Exporting American culture around the world

[Arduinna]

Is it a good thing or not?

[Arduinna]

Thought I would answer my own question.

I think we should be importing some culture from around the world! Specifically from Canada and the Netherlands, and I'd love to see us move away from factory farms and back to smaller farms with an emphasis on quality instead of quantity.

[El Casey S]

There are some things each country could learn from each other. It just seems, though, that often the US with all it's power and wealth import and PR stuff that is intrusion - and the US learns very little from other countries

There has been some talk here about making a mandantory % of the music on the radio from Germany. France did the same and the sales of French musicians went up an astonishing amount. When one considers how the music business in run in the US with how much is invested in promoting which stars - it is not hard to se how that would influence the local stars with big music business $$ taking up all the air time! Just food for thought!

[emmaline]

since our drongo Prime Minister has just about bought a free trade deal with the US govt by sending Australian troops to Iraq, our film and tv industry (which has produced some fabulous stuff) is about to be totally destroyed - there's no way we can compete with cheap imported products though our film and tv industry works very cheaply compared to big budget US productions

raising hand for diversity!!! we might speak (almost) the same language but we are not Americans (yet)

[barbara]

I voted some yes some no, but what I really mean is I think the culture is invading, but it is the dregs of the culture that is being imported!

I agree that the US ought to be learning a thing or two from other nations and I'd like to see small family farms become fesible again. Much of the America culture was derived from the family farm lifestyle.

I'm gald to hear that France and Germany are making a mandantory % of the music on the radio from countrymen. I would like to see a similar thing done in the US by allowing local (city, state) musicians air time. We have a college radio station here that plays a fair percentage of local artists and I'm amazed at the incredible amount of talent right here under our noses, that is going un-noticed!

[emmaline]

Hilary the f &tv industry was one tiny example that spoke more to culture - and "free" must come with a big snort of horror and "free my @rse" understood!

and I never spell check - I have an infallible internal English spelling instinct

and I did say "almost" the same language

but who's splitting hairs?

T lots of to you for your latest endeavours


and also T maybe I should have strine talking sheila for my senior name?

[emmaline]

and furthermore I am now going to ingest some Kiwi-culture at the cinema - Whale Rider

[El Casey S]

Originally posted by Hilary
Dear Em,

Nah. How about "Shagged Sheila" .....

In both senses of the words :LOL

....

The Kiwi that shagged me!

[daylily]

I voted no because I associate the spread of American culture with the dominance of American corporations around the globe. But are culture and business the same thing? There's nothing wrong with American books in the libraries of foreign countries (as long as they don't shove aside all the other books), but I have a big problem with companies that have become symbols of the US--McDonald's, Coca-Cola, etc--spreading across the world, and I also have a problem with the notion that these corporations represent American culture. I'm an American and McD's and Coke have absolutely no place in my life or the lives of many other Americans.

Also, American culture is really an interesting mixture of other country's cultures. The Christmas tree came from Germany, carving Jack-o-lanterns came from Ireland, rock music has its roots in the music of African slaves, etc.

[3boys4us]

No - there was a recent Pew study that showed while only 22% of Americans had ever been abroad over 75% of them thought that US values and culture should be exported. It's unbeleivable BS. The thought is we want the world to be more like us yet cannot be bothered to learn or enjoy the cultural diversity in the world.

American culture should be free in the US but not imposed on it. OTH world culture I think gets fair play in the US - slowly to be sure but eventually the US absorbs and changes it to reflect the US. I would like to see more child/family freindly culture - like northern European nations.

[Marlena]

And if you check your spell check directory, you will see there are two. "English" and "American".

they spell American. And talk it too.

Yep. American books, in France, are "translated from American", not from "English."

there was a recent Pew study that showed while only 22% of Americans had ever been abroad over 75% of them thought that US values and culture should be exported.

It does figure, though. Top it off with all the "Rah rah" jingoism that one constantly hears (ad nauseum these days), and one begins to feel as if some rather dim-witted, half-drunk college fraternity has conquered the world.

[cumulus]

I vote for a freeze on exports and increased imports. I understand there's a reason for our ability to export our culture beyond all the money advantages. We export media concentrated in areas that translate well between cultures: sex and violence.
Perhaps slightly off topic; there is also concern that our culture is swarming over and eradicating other cultures. Every week another elder dies who is the last person who speaks their language, who knows their mythology and who has a unique way of living and experiencing life. Listen to (or read) Wade Davis' talk at the Commonwealth Club of California entitled, "Vanishing Cultures, Enduring Lives."

http://www.commonwealthclub.org/arch...vis-intro.html

[Deirdre]

Originally posted by 3boys4us
No - there was a recent Pew study that showed while only 22% of Americans had ever been abroad over 75% of them thought that US values and culture should be exported. It's unbeleivable BS. The thought is we want the world to be more like us yet cannot be bothered to learn or enjoy the cultural diversity in the world.

This is why I shudder when I hear someone say "This is the greatest country in the world"

Umm, have you been to every country in the world???


I am trying hard to think about some aspect of American "culture" that I would want to experience and/or miss if I was living aborad.

Seems like they all fall i nthe food realm
East coast Pizza
A good New York Bagel
San Francisco Sourdough

But I certainly could live without them. And they would make visits back 'home' all the more interesting.

~Deirdre

[El Casey S]

Originally posted by Deirdre
I am trying hard to think about some aspect of American "culture" that I would want to experience and/or miss if I was living aborad.

I can answer that one. I miss the inexpensive homes. I sometimes really miss the 24/7 grocery stores. I miss my SIL & her family and some of my relatives. I can find Bagels, but it is not easy. I just asked DH, and we arenow at a lost to think of anything else!

