For folks who lived else where and then moved to the USA. What is American culture? For folks who have never been here, what do you think American culture is?
Just a curious American,
Scott
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For folks who lived else where and then moved to the USA. What is American culture? For folks who have never been here, what do you think American culture is?
Just a curious American,
Scott
I myself have never been there, but heard and saw and know alot about this country. I like most of the things and events of its culture and history, excluding killing the Indeans, harming the athmosphere and some modern political ambitions of democratizating of all the countries which never asked for it. Dispite it all I love the way this country was created - of many different nations - their cultures and traditions. It's hard to count everything, but the first things which comes to mind are the country music, Walt Whitman, Hollywood - I simply like it. I think the American culture was combined of the cultures of many other countries, but then it became an origin of its own culture and its own way of life.
I love the flag.
I think of American culture as the land of fast food and parking lots and of the segregation of the youth from the rest of society with a ridiculously high drinking age.. I feel that the latter has a large impact on American culture.
Ernest Hemingway, Kurt Vonnegut, Mark Twain, that's about all I know about American culture.
Oh, maybe Charlie Chaplin fits too.
And Elvis too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ramil
some other things came on my mind - amish people (I like them very much), federal architectural style, screaming American "Victorian" decorations and interiors (I mean Tiffani's stained glasses and American Modern, and the Architecture of that time), also the небоскрёбы - high towers wich are so typical for American business city landscape, such buildings' style takes its roots in America.
The Americans have mastered the only skill of making money. They have to import everything else.
america is superior :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWS-FoXbjVI
В Америке все старики (65+) полностью обеспечены хорошим жильём, медициной (включая операции на сердце), деньгами, которых вполне хватает на всё остальное. В этом году в Иллинойсе добавляется бесплатный проезд в общественном транспорте. Все входы и выходы (в жилых домах, магазинах, ресторанах, театрах, транспорте) доступны инвалидам на моторизованных креслах-скутерах, которые выдаются всем нуждающимся. К сожалению, народу в домах для престарелых дают только обычные инвалидные коляски.
ну, наверно это не только в США, а во всех развитых странах мира (исключая бывшие страны СССР)? В Японии, я читал, пенсионеры-самый обеспеченный класс, могут путешествовать по миру, помогать финансово детям и тп...
- Хороший фильм Мосты округа Мэдисон, основанный на одноименном романе Роберта Джеймса Уоллера.Quote:
Originally Posted by fortheether
- Смешная традиция делать какую-нибудь аморальную бяку, а потом публично просить прощения за это (губернатор штата Нью-Йорк, спортсменка Мэрион Джонс, Билл Клинтон).
- Смешная традиция у боксёров хвастаться перед боем.
- Агрессивность внешней политики США наводит на мысль о несамодостаточности этой страны.
Today I've heard on the TV an American office worker who was speaking about "Lehman Brothers": "I regret that this oldest firm, which is a part of American culture, became bankrupt".
The idea of a bank being a part of culture sounds very strange to me. I can't even imagine a situation where I could say that Сбербанк (the oldest Russian bank which is 167 years old) is a part of Russian culture. It sounds like a complete rubbish to me.
There's no unanimous definition of "culture", so no wonder.
Для тебя нормально звучит "Сбербанк - это часть русской культуры"? :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by Rtyom
To me, the modern American culture is first and foremost Hollywood and the reality shows. Also, the intense promotion of the "values" just about everywhere and by everyone. (And yes, I very very much dislike Dr. Phil. :) )
And the real American culture to me is Mark Twain, etc.
And America in general is a comfortable place to live. :thumbs:
Это зависит от того, какой круг понятий входит в культуру. Если ты считаешь только духовные ценности, то будут входить духовные ценности. Хотя, банки — это действительно странно.Quote:
Originally Posted by Оля
A person that works in the banking/financial world might think that Lehman Brothers is part of American culture. I do not agree. I do not work in the banking/financial field. The idea of a bank being a part of culture sounds very strange to me also.Quote:
Originally Posted by Оля
Scott
It's sad to say but I agree that for some people modern American culture is Hollywood.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crocodile
I'm curious what intense promotion of the "values" just about everywhere and by everyone are you referring to you? (I've lived my whole life in the USA). I've never watched Dr. Phil - nor do I ever intend too!
