Americanization or Globalization? | Global Envision # Americanization or Globalization? # on or inhibition of authentic local cultures. This brings me to the gist of my submission. At a closer look, globalization is slowly shifting towards Americanization. Have you heard the word "Americanization"? Well in the early 1900's Americanization meant taking new immigrants and turning them into Americans...# cola (Pepsi and Coca Cola products) to nearly every country on earth. The song Amerika by the German rock band Rammstein is often seen as a satire of Americanization. It has received mixed reviews: some perceive it as anti-American, others as being opposed to globalization. The band views it as a satirical # ike Thomas Friedman see it. In a recent column describing why terrorists hate the United States, Friedman wrote: "...globalization is in so many ways Americanization: globalization wears Mickey Mouse ears, it drinks Pepsi and Coke, eats Big Macs, does its computing on an IBM laptop with Windows 98. Many societies # orld seems to be following Uncle Sam (U.S.A) and leaving behind its authentic ways of life. This has not spared even the ‘air tight' Chinese society. Americanization is the contemporary term used for the influence the United States of America has on the culture of other countries, substituting their culture with # How Are We Being Americanized? # an culture has been mainly through several conduits with the number one medium being the electronic media. Television in particular has done a lot in Americanizing those who view images especially from Hollywood. The guys in Hollywood have made us to adore the tough cigar-smoking guys in the Casinos, the thin # l Kora awards held annually in South Africa. Many countries have also gone a head to construct theme parks basing on the American Disney World model. Americanization has also led to the popularity and acceptability of what is known as American English. I have seen many posters here in Rwanda of schools claiming to # mericans. The world also seems to be clamouring for more of the Yankee lifestyle. However simply dismissing -- or demonizing -- globalization as mere Americanization is misleading. Globalization has the ability to alter much more than just the movies or food consumed by a society. And the results can be powerfully # To read another Global Envision article about globalization and American culture, see Americanization vs. Globalization . # Keywords: popular culture , globalization , Americanization , American culture , America # I strogly belive that the word Globalization should change to Americanization. #