[spatulagirl]

I have been living overseas since '97 and am still amazed by the amount of American culture that floods other countries. Movies, food, music, clothes... Asia loves the American culture. I spent 4.5 years in Japan and my gosh... I swear I got more American culture there than I did living in Canada my whole life!!

What annoys me to no end is when Americans go overseas and EXPECT everyone to cater to them American-style. They expected the japanese to speak English, serve them food they knew and not do "strange" Japanese things that most Americans thought were rude. Now that we are in Italy, I deal with Americans dealing with the Italian work ethic which is a hoot. I say why stress yourself out over it? It's their culture... they say "They should do it our way, not theirs!!"

On an aside, in Canada we have something called "CanCon" which stands for Canadian Content. Radio stations MUST play a certain percentage of songs by Canadian artists. I can't remember the percentage now but it is pretty high. Of course, you also get into the whole "what is considered Canadian" debate. If it is a song by a Canadian artist produced by an American company in the States is it still Canadian? high about vice versa?

[El Casey S]

Originally posted by spatulagirl
What annoys me to no end is when Americans go overseas and EXPECT everyone to cater to them American-style. They expected the japanese to speak English, serve them food they knew and not do "strange" Japanese things that most Americans thought were rude. Now that we are in Italy, I deal with Americans dealing with the Italian work ethic which is a hoot. I say why stress yourself out over it? It's their culture... they say "They should do it our way, not theirs!!"

What gets me is that not only do they expect everyone to speak English, but to be really happy with Americans. I have a cousin who took a tour of Nuremburg Castle, got mad that the tour guide wouldn't translate his talk into English as well and then also got upset that the guide mentioned how damaged the castle was from the Allied bombers. My cousin's comment was in the line of, "You fascist! All you Germans should be thankful that we got rid of Hitler for you!" (His father was a bomber in WWII) All the guy was doing was lamenting the damage and the overreaction of my cousin was that this was an ungrateful German!

[applejuice]

I am proud of being an American. I like most of American culture.

Yet much of it is embarassing also. Our sit-coms/game shows are exported/syndicated/imitated around the world and I truly think this is the lowest of the low.

also our government system should not be imposed on other countries. We are a young nation state on the world scene and we should keep much of our "making the world safe for democracy", the battlecry of WWI, to ourselves.

We need to do much housecleaning and take care of the people we have here.

That said, I am married to a Vietnam Vet who feels the Vietnam Conflict was a fancy show of force- "Look what we can do with our big guns!" ; my oldest son is in the new-fangled "Homeland Security" branch of the government; and when I retire, I am going to look into working for the Peace Corps, only because I feel it is a way of peacefully working with people of the world; I would never think of imposing my culture on someone else, although this may be the unintended consequence of something as the Peace Corps.

These civilizations predate the American experience/experiment by centuries. Maybe I can learn something from them. This has been the experience of many Peace Corps volunteers; the "snugli" was an adaptation of what a young woman in the Peace Corps in Africa had observed about the mothers and thier babies in the 1960's. She came home and became a mother herslef and imitated the practice of carrying the newborn constantly while going about her business..

[merpk]

I live in a very high-tourist area, and a neighborhood known for its very liberal values. That said, I am (as are the other members of my family) visibly definable as members of our religious group.

The intolerant comments I get on the street are almost always from someone who is a foreign tourist ... well, because they have a map, and don't speak English, I make the guess that they are ... people who don't know English, except enough to make derisive comments about me&mypeople as they pass us or we pass them.

WTF?

So now let's hear more posts about how Americans abroad are arrogant an insensitive and the rest of the world superior.

And the garbage level on NYC streets is legendary, but I can tell you that the visitors leave as much slop as anyone. I've watched them do it ... (while DS says, "Ima, that person isn't taking care of the Earth like we're supposed to ... " )

Anyway, no arguments here about American cultural imperialism. Though the local distributors in these other countries are locals, remember.

Please acknowledge that it cuts both ways.

It does cut both ways.

[3boys4us]

The intolerant comments I get on the street are almost always from someone who is a foreign tourist ... well, because they have a map, and don't speak English, I make the guess that they are ... people who don't know English, except enough to make derisive comments about me&mypeople as they pass us or we pass them.

I don't know about that - I've lived in popular tourist destinations almost all my life and I have never had a bad experience with a foreign tourist (and I lived in the French Antilles - so you could probably make lots of mean French tourist jokes there). By and large the American tourist is a welcome sight because of $ but most Americans barely speak the language, often are confused geographically (once I had an American women in the BVI's ask me how close Hawaii was), and can be extremely rude. Tourism as a whole generates tons of trash and most people traveling are American (cruise ships pulling into Caribbean islands often generate more trash then the people who live there).

Dh worked in hotels in Las Vegas - by and large its US tourists who have sex in the elevators and drink large quantities of alcohol by 11:00 am. Not to say that foreign tourists don;t do these things as well in Vegas but the majority of tourists come from the US and if you want a true vision of hell take the red-eye either to or from Vegas at the wee hours with kids. Nothing but rude American drunks.......

I am sure the cultural rudeness goes both ways but when it comes to plain old cultural imperialism - you just can't beat the US.

[merpk]

Rene not disagreeing with you. "Ugly Americans" got their reputation for good reason.

And as often as drunken jerks are screaming and partying on the street outside our window at three in the morning, they're not always screaming and partying in English.

Why anyone feels they have the right to scream and party outside people's windows at three a.m. is another question ...