Entertainment is a major industry in America and is one of its biggest exports, which is probably why so much money goes into making movies and television shows. For people who have never been to America, what they see in the movies or on television shapes their perception of America and American life. The images they see can also influence their attitudes towards international events, the past and other nations, since they generally depict the world from an American perspective.

Unfortunately, this is not always good for cultural relations. Although American entertainment is far from homogenous, the most successful movies tend to be those in which Americans are the good guys, fighting against an evil oppressor. Everything is black and white, so that there is no room for nuance. During the cold war years, it was obviously Russia that was portrayed as the enemy, while the focus later moved on to the Middle East.   

The trouble is that movies and television shows are produced for people’s entertainment. They are not necessarily an accurate reflection of events or communities or beliefs, but it can be easy to forget this when you get sucked into the action or romance of a plot. American movie scripts have a habit of rewriting history to show America in a positive light and downplaying other nations’ contributions. In the film U-571, for instance, it was apparently Americans who captured a naval Enigma machine, when it was in fact the British who did so.

This may only seem like a small thing, but plenty of people probably came out of the cinema believing this to be the truth. Clearly, this didn’t go down well in Britain, as Britain’s role in World War Two is an important part of her heritage and of British identity. When it comes to American entertainment it seems that facts are often not seen as important as conveying a winning-at-all-costs type of attitude, with Americans generally presented as the heroes.

This is not always the case, though, and there are plenty of instances of American anti-heroes and flawed characters. However, it is often low-budget independent films that explore the nuances of American culture, whereas big-budget affairs are rather less sophisticated, with lots of sex and violence included to keep the audience interested.

The American entertainment industry extends beyond movies, but it is movies that tend to permeate people’s attitudes towards history, America and the world. American movies dominate movie charts throughout the world because they are backed by large studios and contain famous faces that everyone can recognise. People are willing to spend their money on these kinds of movies because they are entertaining. This may be good for the American economy, but the dominance of the American entertainment industry globally may not be quite as beneficial for cultural relations.