American Media Affects Brazilian Culture, but Do the Locals Really Mind?

by Grant Eads                                      Back to JOUR 440 Page

A consumer culture popularized by the United States has reared its head in Brazil. The sea change in lifestyle and purchasing habits may transform the Brazilian ‘way of life’, while some would argue this change is already well underway.

“American culture tries to place a price-tag on everything and will try to make profits regardless of who it affects”, said Dione Cortes, a recent law graduate from São Paulo.  Like many Brazilians, Cortes feels that traditional Brazilian culture takes the backseat behind contemporary consumerism largely influenced by a mix of American products and selling points.

But Cortes is also addicted to Marlboro Light cigarettes, claims an insatiable thirst for Coca-Cola Light, and watches imported American films like "Cruel Intentions" with Portuguese subtitles on a regular basis, which can be found almost every night on Brazilian network television.

In Brazil, cigarettes, soda, and French fries are sometimes easier to come by than simple drinking water. Not to say that Brazil has unsanitary drinking water, but Coke has been advertised as the “social drinking preference”; and Coca-Cola’s Latin American public relations may not be solely accountable for that.

A typical supermarket shelf in Brasil, sotcked with easily recognizable brand products (Photo by Grant Eads)

INFLUENCES

Paradoxically for some, the people who choose to consume American products are also the ones complaining of a disintegration of some elements of Brazilian culture.

American media globalization is a double-edged sword for “culture-rich” countries, like much of Latin America, Europe and Asia. Do you refuse to consume American products in the name of your traditional culture, leaving you with little choice in certain product areas, or do you buy into the clever advertising therefore “adopting” cultural elements from abroad?

“Foreign countries like Brazil provide international business with lucrative consumer markets”, said Hiroshi Yudo, a Japanese fifth period economics student at UFSC.

What has happened in many countries including the United States is that blind consumerism has dramatically risen post-World War II. "Big Business" has figured out what works, and what works in the United States will probably work in other countries if a few subtle changes are made and some subtitles are slapped on it.

U.S.-produced media are all around in Brasil. A quick look at a video store shows the whole gamut of Hollywood movies, from Jim Carey comedies to high brow dramas like "Brokeback Mountain" (Photo by Grant Eads)

POSITIVE CHANGES

From an economic perspective, media and product globalization can have positive implications as well. Brazilians have access to products that cannot be produced, for one reason or another, in Brazil.

While sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll usually have little problem crossing cultural boundaries, Brazilians sometimes question whether the content of the cultural products they import from the United States is even culturally relevant.

Although it may be nice to be aware of the American Civil War, rural South Carolina, farming in the Midwest, or teens crashing BMW’s in Los Angeles, much of the media content can be lumped in the socially trivial pile for many Brazilians.

“I do not see this [trend] ending,” said Vinicius Cury, an UFSC engineering student.

A change in the current trend seems indeed far-fetched at this point. If Brazil is going to have a fighting chance at saving pieces of their traditional culture, the decisions have to come from the people. People have to choose whether or not they need a warm welcome to flavor country, the joy of cola, or if they really are loving it.