Paradigm shift?

One of the things that has always impressed me is how well foreigners know American pop culture. No matter how negative their feelings about the president, or American power, they all know American music and movies. In Russia, many people I have met know "Gone with the Wind" almost by heart. They identify with the heroine, Scarlett O'Hara, seeing in her survival instinct some of their own determination not to be defeated. People in Hungary know and love Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Bruce Springsteen. Some think nothing of driving two or three hours to Budapest to hear a concert by an American rocker. And the Irish? They seem to know everything and everybody on the cultural scene.

Now, it seems that 21st century technological advances might be changing and diversifying world preferences. As usual, the United States has had a hand in these developments...