Opinions about Amerrica's export of culture?

Question

What do you think about America's export of culture [music, films, literature, mtv and mcdonnalds influenced way of life, etc]?
Please tell if you are/arent american and your age.

americans, do you feel that some 'type' of lifestyle is projected on you? How do feel about projecting a culture to the rest of the world?

non americans, how do you feel about all the 'culture' stuff that comes from america, how it influences you?

Answer 1

I am a 38-year-old female American, but I have regular contact with a lot of people who are not from the US and I am always disturbed by how much of our culture gets exported. I routinely talk to people who see nothing but American films, read nothing but American books, and listen to nothing but American music, all while eating junk food from Pizza Hut, or McDonalds, or Kentucky Fried Chicken.

One of the things that bothers me most is that a lot of what gets exported is the very dregs of our culture. People are watching reruns of crappy television shows, and reading translations of popular, bestselling novels. They aren't necessarily seeing some of our best filmmaking, which happens to be made by independent filmmakers, and which is not widely released abroad. Our serious literary novels often do not get translated into foreign languages, so the only people to whom they are available are people in other English speaking countries, or people who have excellent English skills and seek them out for purchase over the internet.

It isn't a new problem. When I was in high school, I used to spend my summers in the Middle East because my father was there. Back then, I usually wore Levi's 501 jeans with the button fly. Wealthy people would offer me serious amounts of money (in one case $200 per pair) for jeans I could get locally for $20 at a store that sells stuff to farmers and ranchers. I had an old, worn out, crappy pair of cowboy boots I took with me specifically for horseback riding, and I was offered enough money for them that I could have come home and bought 5 new pairs. They would offer me $30 each for cassette tapes of bands like Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, and even more than that for stuff like The Psychedelic Furs and The English Beat. All of that was just so people could get a piece of authentic American culture for their kids. (Yes, I realize those are all English bands, but my cassettes were made in and intended for distribution in America, which seemed to be their main interest.) My dad used to joke with me that I should just fill my suitcases with a bunch of garbage I didn't want anymore, and sell it all just before coming home. I could come home loaded with cash, and buy new stuff. I never sold anything because I found it creepy.

The advent of satellite television and the internet seems to have just made the problem worse in the last 10 or 15 years.

And yes, I do feel that there is a "type" of lifestyle projected on me. What I mean by that is I think people expect me and my life to be a certain way because they have preconceived notions about Americans and American culture. For example, people often ask if we have guns in our house. The answer is yes. My husband comes from a long line of people who have participated in hunting for deer, elk, duck and other game meats for food. He also grew up participating in shooting sports, such as trap and skeet shooting, and pistol target shooting. He no longer hunts, and has sold most of his guns, but we still have a handgun and a shotgun because I like to shoot. However, people assume that we have guns because everyone in the US walks around with a sidearm strapped on at all times, and that there are regular shootouts between criminals and civilians or police officers. Another thing they ask about is what kind of vehicle I drive. I drive a 4x4 pickup truck because the snow is very bad where we live in the winter, and because I was very nearly killed in an accident in a small car and get panic attacks in them. But people see pictures of everyone driving ridiculously large SUVs in sunny Southern California, so they assume everyone drives a tank just as a status symbol. Other things people assume I do, and are surprised to learn I do not do include:

--Going to a tanning salon all the time, getting acrylic nails, and spending silly amounts of money on cosmetics and brand name clothing;
--Eating a diet which consists wholly of either junk food, or red meat and potatoes;
--Listening to rap and hip-hop, and idolizing those performers;
--Cheating on my husband and sleeping around;
--Either using or dealing drugs, or both;
--Voting Republican and having a desire to take over the world;
--Watching nothing but talk shows and reading nothing but whatever's on the bestseller list;
--Indulging in elitism and racism and refusing to learn about anything in any country but my own, and then knowing only the bare minimum of what's going on here.

The list could go on and on. More and more, people have a very negative view of people from the US, and I am frustrated by it. There are plenty of "ugly Americans" out there who are doing their bit to disseminate that image, but we aren't all that way, and I am tired of people assuming they know all about me because I happen to be American.

I am also tired of talking to people who are letting our exported culture supplant their own, native culture. If I had my way, American popular culture would be just another side-dish in the grand buffet of life, an interesting thing to know about and sample, but not the freaking main course every darn day!

Answer 2

What I believe to do or adapt something that is not belonged to my country is not concerned about the origin of the countries but comfortable, reliable, enjoyable, fashionable and usefulness. I think we the people would like to have “the better one” without consideration of its origin. The culture of the world will be changed we cannot hold our traditional way of life and our culture and tradition if it is not fit to the present days; we need a change to comfort our lives on many ways.

Answer 3

I went to Germany in 2002 and fell in love. People have been fantastic high-quality to be and the ancient structures and legends have been simply intriguing. Since then I kinda began somewhat of a love affair with the location. The location has such a lot for me- kings, queens, warfare, communism, tough occasions, philosophers, scientists, writers, musicians... I above all love the little legends and fairytales that look to be connected to locations (I recognise that is in plenty of locations in Europe too). I've had to go back there and took German categories simply to study extra approximately it.

Answer 4

No culture can't influence to other country in absolute way. Usually you take from one a country what is good and accommodate it with your cultural view. In my country is right now very popular to be interested in Japan culture.

I'm european, age 27.

Answer 5

Nothing wrong with that. Gives people of other cultures more choices and possibly change for the better. I am a non-American and retired.