Impact Of Cultural Exchanges Jazz And Rock N Roll
Impact of Cultural Exchanges: Jazz and Rock n’ Roll
Americans and Soviets both viewed popular culture as an important weapon in the battle to attain influence in Europe during the Cold War. Each thought that increasing the strength of its culture could play a crucial role in winning support for its side. The U.S. wished to limit the influence of the Soviet Union and prevent Communism from spreading over the world. Due to the USSR having significant control over Eastern Europe, the U.S. needed to formulate policies to keep allies and neutral countries from turning Communist. The U.S. also had to influence the Soviet Union without risking an open military conflict, therefore the government needed to be delicate about its propaganda. This led the American officials to choose the evolutionary concept of gradual cultural infiltration and cultural exchanges through the power of music. What did Americans consider as quintessentially American music? Jazz and rock and roll, of course.
Propaganda is a powerful tool that has always existed in the world. It can be best described as information, especially of a biased type, used to endorse or publicize a particular political cause. The U.S. used culture for containment of communism in the Soviet because they wanted to “denounce communism, exalt the capitalist system, and promote democracy” (Hixson pg 122). Before the purge of Western influence in the Eastern Bloc, the U.S. already had its foot in the door on infiltrating the Soviet culture. The U.S and Soviet were allies during WWII and Joseph Stalin opened Soviet border to Lend-Lease aid, as well as to American music, films, and printed materials. Film became a popular medium for transmitting American culture, as well as magazine readings such as Amerika- magazine featuring reprints of articles from U.S. publications (Hixson pg 118). Much to the chagrin of the U.S. and after the war, the Kremlin launched a campaign to purge the USSR of foreign stimulus due to the concern
Americans and Soviets both viewed popular culture as an important weapon in the battle to attain influence in Europe during the Cold War. Each thought that increasing the strength of its culture could play a crucial role in winning support for its side. The U.S. wished to limit the influence of the Soviet Union and prevent Communism from spreading over the world. Due to the USSR having significant control over Eastern Europe, the U.S. needed to formulate policies to keep allies and neutral countries from turning Communist. The U.S. also had to influence the Soviet Union without risking an open military conflict, therefore the government needed to be delicate about its propaganda. This led the American officials to choose the evolutionary concept of gradual cultural infiltration and cultural exchanges through the power of music. What did Americans consider as quintessentially American music? Jazz and rock and roll, of course.
Propaganda is a powerful tool that has always existed in the world. It can be best described as information, especially of a biased type, used to endorse or publicize a particular political cause. The U.S. used culture for containment of communism in the Soviet because they wanted to “denounce communism, exalt the capitalist system, and promote democracy” (Hixson pg 122). Before the purge of Western influence in the Eastern Bloc, the U.S. already had its foot in the door on infiltrating the Soviet culture. The U.S and Soviet were allies during WWII and Joseph Stalin opened Soviet border to Lend-Lease aid, as well as to American music, films, and printed materials. Film became a popular medium for transmitting American culture, as well as magazine readings such as Amerika- magazine featuring reprints of articles from U.S. publications (Hixson pg 118). Much to the chagrin of the U.S. and after the war, the Kremlin launched a campaign to purge the USSR of foreign stimulus due to the concern