"America has no culture"

[BrandonWhat]

Anyone care to rescind or elaborate on this self-loathing sentiment?

Granted, that throughout our history, we have had very minimal impact on art, literature, philosophy, and so on, when silhouetted in the light of Europe or the East, but have we really contributed nothing?
Urban culture? Subculture? Pop culture? Has the American film industry really affected nothing abroad? Have the roots of rock, jazz, funk, blues, soul and hip-hop really not branched out overseas? Has there not been one avante-garde or postmodernist among us that's done something worth a nod?

[Vosh]

I disagree, but I don't find it to be as ... grasping as that of other cultures.

[willy_jack]

al gore invented the internet.....

[Satchel]

I'd say most of what we put out is complete shit, but there are some exceptions.

[willy_jack]

baseball...... the japanese love it.

pro wrestling.... bwahahahhahaha

[transparentaura]

I disagree as well.Anerica has made many contributions to world culture,Jazz and the Blues spring to mind. You have to admit,our trends are emulated by the rest of the world. However there seems to be a significant portion of Americans that revel in being uncultured oafs. They celebrate being "down to earth" and mock anything intellectual or artistic as being "elitist". The same type of people who ridicule the French, laughed at Bill Clinton "feeling your pain" denounce compassion as weak and think the solution to any social problem is to "get tough " on it. I could go on, but these people have "zero tolerance" for criticism.

[tricky]

Originally Posted by transparentaura

I could go on, but these people have "zero tolerance" for criticism.

what? you're different? time to kill you...or at least mock you

[c double]

America has a culture, it's just less developed than most.

[HarleyDelight]

Originally Posted by BrandonWhat

Has there not been one avante-garde or postmodernist among us that's done something worth a nod?

pfft we got Klaus Nomi (American transplant fom Berlin) who was THE avante-garde pimp during his time...

http://www.artistdirect.com/Images/a...us_200x200.jpg

shit they even came out with a documentary about this cat recently...He was the king of the underground new wave movement, and one of the first people to die of AIDS in the states.....

[Keith P]

America is still a melting pot. Various cultures come together to create various sub cultures. That is the beautifull thing about this country.

For myself, I like to think that the cultures of various races in this country have been just as important to my development as say my direct european lineage. Of course I tend to gravitate towards cultures I tend to find appealing or I can somewhat relate to.

I've said that shit time and time again and to some extent it can be true. I really don't have much admiration for the history of the south or for some of our more popular "cultural norms." The same can be said for the north as well which can be bogged down in the image of new england royalty and families who can trace their family tree back to George Washington and his relatives. Then you go into generations of $ and prestigious property and 16 yr old kids driving saabs who are pretty much guaranteed admittance to harvard.(a quick reminder that Bush was born in New Haven, Ct.)

You make a good point with jazz, hip hop, blues, early rock. The cultures that surround this music pretty much developed as uniquely american and are definitely something we can be proud of. The rest of the world has been imitating and taking our music and making it fit their own lifestyles for yrs.

What I think many people lose sight of is that there is no proper image for an American. There's no required skin tone. You don't have to have certain physical traits to be one nor share the same cutoms as your peers or even family. Shit you don't even have to speak fluent English and you can be an American. As much as I do get frustrated with people not trying to learn the basics of the predominate language I still think that is wonderfull.


But lets not overlook the REAL Americans.

An extensive study of native american culture and history needs to be become a requirement in school. If we can't respect and learn about the lives of the ancient peoples who first settled this land how do we expect to develop a rich culture of our own to be proud of?

[alexican]

melting pot my ass

consider for your thinking pleasure the term "anglo-nized"

i swear the more i learn about this country the angrier i get

we have a culture allright and its one that has long been based on lies, corruption, hate, racism, and manifest destiny

Originally Posted by RainbowBriteB29

we have a culture allright and its one that has long been based on lies, corruption, hate, racism, and manifest destiny

Our music.... its infected the world for better or worse.... check out the Japanese and what they've done with our music... (I happen to love it but..)

Our architecture.... skyscrapers are an American creation.... now they are all over the world

Cinema.... our films do box office overseas that rivals and even surpasses domestic sales

Art.... yes Virginia there are respected American artists This one's highly subjective... eg... I love Warhol but many find him to represent exactly what is contemptable in American "culture"

Democracy.... how many countries were governed by democratic governments when we started our experiment w/democracy?

not sure how any of those above were, "based on lies, corruption, hate, racism, and manifest destiny" and I'm uncertain how the US is the exclusive holder of these qualities such that other nations do have culture because they do not have those nasty things.


edit.... almost forgot

fashion...... Levi's

food.... coca-cola

[Funkenstein]

Originally Posted by RainbowBriteB29

melting pot my ass

consider for your thinking pleasure the term "anglo-nized"

i swear the more i learn about this country the angrier i get

we have a culture allright and its one that has long been based on lies, corruption, hate, racism, and manifest destiny

Are you a minority (besides being female)? It is a serious question and germain to the current discussion. I am black and even I don't hold the full disdain that you do for the country that we both live in. Anglo outlook is prevalent in society, but it is one's duty to learn how to think outside the box anyway. If no one questioned the rules, then we would all think Jesus was white.

Originally Posted by xiannaix

. . .I'm uncertain how the US is the exclusive holder of these qualities such that other nations do have culture because they do not have those nasty things.

As bad as America has been/is, it is not alone in being bad at times. Seeing the faults within our own society inspires me to do more than just leave it or criticize it. I am trying to make myself better and more learned in order to create change as I can. Electrical engineering may not do it, but my ability to write and converse with others should pay off well. In my art, my dance, my sense of style, and my interaction with others: The culture that is America has created me.

While both haters and lovers of American culture talk, those who wish to see things change or expand actually do.

Words+action = change

[Hubb]

We are a young nation....its hard to have rooted culture like other nations that have been around for 1000 years. We definitly effect the global cultural climate.

Originally Posted by rufuspfunk

As bad as America has been/is, it is not alone in being bad at times. Seeing the faults within our own society inspires me to do more than just leave it or criticize it. I am trying to make myself better and more learned in order to create change as I can. Electrical engineering may not do it, but my ability to write and converse with others should pay off well. In my art, my dance, my sense of style, and my interaction with others: The culture that is America has created me.

While both haters and lovers of American culture talk, those who wish to see things change or expand actually do.

Words+action = change

Its accomplished by being part of what's right and defending it from what's wrong.... (which is exactly what you said)

The problem is that "right" and "wrong" can be subjective, in contradiction and even both correct... but that's a rarity.

Generally we can identify what's not right without too much effort and not do it