I get the impression that the Midwest is the place for Mark Twain to influence the culture more than the coasts.
And yes, America in general is a comfortable place to live.
Scott
I guess he mean how everyone is always trying to tell you how to live your life. I used to watch Jerry Springer when I was like 11 and even after naked midget fights at the end of the show Jerry would always have a "final thought" where he would reflect on the "values" and "lessons" learned during that show.Quote:
I'm curious what intense promotion of the "values" just about everywhere and by everyone are you referring to you? (I've lived my whole life in the USA). I've never watched Dr. Phil - nor do I ever intend too!
I guess basically he was saying they aren't conveying real values, or that they don't pertain to everyone. But correct me if I'm wrong.
You're right. In addition, everyone's trying to say only the right things:Quote:
Originally Posted by Dogboy182
- Do you like that girl?
- Yes, she's fun-and-smart-and-sexy.
- What do you want to do?
- I want to travel the world, see new people, make new friends.
- How did it go?
- Oh, it was so much fun! (Or, alternatively, "I learned a lot from that unpleasant experience.")
- I'm pregnant, what should I do?
- You should just talk to him.
- How should I react?
- Just be yourself.
And so on. That makes everything a little predictable. :)
And what is Russian culture to Americans?
And what is American culture to Americans? :D
Let me guess: vodka, matryoshka, balalaika, ushanka, valenki, Kalashnikov. :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by Crocodile
Well, American culture also has a lot more to it. Such as jazz, hip-hop, all the computers related stuff .. you name it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Basil77
That's partly why this thread was started. I'm still trying to figure out what American culture is myself. I suspect that there really isn't much of an American culture but wanted to hear others ideas of what it is to maybe help me find it. If it is from Hollywood then I will be looking for another country of residence.Quote:
Originally Posted by Оля
Scott
Well, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. What do we know about the culture of, say, Canada, Australia or New Zealand?Quote:
Originally Posted by fortheether
And now the right words are coming: Your culture is what you have in you, not what you have in your country. 8)
True. I also think there's Mark Twain's cultural influence in small cities throughout the USA. Maybe in other countries too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crocodile
scott
What is Russian culture to Russians?Quote:
Originally Posted by Оля
Scott
To me, first of all, it's great art. Great literature, greatest poetry (mostly untranslated and untranslatable), great theatre (the best in the world), great (Soviet) cinema (almost unknown in the rest of the world). I could begin to mention the names, but the list would be endless in this case.Quote:
Originally Posted by fortheether
I also think that Russian language itself is very rich. Well, Russian 'мат', then again. :)
Second, I think we Russians know much about western culture (and history), far more than people in the west know about Russia and Russian culture; this makes our world view more broad.
I also think that Russian people are far more sincere (often in their bad emotions, too) and in general are far more emotional. We are simpler and have less of the conventionalities. Well, another side, as for the culture of service, it's very low. You can easily meet with rudeness from a shop assistant in a supermarket. But I, personally, think that 'culture' and 'culture of service' somehow are not the same. Bad service rather is a product of the Soviet period.
I'm in college and when I was a freshman last year, I saw a lot of people getting wasted the first night because it was the first time away from their parents and their first time doing any kind of intense partying with alcohol. Needless to say, it didn't end up well for those people.Quote:
Originally Posted by DDT
For me music is the most important thing about American culture.
Almost all of our music is a mix of traditional white and black music- gospel, the blues, jazz, rock and roll, country, and rap all started in the US. Think about all the music worldwide influenced by those genres. There's also Broadway in New York, and Hollywood. Hollywood isn't always bad, look at the original Star Wars or Citizen Kane.
As for writing, Ernest Hemmingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald are as popular and as influential of writers as Twain, and Herman Melville and Emerson, Throeau, William Llyod Garrison, and Walt Whitman are less famous but still very skilled and important early American writers. Mark Twain's books are still funny and incredibly well written, but at the time he was infamous for using contemporary spoken language instead of the 'correct' written language.
