newbie question

[egolessvegan]

Nah, maybe it is Mountain Dew.

Ken

[egolessvegan]

Nah, maybe it is Hershey bars.

Ken

[egolessvegan]

Nah, maybe it is NBA basketball.

Ken

[egolessvegan]

Nah, maybe it is Bruce Springsteen.

Ken

[egolessvegan]

Hey, maybe it is me.

Ken

[frank1538]

Let's not confuse culture with tradition. America definitely has a culture, even if included in its components are tatter tots, corn dogs, disco music, freedom of speech, 57 channels with nothing on, and anything else egolessvegan adds.

 

I view tradition more as one of the thousand of elements of a culture that is handed down from generation to generation; say for example, family gatherings at Thanksgiving. Some traditions have even survived the crossing of the Atlantic or Pacific (from whatever country), but given the fast paced society in which we now live and Americans penchant for continually trying something new, I would not be surprised if some of things that we do today don't get handed down over more than a few generations. Put another way, I'm not expecting nearly as many new traditions to be created and last as were created and handed down from the past.

[egolessvegan]

Thanks for the props Frank.

Ken

[egolessvegan]

Frank, does this mean Britney Spears will not survive the test of time? I am so upset if this is true. Just kidding of course.

Ken

[oregonknl]

Interesting discussion!

 

Is it "culture" if its gone in 5 years? 50 years? --- or even 100 years? Some of China's dynasties lasted ablut 100 years or less --- but oiften contributed to longer lasting culture and 1,000 years (more or less, depending) are still considered important today..

 

Stepping forward in time: sure, In 200+ years, we have created somthing here in America that can not be denied even 1,000 years from now.. The whole idea of the individual --- and individual rights was noting more than intellectual theory until America.. Sure, Lock, Blake and others were talking about it, but it took America to make it happen... I don't see that going away anytime soon ... but if the world gets uglier, I guess it could.. Take the whole concept of innovation --- and rewarding the individual inventor (Patent Law) ---- American~! And largely responsible for the hugely successful technological world we have today.

 

Alos I'm not sure that some of the thsings Triggg mentions arn't cultural as well: Mobility (and the freedom of mobility) --- a weakness? Perhaps, but also perhaps a fairly unique cultural trait ... The melting pot: sure, America is an ebb and flow of immigrants... each bringing their culture to America ---- but none so overwhelming that their "tribe" can rule --- thus, the rule of law... Haven't seen that yet in Iraq, but maybe it will happen......

[Carl]

America has had more of an impact on the world than you could ever suspect. I was talking to a Canadian friend the other day and he told me that he had a visit from an old acqaintence from France. He said he expected Canada to be a country of "FRENCH CULTURE, BRITISH POLITICS and AMERICAN TECHNOLOGY" but instead he found Canada to be a country of "FRENCH POLITICS, BRITISH TECHNOLOGY and AMERICAN CULTURE."

 

When I was in China my wife told me that the younger Chinese go absolutely crazy for anything American, especially T-shirts or clothing acessories (they consider it a status symbol).

 

Finally, no matter where you go in the world, you can count on seeing American television programs (they are recognizable even when translated into local language). Most times these programs are their only source of information of what life in America (most times the wrong information) is like.

 

So while we may be a young country in the scheme of the world, our culture has had more effect on the entire world than you can imagine.

 

 

Just my two cents worth.

[chrisnhong]

America absolutely has a culture. But when dealing with people in foreign countries you should count on one thing. In general they will know much more about the US than you know about their country. The US media is to blame. Information about foreign countries is almost non-existent, with the middle East being a possible exception. Television and movies from other countries are also practically non-existent.

 

On the other hand, in Australia roughly 50% of the television and 75% of films come from the US. When did you last see an overseas film or television show?

 

One comment, the entertainment output in the US is of a higher quality in general. Better stories, better acting and better production. There are exceptions. For example, see if you can get your hands on "Shaun of the dead" from your local video outlet...