From Degenerate Monsters to Revenge of the Big Mac: A Study of French Anti-americanism

Author

Jill Peets, University of Mississippi

Date of Award

1-1-2010

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Croft Institute for International Studies

First Advisor

Anne Quinney

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

Jill Peets: From Degenerate Monsters to Revenge of the Big Mac: A Study of French anti-Americanism (Under the direction of Dr. Anne Quinney)

Franco-American relations date back to the eighteenth century and are a topic that historians have studied for years. France has never been to war with the United States, yet the French are ardently anti-American. The phenomenon of French anti-Americanism is what this thesis seeks to understand and explain. Through various secondary sources, historical data, and public opinion polls, the thesis examines events throughout time, from the American Revolution in 1776 until the Haitian earthquake in 2010. By looking at the changes that French anti-Americanism undergoes through time, I was able to see that there is an underlying anti-Americanism that exists in the minds of French people. At times this anti-American sentiment is mostly political and at other times, it is mostly cultural. However, there has never been a time when this sentiment has disappeared. I conclude that this trend will remain and that French anti-Americanism will be forever in existence. Although this conclusion reveals one aspect of French anti-Americanism, it does not completely explain the phenomenon. Instead, I looked to Antonio Gramsci’s theory of cultural hegemony to explain why the French arc anti-American. Cultural hegemony can explain this sentiment because as the culture and politics of the U.S. begin to dominate the French and the larger world, the French fear the disappearance of their culture. In order to protect French culture, they adopt anti-Americanism. At some points in time, French anti-Americanism is more prominent, but the sentiment never disappears. As Gramsci’s theory predicts, cultural hegemony helps maintain social order. I conclude, then, that cultural hegemony is why war between the U.S. and France has been avoided. The French are anti-American as a means of protecting their “frenchness” from the influence of Americanization.

Recommended Citation

Peets, Jill, "From Degenerate Monsters to Revenge of the Big Mac: A Study of French Anti-americanism" (2010). Honors Theses. 2803.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/2803

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