Katutura was utilized. The primary objective of the survey was to empirically explore the effects of American-produced television programs on Namibians. Specifically, the major research question was to study whether the viewing of American-produced programs was related to cultural imperialism in Namibia

The survey results revealed that in general, Namibians were fond of the U. S. A., but to some degree, the more they watched the America- produced programs, the more they were fond of the U. S. A.. The results also showed that the viewing of some of the programs was significantly related to effects that the critical theorists may tag as culturally imperialistic. But not all the American programs were significantly related, and for those that were related, their effects were limited to certain domains of Namibians' lives

After a decade since the transfer of the broadcasting technologies to the LDC's and the attempts at the directed social change never materialized, criticism started to mount. The mass media were blamed for being the channel of cultural imperialism and an instrument of domination used by the industrialized powers against the LDC's. Consequently a big dispute ensued between the traditional theorists of mass media and the critical theorists. The former advocating the positive emancipatory effects of mass media and the latter vilifying the mass media for having detrimental effects on the citizens of the LDC's