The American Empire: Exporting American Culture

For pro basketball fans everywhere, it comes as no news that last night was Kobe Bryant’s final game as a basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers. Kobe Bryant has become a household name, not just in America, but globally. Kobe Bryant has ridden the larger wave of global basketball, with a particularly massive (and growing) fan following in China. Sports, and American culture of many varieties have become commoditized and are now consumed in massive quantities throughout the world.

In a particularly interesting example of the globalization of American culture, we can examine the basketball shoe market in China. . To confine the examination of the spread of American culture to basketball shoes would be a severe understatement, however. Hollywood for years has been turning out movies that overseas consumers flock to. There are many industries where this is the case. Globalization of American creativity has been taking place for decades but has really exploded in the new millennium. It has been a financial boon to American producers and has provided the world with new avenues of entertainment that were not previously accessible to citizens of those countries.

One country in particular, however, seems to consume American culture more so then the rest of the world. This country is of course China. . Another interesting potential headwind against further spreading and commoditizing of American culture in China is the shift to a consumer-led economy in China. It remains to be seen if this will be beneficial or detrimental to American entertainment industries, but it does raise the possibility of similar entertainment capabilities arising in China. Regardless of long term factor, America sells in the here and now.