The Second British Invasion: This Time, It’s Silent. A Study of British Television Industry’s Creation of an AntiHegemonic Response to America’s Global Media Predominance
This article investigates the response of a one culture against the hegemony of another culture; specifically, efforts by the BBC against the omnipresence of American television media. Anti-hegemonic measures are often considered only in the context of third-world globalization. It is important to note, however, that some Western cultures are not only aware of, but actively resisting American cultural hegemony. The article highlights the BBC’s awareness of, and desire to halt, a massive global television culture shaped solely by American exports. Exports of British content into American markets and beyond are analyzed, as well as the way in which these new markets adapt British content for their own cultural audience. The Office is used as an example of British television content that has effectively been exported not only to an American market, but also to over 80 countries. The Office and other such exports represent the British desire to not only assert cultural independence from American media hegemony, but a market-fueled interest in becoming a rival television power globally