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  3. Cultural imperialism, a term first coined in the 1960s, refers to cultural hegemony, or the domination of other nations, specifi

Cultural imperialism, a term first coined in the 1960s, refers to cultural hegemony, or the domination of other nations, specifi

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问题     Cultural imperialism, a term first coined in the 1960s, refers to cultural hegemony, or the domination of other nations, specifically as practiced by the United States, through the dissemination of a consumer ideology. Critics of the US point to the plethora of US cultural products available in other countries, particularly media products, such as music, television, movies, news and technology. They argue that the ubiquity and influence of US cultural exports threaten the cultures of other nations and communities. With the growing popularity of the Internet, many countries worried about an unregulated and uni-directional flow of information and have approved policies to control the amount and types of information available to their citizens. Those who oppose regulations declare that the leaders of these countries are opposed to freedom or progress. However, those in favor of regulations believe that their cultures and very identities may be under siege.

    Herbert Schiller, a communications scholar, asserts that although the advent of an information society and innovations such as the Internet have been heralded as democratic, in reality both information and technology are controlled by a wealthy elite. Within Marxist theory, this is explained in terms of the " core" versus " periphery" argument, which posits the presence of global imbalances between "core" and "periphery" nations. Core nations such as the United States, are those with political power and economic advantages which the periphery nations are poor, so-called Third World nations. According to this perspective, information flows from the core to the periphery. Periphery nations are, thus, unwitting consumers of core values, ideology, and assumptions embedded in the information they receive.
    On the other hand, others argue that this theory is too simplistic because it does not account for internal dynamics within societies, and it views culture as deterministic and static. It assumes according to its critics, passivity and a lack of opposition on the part of the "dominated" group or nation. In fact, many argue that rather than being dominated by US culture and media, people in other cultures tend to transform the intended meanings to ones which better suit their own cultural milieu. Thus, it is argued that rather than becoming "Americanized" , for example, Asian societies have "Asianized" US cultural exports such as McDonald’s.
    Other critics argue that although cultural imperialism may indeed be a factor in the exportation of certain US media products, the Internet is a different matter. It is argued that the Internet, unlike other media, has no central authority through which items are selected, written and produced. Instead, with the Internet information can be disseminated from anywhere and from anyone, meaning that information is transmitted multi-directionally. Contrary to being a tool for cultural imperialism , the Internet allows individuals to participate in their own languages and to engage in preserving and celebrating their own cultures. It is argued that the Internet, rather than promoting cultural imperialism, may in fact promote multiculturalism.
    In 2000, Christopher Hunter presented a paper at the International Institute of Communication Annual Conference in which he argued that although more "traditional" types of US cultural exports may be open to reinterpretation and resistance, the values embedded in the software used in computer networks like the Internet are difficult to resist. Hunter explains that Microsoft’s Windows operating system, for example, although developed in the US, is used in over 90% of the world’s computers, Microsoft accepts cookies, which track users as they go online, without telling the user, thereby forcing the user to accept US cultural privacy norms. In fact, as Hunter points out issues of privacy invasion have been a major concern for European countries. Those who use computers may find it difficult to resist the values and beliefs embedded within their own software.
Question 71 to 75
    Complete the summary below with information from the passage, using three words or fewer for each blank.
    Cultural imperialism refers to the domination of other nations through the export of cultural products, and perhaps especially,【E1】______. It is argued that the ubiquity and popularity of 【E2】______puts too much pressure on periphery nations and communities to abandon their own cultural norms and embrace US culture. The Internet is believed by some scholars and leaders to be an example of US cultural domination because of its roots in the US and the perception that the 【E3】______has one source and moves in a uni-directional path. On the other hand, it is argued that the Internet has no centralized source of authority, and is an instrument which may【E4】______. Others, while believing that traditional types of media exports can indeed be open to re-interpretation and resistance by different societies, argue that the Internet and computer software have embedded certain US norms into their systems which make them【E5】______.
【E4】
选项
答案promote multiculturalism
解析 (倒数第二段指出网络不像其它媒体，并没有中央权力来决定网络上的内容，该段最后一句指出“It is argued that the Internet，rather than promoting cultural imperialism，may infact promote multiculturalism”，即有些人认为网络并不会造成文化帝国主义，反而有助于multiculturalism“多元文化”的发展。)
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本试题收录于： A类竞赛（研究生）题库大学生英语竞赛（NECCS）分类
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