I sometimes really hate this world because generally, I don't understand the irrational mechanisms by which the people and the institutions operate in this world, and the stupidity of rational people. I was thinking the other day about something, something I didn't understand. Now, of course this has been pointed out in the past and some of you are going to pounce on me, but I am not trying to be original. The thing is that I don't understand why the rest of the world wants to imitate American culture so badly. Not to say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with things like the philosophy of the founding fathers or the whole idea of having a chance to rebuild yourself; what I don't understand is why people take this current modern culture of this country to such extremes as to incorporate it into their mindsets and take it's programmings. Why does everyone want to copy "American" fashion trends, have American accents, buy the same things as Americans etc? (you get the question I'm trying to ask)

What is so superior, so attractive, so elegant and enticing about the modern culture of this country? I'm confused but I hate people for following this culture so blindly because there's a certain characteristic of this culture not allowing any room for rational or intellectual thought.

AzureEye

United States1360 Posts

September 12 2009 01:55 GMT

Because America was the dominant country in the world, people are going to come here and acquire its tastes. But not all American stuff is good, even a lot of Americans don't buy their own cars for example

Etherone

United States1898 Posts

September 12 2009 02:02 GMT

I have never heard of anyone going out of their way to buy something or act a certain way simply because it was American. I have however seen the opposite.

Liquid`Nazgul

22427 Posts

September 12 2009 02:16 GMT

On September 12 2009 11:02 Etherone wrote:
I have never heard of anyone going out of their way to buy something or act a certain way simply because it was American. I have however seen the opposite.

you haven't been to many places I assume, he's actually quite right with his post. simple look at fashion and foods in asian countries would suffice.

BanZu

United States3329 Posts

September 12 2009 02:16 GMT

Same here...

OP can you give us some examples? Like specific instances that caused you to make this thread?

On September 12 2009 11:16 Liquid`Nazgul wrote:

Show nested quote +

you haven't been to many places I assume, he's actually quite right with his post

I'm guilty

Liquid`Nazgul

22427 Posts

September 12 2009 02:17 GMT

small edit

Caller

Poland8075 Posts

September 12 2009 02:18 GMT

funny thing is that in america, everybody thinks its cool to be asian/black/canadian/european/russian

i dont see the problem here

Liquid`Nazgul

22427 Posts

September 12 2009 02:20 GMT

with black you mean wear african tribal colors?

you're just talking about black americans, which really is still american. music too actually. music/clothing/food is pretty defining for culture and the american music/clothing/food can seriously be found in any country over the world. strangely enough I would say if anything america lacks culture a lot more than the countries that follow them, strange world.

88 Posts

September 12 2009 02:23 GMT

We have the culture of having no culture. Odd phenomenon.

EchOne

United States2906 Posts

September 12 2009 02:26 GMT

#10

The rational capacities people can exhibit do not guarantee rational decision making in every facet of life. The fact that human brains tend to lean towards heuristic over algorithmic thought aligns with the taxing nature of the rational actor model, which demands time and effort to degrees which not all problems in life warrant.

People are rarely rational; at least let them be irrational in areas where little harm is done.

EDIT: More on topic, I'm under the impression that much of the global respect for America (which may translate into cultural respect too) was born in the wake of our eminence following World War II.

Monokeros

United States2493 Posts

September 12 2009 02:36 GMT

#11

Death to all who oppose the swarm!

ilistis

United States828 Posts

September 12 2009 02:41 GMT

#12

Wow...I always wanted to be asian since they're smart and they have awesome technology. Oh, well.

ghostWriter

United States3302 Posts

September 12 2009 02:42 GMT

#13

On September 12 2009 11:23 mg wrote:
We have the culture of having no culture. Odd phenomenon.

That's not true. It's actually a bunch of cultures side by side that affect one another since they're in such close proximity. I'm not so naive to believe in a "melting pot" but a mosaic is not such a bad metaphor.

Fen

Australia1848 Posts

September 12 2009 02:45 GMT

#14

On September 12 2009 11:26 EchOne wrote:
EDIT: More on topic, I'm under the impression that much of the global respect for America (which may translate into cultural respect too) was born in the wake of our eminence following World War II.

You guys actually dont get much respect for that at all. Most of the world sees it as you guys jumping in after the war was over to try and take some of the glory.

The reason for everyone moving towards the american culture is simple though. America is the home of television. It's where all the big budget TV shows are made which then get distributed around the world. Due to the show's country of origin, the shows depict american culture. So when everyone around the world turns their TV on at night, they get a nice big dose of America, which filters into their everyday lives.

jonnyp

United States415 Posts

September 12 2009 03:17 GMT

#15

On September 12 2009 11:45 Fen wrote:

Show nested quote +

O_o that's kinda weird considering we were supplying the allies with virtually everything well before we joined the war militarily. that and we won the war in the east virtually by ourselves.

at the OP, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. here in america it's trendy to be "open-minded" and "indie", going out to a sushi bar or chinese restaurant is a sign of this. in some places im sure it's the opposite where people want to show their "awareness" of american culture.

btw, there are plenty of people that just like sushi or chinese, but ive known quite a few who do it only because it seems the "in" thing to do.

Husky

United States3362 Posts

September 12 2009 03:23 GMT

#16

Uhhh, people want to be like America because America is awesome. If I wasnt American I'd want to be like America as well.

Maybe I just like my country a lot? I dunno.

I mean... we DID make Starcraft.

wok

United States504 Posts

September 12 2009 03:29 GMT

#17

Gosh... me too. The other world is just sooo much better.

Chef

10810 Posts

September 12 2009 03:38 GMT

#18

I think all cultures borrow from one another, and have interests in each other. Which is healthy and normal. Genetic diversity is important.

I don't think anyone is quite ready to adopt pancake mayo pops yet though.

Foreign food is popular in all cultures. So are foreign movies and literature. Maybe USA is king of movies, but someone has to be. Britain is kind of literature IMO, Japan king of mature anime, and France of fashion. Music is arguably everywhere, but definitely America has no monopoly on it.

We all 'copy' each other. I would say embracing other cultures is a good thing. On the whole we remain ourselves.

On September 12 2009 12:23 HuskyTheHusky wrote:
Uhhh, people want to be like America because America is awesome. If I wasnt American I'd want to be like America as well.

Maybe I just like my country a lot? I dunno.

I mean... we DID make Starcraft.

Who is king of e-sports? Who does everyone try to emulate when trying to popularize e-sports? Maybe you're half joking, but give me a break. How many Americans wish they were Japanese?