Mickey Mouse

Within the Reading “Under the Sign of Mickey Mouse & Co.” by Todd Gitlin, he posits that America’s rhetorical output leads to a near dominance of other cultures because the well-known American icons are dominating their own culture. This is reinforced by the imagery he brings from the wine cellar in France, which does not have as many pictures of their own famous people, as they do of American icons such as Clint Eastwood. Several cultures understand this, and a few, including France resent this, but there is not much they can do to stop it. France had called America’s influence Cultural Imperialism, yet at the same time honored several American stars with French art awards. I believe that it would be very hard to stop the intense influence that America has because it is appealing to people on a level that makes them want what is being offered, even if they know what is happening and resent it. While I like other countries adopting American culture, I also dislike the fact that they are losing their own culture. This loss of culture is a sad thing to see, but one that cannot currently be stopped, leaving many other cultures open to the influence of American rhetoric.