Re-Colonization of Postcolonial Subjecthood: American Culture Industry as a Hegemonic Tool

Abstract

The current research seeks to unearth political dimensions of American capitalism propagated through American Culture Industry. American market rules the world through its hegemonic control over culture industry. This alliance between capitalist market and various forms of mass media provides ideological tool for alienating the inhabitants of the former colonies from realizing the true nature of their bondage. It sets to prove that happiness and freedom propagated by American determined mass media is nothing more than illusion and inhabitants of former colonies are in-fact labouring under the compulsion to buy American products. In spite of achieving nominal freedom, the subjects of former colonies are taken into stringent clutches of western culture and despite their hatred and disliking for colonizers they boldly imitate their life style and feel proud to embrace an American identity. Western, technologically developed countries, particularly America inculcates inferiority complex in post-colonial subjects. They feel that they will be able to improve their inferiority complex by using brands advertised by western mass media. The research sets to substantiate that although a nominal decolonization has been achieved in most of the colonies yet according to our contention this is nothing more than a token liberation in which neo-imperial powers use hegemonic tools instead of coercive devices. We contend that it is worse than the former colonization for being deceptive and subtle and the American market tightens the shackles rather than breaking them in a deceptive way.