Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[trinity]

Hi? Everyone~
My name is Jiwon and I live in seoul Korea.

I just want to talk about American culture.
As you know, Entertainment around the world is dominated by American made products.

I just want to know
1) If you are not American, How popular is American culture in your country?

2)Or If you are American, Why do you think American culture has been so succesful?

Please Comment on what I said. Thank you~

[Marine]

Hi,trinity
I am a Chinese.
With the topic you mentioned, I want to say that American culture is not very acceptable by Chinese, except for the American Flim.
By the way, My English is very poor, I am sorry if there are some solecisms in my sentences.
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[hiroka]

Here in Japan, we can see so many things that come from America. Mcdonalds, Seven-Eleven, IBM computers..... But they are American products and not a culture at all. They are all the embodiment of greediness but not culture. America has an ideology but not a culture. The ideology America has promoted is always colored with self-centered arrogance. 'What America does is always right. Others are all wrong. If there is a wrong thing, it must be destroyed as soon as possible' America is this!!!
hiroka

[Dave Rose]

Dear Hiroka. True, America does not have a culture, it has many cultures. Americans come from every nation in the world. They have brought their religions, their customs, their language, their music, their ideas, and their dreams to America. 38% of all passenger cars on American roads are Japanese, either manufactured in Japan or in The USA by Japanese owned companies. Why is that? They are better cars than American cars, (usually), so Americans buy them. Many people in America do prefer to buy only US products. I never owned a foreign car or truck when I lived in America. Several years ago I bought a beautiful old Ford Pick-up Truck for $500, and drove it for 2 years. One day I realized that my Seiko watch had cost me more to buy than my truck!///Finally, I live in Korea now, (almost 4 years), so I buy Korean products, eat kimchee, and want Korea's soccer team to win. The gifts I mail home to The USA or bring home when I go on vacation are prized possessions of my family and friends because they are Korean-made, usually traditional fans, etc. that toursits buy. When I return to Korea from my vacations my bags are full of American products for my friends. We live in the same world, so let us be friends! I always read these message boards, and I love good discussions. My advice is always free, but please remember, free advice is usually worth the price you pay for it.^_^

[Corey]

We're being a little bit hard on the Yanks here, aren't we? True there are many bad things about American pop culture, and I really don't like the current president too much. But not all things are bad.

It is difficult to understand or appreciate another culture unless you have experienced it firsthand.

If you are wondering, no I am not American.

Regards,

Corey
[url]english.abcingles.net[/url]
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[Diana]

[Zanthrick]

[Carmen Villareal]

American culture is truly unique because it combines a profound belief in a set of non-religous, philosophic, economic, and political ideas with the cultures its immigrants bring to America. For example, all Americans are equal under the law, whether they're men or women, black or white or red, hindu or muslim, etc. But this doesn't mean that a rich Mexican-American can't hire the best lawyers that money can buy to clear his name of a murder charge because the right to defend oneself against the state is also fundamental.

This sets up my main point: the ideas Americans cherish often conflict with one another because they are designed to do so. The fundamental idea behind American politics is to limit the power of the state to the lowest possible level, which requires giving each individual citizen power equal to the state. This idea leaks over into American culture as a whole, creating cultural cross-overs such that no American subculture is completely dominant. When I lived in Miami, I could celabrate St. Patricks Day, Cinco de Mayo, and any number of other ethnic holidays, and no one could make me leave their celabration because I'm not Irish or Mexican or something else they would rather have me be.

What individuals do with their own cultures and opportunities in America is their own business. There are no cultural overlords, like in France or Taliban Afghanistan, keeping an eye on culture to ensure it doesn't develop undesirably. And this is perhaps why American culture is so popular eslewhere: in America, a person can be a body-building, dope-smoking, homosexual, conservative, pacifist Christian, which is something a person can't confortably be in most other countries in the world. To all of those people who fit profiles their countrymen don't approve of, America serves as a beacon of hope, not only for them, but for the human race as a whole.

[peque1979]

Hi! I'm sorry I don't agree to you: maybe in USA it's said you can be "different", but that's not in the practice. Most of imprisoned aren't white, for instance. And they're more puritan than in most of the rest occidental countries. Besides, the economical differences from rich to less rich are much bigger as well. About France, I've got some family and penpals there, and they don't think that. Anyway, I know not all the americans are the same. But as an European, I've nothing to envy them.

[mjbinsanjose]

To gain a perspective on the differences between American and Japanese culture you might want to view an old Hollywood movie called " Gung-Ho ".
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