Summary of “Exporting the Wrong Picture” by Martha Bayles
In the article “Exporting the Wrong Picture” author Martha Bayles proposes the idea of America ruining what started it; public diplomacy. She begins by explaining the start of public diplomacy by presenting it as a life changing event and how Benjamin Franklin played a major role in it by “turning his dumpy self into a symbol” of it. However did not take long for all of his work to be torn apart by new generations of Americans; with popular culture taking its role. Bayles reveals a numerous amount of changes that began happening after the Cold War. During this time period, the National Science Board reported that “the funding for public diplomacy has been cut by more than 30 percent since 1989” and now the government …show more content…
This sent the entertainment industry into expanding mode causing multiple films, song, and video games to be made. All of these forms of entertainment were viewed by people all over the world; which in turn gave other countries a different image of America's so-called diplomacy. Bayles main point that she’s trying to get across is that following popular culture can cause many problems abroad and influence other countries. Some of the entertainment that is released encourages violence and views “women as sexually immoral” (Bayles 174). These events caused many to alter their views about America and have pessimistic attitudes toward our citizens but that did not stop them from making these shows, music, and games. Producers were making tons of money and that was what was important to them; not the image of America. Bayles seems to perceive America attention seeking money makers that only care about themselves and not about the future relationship between other countries. She finishes with explaining that she thinks America
In the article “Exporting the Wrong Picture” author Martha Bayles proposes the idea of America ruining what started it; public diplomacy. She begins by explaining the start of public diplomacy by presenting it as a life changing event and how Benjamin Franklin played a major role in it by “turning his dumpy self into a symbol” of it. However did not take long for all of his work to be torn apart by new generations of Americans; with popular culture taking its role. Bayles reveals a numerous amount of changes that began happening after the Cold War. During this time period, the National Science Board reported that “the funding for public diplomacy has been cut by more than 30 percent since 1989” and now the government …show more content…
This sent the entertainment industry into expanding mode causing multiple films, song, and video games to be made. All of these forms of entertainment were viewed by people all over the world; which in turn gave other countries a different image of America's so-called diplomacy. Bayles main point that she’s trying to get across is that following popular culture can cause many problems abroad and influence other countries. Some of the entertainment that is released encourages violence and views “women as sexually immoral” (Bayles 174). These events caused many to alter their views about America and have pessimistic attitudes toward our citizens but that did not stop them from making these shows, music, and games. Producers were making tons of money and that was what was important to them; not the image of America. Bayles seems to perceive America attention seeking money makers that only care about themselves and not about the future relationship between other countries. She finishes with explaining that she thinks America