There's the "car culture" where everyone is expected to have their own car and drive it to work each day (this is dying out).
I saw "Citizen Kane", and I've heard it's one of the best films in the world (if not the best), but it was sooooo very unbearably boring for me! I could hardly watch it till the end.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fresno
I, actually, don't mean that there are not old (and some modern) Hollywood movies which are good. There are! I, personally, like Hitchcock very much. And, as for the modern films, I liked "Catch me if you can".
But, to say the truth, I hate how Americans make screen versions of the English classical literature. I saw American "Jane Eyre", it sucked. Recently I've seen "Vanity Fair" (with Reese Witherspoon).... Oh my God! Poor Thackeray!
As for writing, I *love* Eugene O'Neill's play "Beyond the Horizon".
I also like Mark Twain and O. Henry, of course. :)
100% American-made here.
I see America as "setting the bar" in the entertainment industry. Foreign countries often try to emulate or "American-ize" their films or TV shows from what I've seen.
Other reasons to like America: Harley Davidson, Chevy Camaro, Led Zeppelin, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Wild Bill Hicock, and the other wild West American legends, military technology, iPod, and Star Wars.
I can't comment on Russian culture since I've never been there, but from the Russian and Ukranian immigrants in the states that I've met, they're distant and mostly keep to themselves like other minorities. A lot claim to be Christians but actually get drunk off Stoli every night in the sauna. Until I began to study the Russian language I knew nothing of Russian entertainment. I'd say 99% of Americans no nothing of Soviet cinema or of Cheburashka. It's hard to get an accurate perception of a foreign person because they seem "exotic" but the more you understand their language, they become more normal to you.
William James, great philosopher and psychologistQuote:
Originally Posted by fortheether
Henry D. Thoreau
John K. Galbraith
Francis Scott K. Fitzgerald
The Boston Tea Party
F.D. Roosevelt
Elvis Presley
O. Henry
Henry Ford
"Some Like It Hot" :lol: Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Joe E. Brown (Osgood Fielding III)
etc.
I think it's great enough.
Err.. Led Zeppelin were English, and they're the only even remotely admirable thing on in your list.Quote:
Originally Posted by jjjiimm
Oh Оля, I am so sorry you did not enjoy Citizen Kane. You might be happy to know that when it was first released it the film was a box office flop and at the 1941's Academy Awards it was booed every time one of its nine nominations was announced.Quote:
Originally Posted by Оля
It might be that you need to be a "film" person to really understand the significance of the film and why it is so highly rated on all the best of lists. This was the first film that Orson Wells directed and he had complete autonomy and with that he broke a number of traditional rules for making a motion picture. I believe that is the reason the film is considered so important. You would need to look at the film from the techincal side not as an average viewer, which I admit, would make it VERY boring.
I do agree with you on Hitchcock (love his films), but of course he was born in England so I don't know if he would count as American Culture :(
Yes, I know he was born in England, but he worked in Hollywood, and American actors played in his films.Quote:
Originally Posted by rockzmom
I am most willing to count Cary Grant as American if you are :lol: I wish we had a few men like him nowadays!Quote:
Originally Posted by Оля
I actually don't like Cary Grant, you know. :) And I don't understand how on earth women could be crazy about him. But I do like another favourite Hitchcock's actor - James Stewart.Quote:
Originally Posted by rockzmom
[quote="Оля
I actually don't like Cary Grant, you know. :) And I don't understand how on earth women could be crazy about him. But I do like another favourite Hitchcock's actor - James Stewart.[/quote]
Noooooooooooooooo! How can you not understand how a woman could like Cary Grant??? He is what I refer to as a 'total package man.' You cannot dissect him apart. It is all the little things that make him attractive. The same thing about Jimmy Stewart. All of his qualities together make him a better man than your average guy.
Just like Hitchcock's women, Grace Kelly for example. She is a total package female! Please tell me you like her?! She is major American Culture, Philly, PA all the way. Movie start, got married to a Prince. blah, blah, blah.. every little Amrican girl's dream. Well, except the dying in a car crash part.
Well, not for me.Quote:
It is all the little things that make him attractive.
P.S. Yes, I like Grace Kelly.