Anyway, I may be conservative. It also because often 'certain groups' exaggerate their anglicisms, often reducing their own vocabulary in their native language. Using a lot of Anglicisms doesn't necessarily improve your language skills in English, it even makes you overconfident. I see it as a sign of laziness and lack of creativity.
Itanglese?!?
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<<Again, the internet is unrelated to culture, in the sense that there are website both about Starbucks and Mozart.>>
The internet is culturally indifferent in aspect, this is true. You can go on and find out about every culture, extinct and extent. Yet, one cannot deny the cultural impact that these American creations and discoveries have had on the world. Why would you restrict your list of Americanizations only to those that begin and end with culture and not extend it to those that also have an enormous impact on culture Why, because that would be far to inconvenient to your point and your own behavior. Indeed, how could Paris be the city of lights if it were not for Edison and Franklin.
And, I am indeed familiar with "the tyranny of the majority", since--as you stated--I am gay and also because I find reading philosophy, such as that of the James and John Stuart Mills quite interesting. I am also familiar with the fact that the opinions and actions of the majority can, indeed be changed if one actively pleads his or her case and is willing to make sacrifices in order to achieve the fulfillment of their beliefs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3tjIiWIkAQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0FiCxZKuv8
Unless, of course, you think that the cost of such an endeavor is not worth the cause--as I assume that your issue with free market American goods, music, and cinema does not in comparison.
<<Exactly! Attributing modern airplanes exclusively to the Wright brothers is a completely arbitrary and random (and very American) decision. It's like saying manned space flight is a Soviet invention since they put the first man in space. And so by Wintereis's logic the Americans should have dropped everything and been against the moon landings, since they were anti-Soviet. In reality, neither would have been without the other.>>
Au contraire mon frere, Americans have never put a damper on cultural and technological innovations entering our country. Indeed, more often than not, these cultural exchanges are highly valued, as we acknowledge the fact that such communications between nations strengthens us more than it does hinder. And yes, there has been feat dragging when it comes to immigration, but feat dragging is about all that it ever amounts to, since we are largely a nation of immigrants. There is a reason why the U.S. has been called the great melting pot, though it is more like a tossed salad. We do not, as Europeans often do, argue for a cultural purity, as our cultural purity is best maintaining by keeping an open and dynamic society. For instance, my small, rural highschool offered Japanese, Russian, French, Spanish, German, and Latin for its language courses (I opted for Latin and Spanish, myself). And, yes, it is undeniable that the
The internet is culturally indifferent in aspect, this is true. You can go on and find out about every culture, extinct and extent. Yet, one cannot deny the cultural impact that these American creations and discoveries have had on the world. Why would you restrict your list of Americanizations only to those that begin and end with culture and not extend it to those that also have an enormous impact on culture Why, because that would be far to inconvenient to your point and your own behavior. Indeed, how could Paris be the city of lights if it were not for Edison and Franklin.
And, I am indeed familiar with "the tyranny of the majority", since--as you stated--I am gay and also because I find reading philosophy, such as that of the James and John Stuart Mills quite interesting. I am also familiar with the fact that the opinions and actions of the majority can, indeed be changed if one actively pleads his or her case and is willing to make sacrifices in order to achieve the fulfillment of their beliefs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3tjIiWIkAQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0FiCxZKuv8
Unless, of course, you think that the cost of such an endeavor is not worth the cause--as I assume that your issue with free market American goods, music, and cinema does not in comparison.
<<Exactly! Attributing modern airplanes exclusively to the Wright brothers is a completely arbitrary and random (and very American) decision. It's like saying manned space flight is a Soviet invention since they put the first man in space. And so by Wintereis's logic the Americans should have dropped everything and been against the moon landings, since they were anti-Soviet. In reality, neither would have been without the other.>>
Au contraire mon frere, Americans have never put a damper on cultural and technological innovations entering our country. Indeed, more often than not, these cultural exchanges are highly valued, as we acknowledge the fact that such communications between nations strengthens us more than it does hinder. And yes, there has been feat dragging when it comes to immigration, but feat dragging is about all that it ever amounts to, since we are largely a nation of immigrants. There is a reason why the U.S. has been called the great melting pot, though it is more like a tossed salad. We do not, as Europeans often do, argue for a cultural purity, as our cultural purity is best maintaining by keeping an open and dynamic society. For instance, my small, rural highschool offered Japanese, Russian, French, Spanish, German, and Latin for its language courses (I opted for Latin and Spanish, myself). And, yes, it is undeniable that the
<<The internet is culturally indifferent in aspect, this is true. You can go on and find out about every culture, extinct and extent. Yet, one cannot deny the cultural impact that these American creations and discoveries have had on the world. Why would you restrict your list of Americanizations only to those that begin and end with culture and not extend it to those that also have an enormous impact on culture Why, because that would be far to inconvenient to your point and your own behavior. Indeed, how could Paris be the city of lights if it were not for Edison and Franklin. >>
You are right, America has had its many positive influences.
