The Role of Film as the Product of Popular Culture in Defining American Cultural Identity: An Argumentative Point of View from an Indonesian’s Perspective

Abstract

The Role of Film as the Product of Popular Culture in Defining American Cultural Identity: An Argumentative Point of View from an Indonesian’s Perspective Arido Laksono It is for want of self-culture that the superstition of Traveling, whose idols are Italy, England, Egypt, retains its fascination for all educated Americans (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self Reliance) Abstract Since the first settlement, America has shaped its existence to become the land of freedom, of hope, and of prosperity. It has attracted millions of people to flee from any oppressions and search for a more independence self existence. Many generations have built this huge nation since the arrival of Mayflower. History recorded how the nation survived from the war of independence, slavery and the civil war, the rise of industrialism, the great depression, and both world wars. Still the Stars Spangled Banner echoes through the hall when some immigrants are naturalized and welcomed to be citizens of the United States. So great its attraction that people all over the world dream of having an opportunity to experience and, even further, to live a life in the United States of America. The country provided job opportunities not only for the skilled but also unskilled labors, especially in 1890s when America needed a lot of cheap labors to develop its industry. Consequently, new settlements were opened and the process of assimilation led this country to find its own characteristics, the unique characteristics that can accommodate all the different ethnic groups, national origins and cultural traditions. The discussion of the paper is aimed at finding the shaping of American cultural identity by looking at its intellectual movement, sociological perspectives and historical background through the product of mass culture, film. The use of an interdisciplinary approach, which is the characteristic of American Studies, is applied in order to have a more comprehensive discussion. Here, film is seen as the media to disseminate and introduce culture. Aside from its industrial interest, film has proven to be the effective media of learning other culture. Therefore, film industry is also one of the important aspects in looking at American identity. As the relationship between Indonesia and America has been developed well, film can be “the agent” of popular culture that influences the popular culture in Indonesia as well. Keywords: history, industry, mass product, film, ethnics, identity, popular culture