The Problem of Mythic Imperialism

Imperial aspects of United States exports of media materials are described, & two films that are typical of what has been called a 'beneficent' media invasion are analyzed in detail. In order to show their conformity to the plot of the 'American monomyth,' schematic versions of this & the classical monomyth are provided, the former being a redemption tale in which an innocent community, powerless in the face of evil, is saved by an outsider figure. The macho-redemption version of this monomyth is embodied in Star Wars, which contains substantial elements of antidemocratic irrationalism. A nonviolent version of the monomyth is visible in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which features an everyman figure who is taken up into a spaceship, presumably to be trained for the task of world redemption. These & other typical episodes raise the question of the impact of exporting celebrations of public relinquishment of superpowers to redeemer figures operating outside of democratic systems. AA.