Issue

Vol. 16 No. 1 (2008): Africa Media Review, Volume 16, n° 1, 2008

2 - Media Imperialism Reconsidered – Again: Local, Western and Indian Media Use in Uganda

https://doi.org/10.57054/amr.v16i1.5185
Hemant Shah

Corresponding Author(s) : Hemant Shah

hemantshah0079@gmail.com

Africa Media Review, Vol. 16 No. 1 (2008): Africa Media Review, Volume 16, n° 1, 2008

Abstract

This study examines the use of local, Western and Indian media by Ugandan
college students in order to reconsider the media imperialism thesis in the context
of increasingly complex global flows of media and culture. We surveyed a
convenience sample of 193 students at Makerere University in Kampala in June
2003 and asked, among other topics, about their media use patterns, their
perception of cultural threats posed by foreign media and their reasons for liking
and disliking local and foreign media. We used a combination of closed and
open questions. Consistent with previous studies, we discovered that the
respondents preferred local media over foreign. But when asked specifically
about foreign media, they preferred Western media to Indian media even though
they believed Western media posed a more severe cultural threat to Uganda
than Indian media. However, the respondents also may have felt some cultural
and political proximity to Indian films despite the language barrier. We also
found, again consistent with previous research, that respondents were active
rather than passive media users. The respondents seemed particularly active
when they expressed dislike for media. The respondents also raised concerns
about intra-national cultural dominance by the major language group in the
country. The results suggest that the media imperialism thesis may be
reconsidered again to take into account complexities created by South-to-South
media flow, but also intra-national concerns about cultural domination and
subordination.

