After 1900, culture went global. Music, movies, television, sports, social media, and consumer brands began crossing national borders, so people in very different places started sharing the same songs, films, and products.
Why This Matters for the AP World History Exam
This topic supports causation and continuity/change thinking, which show up across both the multiple-choice and free-response parts of the exam. You should be able to explain why culture became more global after 1900 and connect that shift to earlier developments you already studied, like advances in communication and transportation in Topic 9.1.
The big payoff is being able to argue with specific evidence. If a prompt deals with cultural change, consumer culture, or the effects of new technology after 1900, you can point to concrete examples like K-pop, Hollywood, the World Cup, or global brands to back up your claims. These also work well as supporting evidence in a longer essay even when the main prompt is about something broader, like globalization or 20th century social change.
Key Takeaways
- Political and social changes in the 20th century reshaped the arts, and in the second half of the century, popular and consumer culture became far more global.
- New communication and transportation technology made it possible for music, film, and other media to spread quickly across borders.
- Consumer culture went global too, with brands and online commerce reaching people in many countries.
- Cultural exchange went in multiple directions: it was not just Western culture spreading outward, but also forms like reggae, Bollywood, and K-pop reaching global audiences.
- For the exam, focus on the how and why of cultural globalization, then keep a few flexible examples ready to use as evidence.
Quick Reference
| Movement | Key Ideas | Notable Artists | Global Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cubism | Abstraction through geometric forms | Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque | Spread throughout Europe and Latin America |
| Dadaism | Absurdity and anti-war reaction | Tristan Tzara, Marcel Duchamp | Influenced global protest and avant-garde art |
| Abstract Expressionism | Emotive, non-figurative expression | Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning | Defined American post-war art |
How Culture Became Global
The political and social upheavals of the 20th century, including world wars, decolonization, and Cold War rivalries, changed how people created and consumed art and entertainment. By the second half of the century, popular culture and consumer culture were spreading across national borders on a scale never seen before.
The main driver was technology. Advances in communication and transportation, which you study in Topic 9.1, made it cheap and fast to move ideas, sounds, and images around the world. Radio, television, film, and eventually the internet let cultural forms travel almost instantly, while air travel and shipping moved performers, goods, and audiences.
Global Popular Culture
Arts, entertainment, and popular culture increasingly reflected a connected, globalized society. Importantly, this exchange flowed in many directions, not just outward from the West.
- Music: Reggae, hip-hop, and K-pop are clear examples of musical styles that started in specific places and gained worldwide audiences. Reggae grew out of Jamaican identity and spread internationally; K-pop later showed how a regional style could build a massive global following.
- Movies: Both Hollywood and Bollywood reached huge international audiences and shaped global tastes in storytelling, fashion, and celebrity.
- Television: Broadcasters like BBC and CNN carried news and programming across borders, helping create shared reference points for viewers in different countries.
- Sports: Events like World Cup soccer and the Olympics became global spectacles. Broadcast to billions, they crossed political and linguistic lines and built a sense of shared global culture.
Global Consumer Culture
Consumer culture became globalized and moved beyond national borders. As economies grew and trade networks expanded, the same products and brands started showing up in markets all over the world.
- Online commerce: Companies like Alibaba, eBay, and Amazon made it possible to buy and sell goods across countries, tying consumers into global supply chains.
- Global brands: Names like Toyota, Coca-Cola, and McDonald's became recognizable in many different countries, a sign of how consumer culture transcended national borders.
Social media platforms accelerated this trend in the 21st century. Sites that let people share music, trends, and ideas in real time helped form communities that stretched across national lines and tied cultural exchange even more tightly to consumer life.
How to Use This on the AP World History Exam
Causation
Be ready to explain why culture became more global after 1900. The strongest answers connect cultural change to its causes: new communication and transportation technology, economic growth, and the political and social shifts of the century. Do not just list examples. Tie each example to the larger process of globalization.
Continuity and Change
This topic fits well into continuity and change over time arguments. You can show how cultural diffusion is an old pattern (ideas have spread along trade routes for centuries) while explaining what made 20th century cultural globalization different: speed, scale, and the reach of mass media and consumer brands.
Using Evidence
Keep a short list of flexible examples you can deploy quickly, such as a global music style, a film industry, a sports event, and a consumer brand. Pick ones you can actually explain, then connect them to the prompt instead of just naming them. A single well-explained example usually does more for your score than a long list of names.
Common Trap
Many prompts about globalization are broad. If a question is really about economics or technology, use cultural examples as supporting evidence rather than making them the whole answer. Match your evidence to what the prompt is actually asking.
Common Misconceptions
- Globalized culture means everyone became Western. Cultural exchange moved in multiple directions. Reggae, Bollywood, and K-pop all spread globally from outside the United States, so it is not a one-way story of Western influence.
- Cultural globalization started with the internet. The internet sped things up, but radio, film, and television were already moving culture across borders earlier in the century. The deeper cause was the buildup of communication and transportation technology over time.
- Specific art movements are required AP content for this topic. Movements like Cubism or Abstract Expressionism can illustrate how art reflects its era, but they are examples, not required content you will be tested on by name here. Focus on the how and why of cultural change.
- Naming lots of examples earns more credit. What matters is explaining how an example connects to cultural globalization, not how many brands or bands you can list.
Related AP World History Guides
Vocabulary
The following words are mentioned explicitly in the College Board Course and Exam Description for this topic.Term | Definition |
|---|---|
Bollywood | The Hindi-language film industry based in India that produces movies consumed globally. |
consumer culture | A culture centered on the consumption of goods and services that became globalized and transcended national borders. |
global brands | Commercial companies and products recognized and consumed internationally across multiple countries and continents. |
global consumerism | The worldwide spread of consumer culture and the consumption of standardized products and brands across different countries. |
global culture | Shared cultural practices, values, and products that transcend national borders and are consumed across multiple countries and regions. |
globalization | The process of increasing interconnection and integration of cultures, economies, and societies across the world. |
hip-hop | A music and cultural movement originating in the United States that spread globally and became a major form of popular culture. |
Hollywood | The American film industry that produces movies distributed and consumed worldwide. |
K-pop | Korean popular music that achieved global commercial success and cultural influence in the 21st century. |
popular culture | Arts, entertainment, and consumer culture that became increasingly global and reflected the influence of globalized society. |
reggae | A music genre originating from Jamaica that became a global cultural phenomenon in the late 20th century. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is globalized culture after 1900?
Globalized culture means popular culture, consumer goods, media, music, film, sports, and trends spreading across national borders on a large scale after 1900.
How did popular and consumer culture become more global in the 20th century?
Communication technology, transportation, global trade, mass media, and later the internet helped music, movies, sports, brands, and consumer products reach audiences around the world.
What are examples of globalized culture?
Examples include Hollywood, Bollywood, reggae, hip-hop, K-pop, the World Cup, the Olympics, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Toyota, social media platforms, and online commerce.
Was globalized culture only Westernization?
No. Western culture did spread globally, but cultural exchange also moved in other directions. Reggae, Bollywood, and K-pop are examples of non-Western or regional forms reaching global audiences.
What social or cultural changes resulted from globalization after 1900?
People in different regions began sharing more media, products, sports, fashion, and entertainment, while also debating cultural identity, consumerism, and the influence of global brands.
How should I use globalized culture on the AP World exam?
Use specific examples as evidence for globalization, then explain the cause or effect. A well-explained example is stronger than a long list of names.