The American Century

Denims and hot dogs, skyscrapers and supermarkets, mass production and rock music-what do all these have in common? One thing is that they can be found today all over the world. Another is that all of them were born in the United States. The country which for most of its existence had been an importer of influences has become in the twentieth century a major exporter of them. In many areas of life, American popular tastes and attitudes have conquered the world.

You have read earlier about the part that American movies played in this process. After the Second World War the spreading of American influence was continued by a powerful new force-television. As early as 1947, around 170,000 American families had television sets flickering in their living rooms. Thousands more were waiting for sets to be delivered. Soon millions of people were organizing their activities around the programs on television that evening.

Most early American television programs were concerned with entertainment. Comedy and game shows, stories about policemen and detectives, the adventures of fictional western heroes like the Lone Ranger-all these were very popular. The main purpose of such programs was to attract large audiences of "viewers." Manufacturing firms then paid television companies like NBC and CBS lots of money to show advertisements for their products while the programs were being broadcast, or "televised."

By the 1960s filmed television programs had become an important American export. Other countries found it cheaper to buy American programs than to make their own. Soon such exported programs were being watched by viewers all over the world. One of the most popular was "I Love Lucy," a 1950s comedy series featuring a red-haired comedienne named Lucille Ball. When Lucille Ball died in April 1989, "I Love Lucy" was still being televised. It had been seen by then in seventy-nine different countries and had become the most watched television show ever?

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