Through a Screen Darkly: Popular Culture, Public Diplomacy, and America's Image Abroad (1)

What Does The World Admire Most About America? Science, Technology, Higher Education, Consumer Goods--but Not, It Seems, Freedom And Democracy. Indeed, These Ideals Are In Global Retreat, For Reasons Ranging From Ill-conceived Foreign Policy To The Financial Crisis And The Sophisticated Propaganda Of Modern Authoritarians. Another Reason, Explored For The First Time In This Pathbreaking Book, Is The Distorted Picture Of Freedom And Democracy Found In America's Cultural Exports. In Interviews With Thoughtful Observers In Eleven Countries, Martha Bayles Heard Many Objections To The Violence And Vulgarity Pervading Today's Popular Culture. But She Also Heard A Deeper Complaint: Namely, That America No Longer Shares The Best Of Itself. Tracing This Change To The End Of The Cold War, Bayles Shows How Public Diplomacy Was Scaled Back, And In-your-face Entertainment Became America's De Facto Ambassador. This Book Focuses On The Present And Recent Past, But Its Perspective Is Deeply Rooted In American History, Culture, Religion, And Political Thought. At Its Heart Is An Affirmation Of A Certain Ethos--of Hope For Human Freedom Tempered With Prudence About Human Nature--that Is Truly The Aspect Of America Most Admired By Others. And Its Author's Purpose Is Less To Find Fault Than To Help Chart A Positive Path For The Future-- Machine Generated Contents Note: Pt. I The Fun-house Mirror Of Popular Culture -- Prologue Cultural Export -- And Pushback -- One.the American Way Of Sex -- Two.empire Of Special Effects -- Three.television By The People, For The People? -- Four.from Pop Idol To Vox Populi -- Pt. Ii Goodwill Hunting -- Prologue The Lesson Of Odysseus -- Five.the Washington-hollywood Pact -- Six.the World's Worst Propagandists -- Seven.us International Broadcasting -- Eight.bearers Of Glad Tidings -- Nine.freedom's Just Another Word. Martha Bayles. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. “How the vulgarization of American popular culture has distorted the image of the United States for millions of people around the world.”—Francis Fukuyama,New York Times bestselling author What does the world admire most about America? Science, technology, higher education, consumer goods—but not, it seems, freedom and democracy. Indeed, these ideals are in global retreat, for reasons ranging from ill-conceived foreign policy to the financial crisis and the sophisticated propaganda of modern authoritarians. Another reason, explored for the first time in this pathbreaking book, is the distorted picture of freedom and democracy found in America's cultural exports. In interviews with thoughtful observers in eleven countries, Martha Bayles heard many objections to the violence and vulgarity pervading today’s popular culture. But she also heard a deeper complaint: namely, that America no longer shares the best of itself. Tracing this change to the end of the Cold War, Bayles shows how public diplomacy was scaled back, and in-your-face entertainment became America’s de facto ambassador. This book focuses on the present and recent past, but its perspective is deeply rooted in American history, culture, religion, and political thought. At its heart is an affirmation of a certain ethos—of hope for human freedom tempered with prudence about human nature—that is truly the aspect of America most admired by others. And its author’s purpose is less to find fault than to help chart a positive path for the future. “An extremely intelligent mix of reporting, analysis, and policy prescription.”—Robert Asahina, author of Just Americans “Informative, witty, and thought-provoking.”—Peter L. Berger, author of Invitation to Sociology “How the vulgarization of American popular culture has distorted the image of the United States for millions of people around the world.”—Francis Fukuyama, New York Times bestselling author What does the world admire most about America? Science, technology, higher education, consumer goods—but not, it seems, freedom and democracy. Indeed, these ideals are in global retreat, for reasons ranging from ill-conceived foreign policy to the financial crisis and the sophisticated propaganda of modern authoritarians. Another reason, explored for the first time in this pathbreaking book, is the distorted picture of freedom and democracy found in America's cultural exports. In interviews with thoughtful observers in eleven countries, Martha Bayles heard many objections to the violence and vulgarity pervading today’s popular culture. But she also heard a deeper complaint: namely, that America no longer shares the best of itself. Tracing this change to the end of the Cold War, Bayles shows how public diplomacy was scaled back, and in-your-face entertainment became America’s de facto ambassador. This book focuses on the present and recent past, but its perspective is deeply rooted in American history, culture, religion, and political thought. At its heart is an affirmation of a certain ethos—of hope for human freedom tempered with prudence about human nature—that is truly the aspect of America most admired by others. And its author’s purpose is less to find fault than to help chart a positive path for the future. “An extremely intelligent mix of reporting, analysis, and policy prescription.”—Robert Asahina, author of Just Americans “Informative, witty, and thought-provoking.”—Peter L. Berger, author of Invitation to Sociology Why it is a mistake to let commercial entertainment serve as America's de facto ambassador to the world What does the world admire most about America? Science, technology, higher education, consumer goodsbut not, it seems, freedom and democracy. Indeed, these ideals are in global retreat, for reasons ranging from ill-conceived foreign policy to the financial crisis and the sophisticated propaganda of modern authoritarians. Another reason, explored for the first time in this pathbreaking book, is the distorted picture of freedom and democracy found in America's cultural exports. In interviews with thoughtful observers in eleven countries, Martha Bayles heard many objections to the violence and vulgarity pervading today's popular culture. But she also heard a deeper complaint: namely, that America no longer shares the best of itself. Tracing this change to the end of the Cold War, Bayles shows how public diplomacy was scaled back, and in-your-face entertainment became America's de facto ambassador. This book focuses on the present and recent past, but its perspective is deeply rooted in American history, culture, religion, and political thought. At its heart is an affirmation of a certain ethosof hope for human freedom tempered with prudence about human naturethat is truly the aspect of America most admired by others. And its authors purpose is less to find fault than to help chart a positive path for the future. "What does the world admire most about America? Science, technology, higher education, consumer goods--but not, it seems, freedom and democracy. Indeed, these ideals are in global retreat, for reasons ranging from ill-conceived foreign policy to the financial crisis and the sophisticated propaganda of modern authoritarians. Another reason, explored for the first time in this pathbreaking book, is the distorted picture of freedom and democracy found in America's cultural exports. In interviews with thoughtful observers in eleven countries, Martha Bayles heard many objections to the violence and vulgarity pervading today's popular culture. But she also heard a deeper complaint: namely, that America no longer shares the best of itself. Tracing this change to the end of the Cold War, Bayles shows how public diplomacy was scaled back, and in-your-face entertainment became America's de facto ambassador. This book focuses on the present and recent past, but its perspective is deeply rooted in American history, culture, religion, and political thought. At its heart is an affirmation of a certain ethos--of hope for human freedom tempered with prudence about human nature--that is truly the aspect of America most admired by others. And its author's purpose is less to find fault than to help chart a positive path for the future"-- Provided by publisher Contents 7 Introduction 11 Part I. The Fun-House Mirror of Popular Culture 31 Prologue to Part One: Cultural Export—And Pushback 31 1. The American Way of Sex 38 2. Empire of Special Effects 57 3. Television by the People, for the People? 79 4. From Pop Idol to Vox Populi 98 Part II. Goodwill Hunting 123 Prologue to Part Two: The Lesson of Odysseus 123 5. The Washington-Hollywood Pact 132 6. “The World’s Worst Propagandists” 146 7. US International Broadcasting 168 8. Bearers of Glad Tidings 198 9. “Freedom’s Just Another Word” 220 Conclusion 243 Acknowledgments 269 Notes 273 Index 317