Textual and Visual Representations of U.S. Hegemony in a U.S. Film Broadcast on Romanian Public Television

Abstract

A semiotic analysis and study of verbal interactions in the film The Bad News Bears, broadcast on Romanian public television on the Fourth of July were conducted, to identify American values carried to a foreign audience in a developing country. The film portrays 1970s American suburban life, where parents emphasize competition and winning a baseball game “at all costs” - over values such as education, fair play, respect, and racial and sexual equality. The research suggests that in the context of globalization and increasing spread of American cultural influence through the world circulation of media products, U.S. hegemony needs further consideration.