Keywords

Media imperialism media use patterns media flow cultural domination
Hemant Shah. (2008). 2 - Media Imperialism Reconsidered – Again: Local, Western and Indian Media Use in Uganda. Africa Media Review, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.57054/amr.v16i1.5185
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)
BibTeX
References
  1. Abidi, S., 1996, ‘The Return of Asians to Uganda’, African Quarterly, 36(1), pp.45-58.
  2. Adams, B. & Bristow, M., 1978, ‘The Politico-Economic Position of Ugandan
  3. Asians in the Colonial and Independence Eras’, Journal of Asian and African
  4. Studies, 13(3-4), pp. 151-166.
  5. Adams, D. & Bristow, M., 1979, ‘Ugandan Asian Expulsion Experiences: Rumour
  6. and Reality’, Journal of Asian and African Studies, 14(3-4), pp. 191-203.
  7. Anatola, L. & Rogers, E., 1984, ‘Television Flows in Latin America’, Communication
  8. Research, 11(2), pp. 183-202.
  9. Appadurai, A., 1996, Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization,
  10. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
  11. Boyd-Barrett, O., 1977, ‘Media Imperialism: Towards an International Framework
  12. for the Analysis of Media Systems’, in J. Curran, M. Gurevitch, & J. Woollacott
  13. (eds.), Mass Communication and Society, London: Open University Press,
  14. pp.116-135.
  15. Boyd-Barrett, O., 1998, ‘Media Imperialism Reformulated’, in D. K. Thussu
  16. (ed.), Electronic Empires: Global Media, Local Resistance, London: Arnold,
  17. pp.157-176.
  18. Cunningham, S. & Sinclair, J., 2001, Floating Lives: The Media and Asian
  19. Diasporas, Lanham, MD: Rowan and Littlefield.
  20. Curran, J.; Gurevitch, M. & Woollacott, J., 1977, ‘Introduction’, in J. Curran, M.
  21. Gurevitch & J. Woollacott (eds.), Mass Communication and Society, London:
  22. Open University Press, pp.9-11.
  23. Curran, J. & Park, M-J., 2000, De-Westernizing Media Studies, London: Routledge.
  24. Curtin, M., 2003, ‘Media Capital: Towards the Study of Spatial Flows’, International
  25. Journal of Cultural Studies, 6(2), pp. 202-228.
  26. Dorfman, A. & Mattelart, A., 1975, How to Read Donald Duck: Imperialist Ideology
  27. in the Disney Comic, New York: International General Editions.
  28. Gillespie, M., 1995, Television, Ethnicity and Cultural Change, London: Routledge.
  29. Gutierrez, F. & Schement, J., 1984, ‘The Flow of Television from Mexico to the
  30. United States’, Communication Research, 11(2), pp. 241-258.
  31. Herman, E. & McChesney, R., 1997, The Global Media: The New Missionaries of
  32. Corporate Capitalism, London: Castil.
  33. Husband, C., 1994, A Richer Vision: The Development of Ethnic Minority Media
  34. in Western Democracies, Paris: UNESCO.
  35. Larkin, B., 1997, ‘Indian Films and Nigerian Lovers: Media and the Creation of Lee, C-C., 1979, Media Imperialism Reconsidered: The Homogenizing of Television
  36. Culture, Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
  37. Liebes, T. & Katz, E., 1990, The Export of Meaning: Cross-cultural Readings of
  38. ‘Dallas’, New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  39. Mutibwa, P., 1992, Uganda Since Independence, Trenton, NJ: Africa Press.
  40. Naficy, H., 1999, Home, Exile, Homeland, New York: Routledge.
  41. Nordenstreng, K. & Varis, T., 1974, Television Traffic – A One-Way Street? Reports
  42. and Papers on Mass Communication, no. 70, Paris: UNESCO.
  43. Ochieng, R. O., 2000, Liberalization of the Media in Uganda: Who Benefits?
  44. Paper presented at the Panos Institute, Kampala, October.
  45. Ogan, C., 2001, Communication and Identity in the Diaspora: Turkish Migrants
  46. in Amsterdam and their Use of Media, Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
  47. Ogundimu, F. F., 1996, Private-enterprise Broadcasting and Accelerating Dependency:
  48. Case Studies from Nigeria and Uganda, Gazette 58(3), pp. 159-172.
  49. Oliveira, O., 1993, Brazilian Soaps Outshine Hollywood: Is Cultural Imperialism
  50. Fading Out?, in K. Nordenstreng & H. I. Schiller (eds.), Beyond Sovereignty
  51. and International Communication, Norwood, NJ: Ablex, pp. 116-131.
  52. Riggins, H. R., 1992, Ethnic Minority Media: An International Perspective,
  53. Newbuty Park, CA: Sage.
  54. Schiller, H. I., 1976, Communication and Cultural Domination, New York: M.E.
  55. Sharpe.
  56. Schiller, H. I., 1979, ‘Transnational Media and National Development’, in K.
  57. Nordenstreng & H. I. Schiller (eds.), National Sovereignty and International
  58. Communication, Norwood, N.J: Ablex, pp. 21-32.
  59. Straubhaar, J., 2003, ‘Choosing National TV: Cultural Capital, Language, and Cultural
  60. Proximity in Brazil’, in M.G. Elasmar (ed.), The Impact of International
  61. Television: A Paradigm Shift, Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, pp. 77-110.
  62. Thussu, D., 2000, International Communication: Continuity and Change, London:
  63. Arnold.
  64. Tomlinson, J., 1991, Cultural Imperialism, Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University
  65. Press.
  66. Tracey, M., 1985, ‘The Poisoned Chalice? International Television and the Idea of
  67. Dominance’, Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
  68. USA, 114, pp. 17-56.
  69. Tripp, A. M., 2004, ‘The Changing Face of Authoritarianism in Africa: The Case of
  70. Uganda’, Africa Today, 50(3), pp. 2-26.
  71. Tukahebwa, G., 1998, ‘Privatization as a Development Strategy’, in H. B. Hansen &
  72. M. Twaddle (eds.), Developing Uganda, Kampala: Fountain, pp. 59-97.
  73. Tunstall, J., 1977, The Media are American, New York: Columbia University Press.
  74. Wasko, J., Phillips; M. & Meehan, E., 2001, Dazzled By Disney: The Global Disney
  75. Audiences Project, London: Leicester University Press.
Read More

Author Biography

Hemant Shah

As an entrepreneur and industry partner, I've had the opportunity to serve the global risk & insurance market for almost 30 years.

Download
PDF
Statistic
Read Counter : 234 Download : 73