For the most part, I am more referring to American commercialised pop-culture, rather than everything American. Even many Americans will agree that things like CSI, 95% of Hollywood, McDonalds (adding a new slice of beef to their cheesburger every few months, what are we up to, quadruple? or quintet cheeburger?), American Idol are decadent. Even if it forms part of American culture, ok fine, but we have no need for that over here and I find it cringe worthy to see young Europeans quoting Friends and the Simpsons. Even most Americans wouldn't quote Friends. Europeans are often more fanatic about these things even than Americans, just because it's cooler here... it's unnerving. They think EVERYTHING American is cool, they don't seem to realise that just like anything else, there is also a lot, A LOT, of American stuff that is CRAP!
So, it's not the INVENTIONS, it's what you DO with the inventions.
A good example of this is that movie Avatar. I am grateful to the Americans for the fancy technology that they invented, it's very cool, but, of course, in typical fashion they had to make it an absolute shit film, the biggest piece of cliché catering-to-the-lowest-common-denominator garbage ever. I don't know why they even bothered. Why not just make 30 minutes of some random fight scenes and no story at all?
<<
Unless, of course, you think that the cost of such an endeavor is not worth the cause--as I assume that your issue with free market American goods, music, and cinema does not in comparison. >>
Yes, I am not a fanatic of course, I even saw Avatar. Opinions tend to become sharpened and "trollified" on an anonymous unmoderated internet forum...
You are right, America has had its many positive influences.
For the most part, I am more referring to American commercialised pop-culture, rather than everything American. Even many Americans will agree that things like CSI, 95% of Hollywood, McDonalds (adding a new slice of beef to their cheesburger every few months, what are we up to, quadruple? or quintet cheeburger?), American Idol are decadent. Even if it forms part of American culture, ok fine, but we have no need for that over here and I find it cringe worthy to see young Europeans quoting Friends and the Simpsons. Even most Americans wouldn't quote Friends. Europeans are often more fanatic about these things even than Americans, just because it's cooler here... it's unnerving. They think EVERYTHING American is cool, they don't seem to realise that just like anything else, there is also a lot, A LOT, of American stuff that is CRAP!
So, it's not the INVENTIONS, it's what you DO with the inventions.
A good example of this is that movie Avatar. I am grateful to the Americans for the fancy technology that they invented, it's very cool, but, of course, in typical fashion they had to make it an absolute shit film, the biggest piece of cliché catering-to-the-lowest-common-denominator garbage ever. I don't know why they even bothered. Why not just make 30 minutes of some random fight scenes and no story at all?
<<
Unless, of course, you think that the cost of such an endeavor is not worth the cause--as I assume that your issue with free market American goods, music, and cinema does not in comparison. >>
Yes, I am not a fanatic of course, I even saw Avatar. Opinions tend to become sharpened and "trollified" on an anonymous unmoderated internet forum...
<<A good example of this is that movie Avatar. I am grateful to the Americans for the fancy technology that they invented, it's very cool, but, of course, in typical fashion they had to make it an absolute shit film, the biggest piece of cliché catering-to-the-lowest-common-denominator garbage ever.>>
Hmm . . . I have yet to see Avatar, though your reaction to it is quite different than I thought it would be. My understanding is that the film is basically an American critique of, well, Americanization . . . all be it an un-nuanced and exaggerated critique. But, as I stated, I have not seen the film yet.
<<I find it cringe worthy to see young Europeans quoting Friends and the Simpsons. Even most Americans wouldn't quote Friends. Europeans are often more fanatic about these things even than Americans, just because it's cooler here... it's unnerving. They think EVERYTHING American is cool, they don't seem to realize that just like anything else, there is also a lot, A LOT, of American stuff that is CRAP!>>
Yes, this annoys me to no end as well. Not only because these particular Europeans accept such things without actually making a conscious effort to understand the background and culture its stemming from, but also because it allows so called "European Intellectuals" to reduce American culture to Britney and burgers, which is a surface dimension of the culture.
