When you think of the United States, what comes to mind?" the teacher asked. "Justin Bieber!" one student exclaimed.
"So ... a cultural powerhouse?" asked the teacher.
This very exchange happened in an English class I was taking at a Madrid university, and although I was completely skeptical of the idea of America as a so-called "cultural powerhouse" before arriving in Spain, I now have a better understanding of the concept. I had assumed that with all the deeply ingrained, long-held Spanish traditions like bull-fighting, dos besos, tapas, siestas and flamenco, I wouldn't be seeing or hearing that much of the television shows and artists that we know and love in the U.S. This, however, was a severe misconception.
It seems that Spain (and, in many cases, the rest of Europe) is more saturated than ever with American and British media. This cultural invasion of sorts manifests itself in everything from television and music to film and fashion. One such example of this cultural crossover is the British-run Bilingual Schools Project (BSP), which began in Spain in 1995 and has introduced a bilingual and bicultural curriculum in 82 primary schools and 44 secondary schools. The BSP sets up a variety of joint activities between British and Spanish schools to promote and solidify cultural integration and has been incredibly successful in achieving its goals.
In order to understand the significant shift that has happened relatively recently in terms of bilingualism in Spain, it is important to consider the effects of Francoist Spain, which lasted from 1936 to 1975. Because of Francisco Franco's authoritarian, nationalist, militarist, conservative, anti-communist, anti-anarchism, anti-Semitic, anti-socialism and anti-liberalism regime, teaching English was not a priority. Franco declared Castilian Spanish the only official language of Spain during his rule, and learning English was seen as almost blasphemous. With the end of the Franco dictatorship and the beginning of a democracy, the amount of English taught in Spain increased exponentially.
Some are very optimistic about the new English-language presence. One line of thinking argues that the increasing amount of American and British media will help make Spain much more bilingual than it already is. In comparison to other European countries, such as Germany, the Netherlands and Finland, Spain has lower levels of English-speakers, and increased English proficiency could give Spain a leg-up in the economic crisis.
I am somewhat conflicted on the issue. It's nice to be able to see classic American films shown on television and big new releases in theaters. And it is kind of fun to hear Miley Cyrus songs in so many commercials and to watch Game of Thrones (2011-present) on television. But at the same time, I think I would rather see more of Spain's own programming - such as Pedro Almod??var's "Volver" (2006) and "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" (1988). While I understand that a more bilingual Spain will allow the country to more effectively compete in the global economy, there is something to be said for creating more opportunities for Spain to showcase its own media talent to the world.
Dani Bennett is a junior who is majoring in English and spending this semester abroad in Spain. She can be reached at Danielle.Bennett@tufts.edu.
