The Internet and Revolution

It would be very difficult to try to contest the belief that the United States generally controls the global media economy. Even many industries which own, distribute, or otherwise have a stake in “global” or “non-western” cultural products are often times controlled or funded by an American corporate interest. Herbert Schiller, one of the world’s “most influential political economists of communication” asserts that “corporate interests pervades every aspect of society” (Baran 223). In his article “American Pop Culture Sweeps the World” Schiller asserts that these corporate interests are the cause of the “Americanization” or “westernization” of global culture. Furthermore, he says that this “weakens the influence of local leaderships and thereby creates additional national and global instability.” (Schiller 3)
When I read this article that last sentence sort of blew me away. For four years I’ve studied the effects of media on individual, societal and global levels, but never did I think that the (western) media is creating “additional national and global instability”. I was astounded that it could have such extreme negative effects. Looking for modern examples to support this theory touted by Schiller I first considered looking at how the West influenced the recent political upheaval in the Middle East. However, I quickly expelled the idea that the Arab Spring was a result of western media influence, a true “Twitter Revolution”, due to a number of factors (outlined to some degree here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/09/iran-twitter-revolution-protests ) but most importantly, I rejected this idea because social media did not spawn the ideas which birthed a revolution, it just helped spread them.
Schiller might disagree with me. His belief that media (in this case social media) has a “direct, though immeasurable impact on human consciousness” (Schiller 5) might cause him to contend that these revolutions were indeed a result of western media influence, even if he does not solely blame social media but rather implicates the whole western media economy.

Do the global and local civil society have their activities enhanced by the internet? (Schiller 5) OR has the internet let to more “national and global instability”?

Schillers feelings about the homogenization of culture through media are mirrored by McLuhan’s ideas about the “global village”. McLuhan believes that “a new form of social organization would emerge as instantaneous electronic media tied the entire world into one great social, political, and cultural system.” (Baran 231)

Do you share Schiller’s skepticism about the west’s place in global media?

Or do you understand and agree with McLuhan’s “optimism” regarding the emerging media landscape?

Perhaps some of Schiller’s fears about the future of globalization are rooted in his belief that “the internet itself is all too likely to be transformed into a commercial and pay for use system in the near future.” (Schiller 6) More than ten years later, we have seen this happen to some degree as many websites are run solely by advertisements and have their messages dictated by the corporate interests that fund them. Also, we have seen many ISP’s begin charging users based on how much data (measured in Megabytes) they consume.

Does this mean that a “commercial” internet is a bad thing when considering that it is more or less controlled by western industry?
Before you answer, consider the other alternative. A internet controlled and regulated by a Western Government. Recently, this hypothetical almost recently became a reality. The SOPA and PIPA bills which sent the internet community into an uproar (and cause many of the highest trafficking sites to “blackout” for 24 hours in protest) would have made it “harder for sites — especially those located outside the United States — to sell or distribute pirated copyrighted material such as movies and music as well as physical goods such as counterfeit purses and watches.” (Magid) Although these bills had seemingly “good”, or at the very least safe, intentions, the actual implications of this legislation would have drastically changed the way we use the web.
The fears of many internet users were echoed in a statement made by the Obama administration:

“Any effort to combat online piracy must guard against the risk of online censorship of lawful activity and must not inhibit innovation by our dynamic businesses large and small.

The administration also echoed concerns raised by a number of security experts, including some anti-malware companies that the bill could disrupt the underlying architecture of the Internet.” (Magid)”

Given this information, what are some more problems that arise from governmental and corporate internet control?

Would this issue be better suited to be studied by a Cultural Studies Theorist or a Political Economist?

Works Cited

Baran, Stanley J., and Dennis K. Davis. Mass Communication Theory: Foundations, Ferment, and Future. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.

Magid, Larry. "What Are SOPA and PIPA And Why All The Fuss?" Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 18 Jan. 2012. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. .

Schiller, Herbert. "American Pop Culture Sweeps the World." Societies, Masses, and Publics (1996): 2-13. Print.

Weaver, Matthew. "Iran's 'Twitter Revolution' Was Exaggerated, Says Editor." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 09 June 2010. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. .