Thinking Transnationally part 2
Posted by jasendavis on April 24, 2017
I want to begin this by saying that I tried reading one of those free books that Amazon gives you when you purchase something from them. It was truly terrible and I could not make it through the first chapter.
Reading this chapter and the discussion that it makes about changing themes of media, it reminded me of an experience I had at Barnes and Noble earlier this month. I was looking for a specific book, but I didn’t want to pay the thirty dollars for the hardback copy. When I asked the worker there for an estimate on when the paperback copy would be available, she informed me that a paperback copy would never be available as the book was being releases exclusively in hardback and online formats. What happens when the hardback copies are no longer being sold? What about those who don’t have a device suitable for reading the online copy? It really surprises me that there won’t be any paperbacks produced. What it does is limit access to the product. Some people aren’t going to pay the price for the more expensive copy (I did because I can’t stand reading on my phone or laptop).
The same think can be seen when media is exchanged between nations. Some are the haves (United States, Japan) and some are the have-nots (Nigeria, actually most nations on Earth). The have-nots are often priced out just like those consumers that didn’t want to pay for the hardback. I don’t think media from other nations will ever dominate the United States like media from the US can dominate in other regions (the back dorm boys). People can believe they live in a bubble and that media from different nations isn’t effected by our media, but I’d like to use an MLB commercial to make a point. In the commercial, men wearing Boston Red Sox hats go to Japan and are recognized as players. David Ortiz goes without a hat, and they don’t believe he plays. My point is that the United States dominates the world Media machine, and the rush of media out of the USA makes it more and more difficult for other nations to produce spreadable media.
WKU POP 201 
emilyjones232 said
I like that example of the baseball commercial. I had never seen that one but it completely fits this. American emblems are more recognizable than the people who actually participate in them.
lillieeastham said
Also, few countries have the financial resources to produce the quality of content that American media companies can. It’s kind of hard to worry about whether your country is producing blockbusters if you’re country is always embroiled in civil war or a multitude of other problems. I agree with you that America has a monopoly on media for the foreseeable future.