ABSTRACT
An attempt to make some progress in more sharply defining the American image was made recently at a research seminar in popular culture held at the East-West Center in Honolulu. Eight Asian and three American scholars met for the better part of a month and gave reports on research they did on popular images of America in various countries. Images of America in most foreign countries tend to be negative, or at best, ambivalent ones; that should come as no surprise. Other countries were afraid of economic exploitation and a phrase that came up over and over again, "cultural imperialism". A paper on Canadian images of Americans suggests that Americanophobia is epidemic amongst our neighbors to the north and that a goodly number of Canadians are suffering from paranoia. An opinion survey of Indians shows they like our dynamism and generosity but don't like our violence-filled films and television programs and many other aspects of our society.
