ABSTRACT
AUTHORS’ NOTE: The authors wish to thank Dr. Gilles Wust and Dr. Peter Lemish for their assistance and for their inspiring comments.
Correspondence: Linda-Renée Bloch, 24 Shalom Asch St. #27, Tel Aviv, 69483, Israel; email: lindabw@netvision.net.il
Communication Yearbook 27, pp. 159-190
LINDA-RENÉE BLOCH DAFNA LEMISH Tel Aviv University
Within the context of globalization, this chapter shows how some cultural texts become internationally popular after traveling via the United States. Through the megaphone effect, items acquire a new aspect as they are diffused from America to the rest of the globe, with a new aura of success. Our analysis of television programs, news networks, children’s culture, and pop music reveals that as mainstream culture spreads, the opportunity is provided for other voices, representing local cultures, to be heard around the world. The megaphone effect proposes an explanation of how successful cultural elements are processed so as to give them the aspect of a universal language.
