ABSTRACT
That the United States dominates the international production and distribution of motion pictures and television programs is clear; the industry also has a dominating effect on the U.S. economy, where it has become the second largest export, generating annual revenues of $215 billion (“Entertainment has become,” 1997). This dominance raises several questions that need to be considered in assessing the ongoing significance of the American media in the international consumption of entertainment: Is American media dominance inevitable due to certain conditions intrinsic to the United States economy, political structure, and social organization? What specific factors contribute to the relative hegemony of the United States in this arena? Will the American media always have this superordinate position?
