I can't speak for the French , but in England whilst we have generally
reasoned and balanced political news, the entertainment side of the
media certainly has heavily patriarchal, borderline fascistic overtones.
Whilst there's always been the Penthouse, Mayfair, Razzle, Asian Babes
etc, I think a lot of the magazines for both men AND women come over as
being incredibly materialistic, anti-relationship and promoting certain
physical beauty ideals. Conformity seems to be the word, which rather
worries me- the English eccentric and such interesting characters seems
to have been swamped by the bright, sexy but not particularly deep.
In music, even the Spice Girls (who actually expressed admiration for
Maggie) would be too "radical and revolutionary" for today's highly
conservative pop scene.
California seems to encapsulate the 1960s hippie scene turning
malignant, from nip and tuck high school kids to rapes and beatings in
overcrowded jails. I've never been outside NY though, so can't really
say what life in Hollywood's vicinity is really like. The 1980s
Hollywood seems both liberal and genteel by comparison.
A lot in the UK blame Murdoch this, but his output and influence is
generally limited to the English speaking world, and the same seems to
be happening on the continent.