Adults around the world are complimentary of U.S. commercial products and art, illustrating the enduring global appeal of American cultural exports, according to Morning Consult survey data from 17 countries.
Great cultural influence can create geopolitical clout
During his commencement address at Berklee College of Music in 1993, musician Billy Joel said the world loves America’s cultural exports, which are “probably a better way to get to know our country than by what the politicians or airline commercials represent.”
At least the first half of that claim appears to be largely true. Across the world — regardless of ethnic demographics, national income or geography — people tend to think highly of American arts and goods.
So much so that it often factors into politics abroad. For example, after World War II the French left wing complained about “Cocacolonisation,” and even today the Académie Française tries to moderate the influx of English terms into the French language. Canada, meanwhile, attempts to protect its relatively small television and music industries from the gargantuan American markets by mandating a minimum quantity of Canadian media be broadcast on public airwaves.
And sometimes U.S. cultural artifacts become intertwined in the affairs of superpowers, such as Levi Strauss & Co.’s 501 blue jeans. Their association with dissent from the Kremlin led to a thriving black market for denim behind the Iron Curtain — just look at how many East Germans are wearing blue jeans or even all denim outfits in archival photos of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
And Washington has been known to use American cultural exports for its own ends. Films such as “Top Gun” and its sequel, for example, are just the latest in a long line of productions, dating back to World War II, to receive generous support from the Pentagon in exchange for flattering portrayals of the U.S. military.
The Morning Consult surveys were conducted Oct. 14-18, Oct. 26-29, Nov. 16-21 and Dec. 15-30, 2022, among a representative sample of 1,000 adults in each country, with unweighted margins of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
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