Films and cultural hegemony: American hegemony "outside" and "inside" the "007" movie series

Abstract

This article examines empirically how American cultural hegemony operates through the medium of film - in this case, via the James Bond "007" movie series. It is evident that American values are diffused worldwide via the motion picture industry. The 007 series is a masterpiece that successfully adjusted to the Hollywood system where American capital and structure prevails. The films are controlled by U.S. funding and reflect American perspectives vividly. Between the lines in the scripts, filmgoers are urged to link the United States with positive - hence legitimate - values and accept American's dominant position. The authors of this study argue that the "007" movie series satisfies certain conditions to diffuse and reproduce American hegemony. Moreover, since the series reflects different aspects of the international environment, it is an appropriate case to speculate about hegemony in films.