04025nam 22006855 450 991048035160332120210826033022.00-300-19931-710.12987/9780300199314(CKB)2550000001201414(EBL)3421361(SSID)ssj0001115849(PQKBManifestationID)11633417(PQKBTitleCode)TC0001115849(PQKBWorkID)11092057(PQKB)11646763(MiAaPQ)EBC3421361(DE-B1597)486282(OCoLC)1024015910(OCoLC)1029837088(OCoLC)1032692619(OCoLC)1037971321(OCoLC)1041973505(OCoLC)1046615485(OCoLC)1047025382(OCoLC)1049620091(OCoLC)1054872925(DE-B1597)9780300199314(EXLCZ)99255000000120141420200424h20142014 fg 0engurnn#---|u||utxtccrThrough a Screen Darkly Popular Culture, Public Diplomacy, and America's Image Abroad /Martha BaylesNew Haven, CT :Yale University Press,[2014]©20141 online resource (336 p.)Description based upon print version of record.0-300-12338-8 Includes bibliographical references and index.Front matter --Contents --Introduction --Prologue to Part One: Cultural Export-And Pushback --1. The American Way of Sex --2. Empire of Special Effects --3. Television by the People, for the People? --4. From Pop Idol to Vox Populi --Prologue to Part Two: The Lesson of Odysseus --5. The Washington-Hollywood Pact --6. "The World's Worst Propagandists" --7. US International Broadcasting --8. Bearers of Glad Tidings --9. "Freedom's Just Another Word" --Conclusion --Acknowledgments --Notes --IndexWhat 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.Popular cultureAmerican influencesDiplomacyUnited StatesForeign relations21st centuryUnited StatesForeign public opinionUnited StatesSocial life and customs1971-Foreign public opinionElectronic books.Popular cultureAmerican influences.Diplomacy.303.48/273Bayles Marthaauthttp://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/aut1053719DE-B1597DE-B1597BOOK9910480351603321Through a Screen Darkly2485777UNINA