Western Civilization – alternatively, simply The West – refers to a civilization which originated in Western Europe following the fall of the Western Roman Empire. It’s foundations are probably Germanic Culture, Roman Law and Western Christianity – though I’ll have to check to be sure, so take it with a grain of salt.

The West is currently the dominant civilization and has been so since the 19th Century (at the latest) and possibly since the 16th Century. Its principle representative is the United States of America, which is also stereotyped as the most Western of the Western states.
While it originated in Western Europe, it also has a presence in North America, Oceania and (in my opinion) the Korean Peninsula.

The West’s historical dominance has been so absolute that practically every other civilization and culture has scrambled to ‘Westernize’ for the purposes of properly competing. The most successful of these endeavors have been in East Asia – Japan & China. Japan more so as it has managed to carve out its own identity,^A) which most Westernized groups have trouble with.

‘Western’ media refers to roughly all of the Media that is produced by Westerners or with a Western flavor.