As a non-American, I don't view your culture as a "global laughing stock". Sure, there's a lot of thrash being made, but that's just a consequence of the massive amount of media being produced in this day and age. The US is still responsible for the most influentual creative works of our time, including stuff like the MCU and Game of Thrones, as well as a bunch of groundbreaking artists.
You need to do something about your political system, though. Two parties, lol.