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