All these things do add to the spread of English around the world, but it marginalizes that which is essential in American culture. Of course, American culture is at somewhat of a disadvantage when attempting to decide what is meaningful art and what is trivial. This is a point that has long been lost on Europeans. Unlike Europe, American culture does not spring from a heavily divided class structure where an Aristocracy determined taste. So, there really are no clear division between high culture and folk culture in the U.S. as in Europe. It is American populism. As an unintended result, it is very hard to determine in American art, literature, and music what is fine art and what is not. They are, generally speaking, equal. This proved quite beneficial to American Artists, writers, and musicians up until very recently. Under this cultural frame, a huge variety of styles and genera were created (for instance, in music there is Blue Grass, country, Folk, Jazz, Blues, Soul, R & B, Big Band, punk, etc). Yet, when companies found that they could make money by picking up people off the street and having them sing what ever manufactured song the company had commisioned, the artistry of the individual was removed. (The British tried this early on in the Rock and Roll era, but were largely rebuffed by the British youth at the time. Now, of course, they have their own Idle). Still, there are many instances even in today's music where this does not hold true and great and innovative forms of art, literature, and music continue to poor out of the United States.
But, I'm not entirely sure I am making myself clear about American populism and the break away from European standards of high and low culture. Here are some examples of this phenomena: American classical music stems from and is continually informed by American popular music. For instance, when Martha Graham commissioned Aaron Copland's "Appalachion Spring" for her ballet, he borrowed directly from an old Quaker tune, "Simple Gifts". When Gershwin was seeking inspiration for his own music, he looked to jazz. Conversely, American popular music is informed by classical music. Indeed, Gershwin's area "Summertime" from the opera Porgy and Bess now vies with the Beatle's "Imagine" as the number one covered pop song in the world.
Original version of "Summertime" as performed by the London Philharmonic directed by Sir. Simon Rattle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7-Qa92Rzbk
One pop version of "Summertime", Janis Joplin live in Stockholm, 1969:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzNEgcqWDG4
While this versatility is present in American classical music, it is also present in its folk or popular music. For instance, an American sea shanty is now a staple of many the worlds finest concert choirs. The one I'm referring to is "Shenandoah" (from the Iroquois word meaning daughter of the stars). Though, this can also be said of many other American traditionals and spirituals, including African American spirituals.
A somewhat traditional take on "Shenandoah" performed by the Norwegian soprano, Sissel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5grgB-dV2o
Shenadoah arranged for concert choir (a bad recording, but the one least modified by European aesthetics. That is, it retains the simplicity and depth common in the American Traditional.) The Cologne Cathedral Boys' Choir performs "Oh Shenandoah":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj1qUGKXKog&feature=related
One thing that is true about American culture is its unique ability to simultaneously pay homage to its European roots while mocking what many in America would considered its decadence and snobbery.
Here is an excellent and humorous example: "Glitter and Be Gay" from Bernstein's opera "Candied" as performed by the French Prima Donna, Natalie Dessay:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCg4r1Ile4w
So, you see. There are a myriad of advantages and disadvantages to this particular cultural structure. Increased versatility and creativity of the masses, a democratization of the arts, verses a loss of standards established by the elite. Of course, the United States is not without its own elite who push the boundaries of the avant-garde.
Shaker Loops, a piece of American Minimalizm based on Shaker dances choreographed by Itzik Galili:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w1eKG-hdhA
Documentary on Philip Glass' Opera, "Einstein on the Beach":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b26E0D2pm1c
Hmm . . . I have yet to see Avatar, though your reaction to it is quite different than I thought it would be. My understanding is that the film is basically an American critique of, well, Americanization . . . all be it an un-nuanced and exaggerated critique. But, as I stated, I have not seen the film yet.
<<I find it cringe worthy to see young Europeans quoting Friends and the Simpsons. Even most Americans wouldn't quote Friends. Europeans are often more fanatic about these things even than Americans, just because it's cooler here... it's unnerving. They think EVERYTHING American is cool, they don't seem to realize that just like anything else, there is also a lot, A LOT, of American stuff that is CRAP!>>
Yes, this annoys me to no end as well. Not only because these particular Europeans accept such things without actually making a conscious effort to understand the background and culture its stemming from, but also because it allows so called "European Intellectuals" to reduce American culture to Britney and burgers, which is a surface dimension of the culture.
All these things do add to the spread of English around the world, but it marginalizes that which is essential in American culture. Of course, American culture is at somewhat of a disadvantage when attempting to decide what is meaningful art and what is trivial. This is a point that has long been lost on Europeans. Unlike Europe, American culture does not spring from a heavily divided class structure where an Aristocracy determined taste. So, there really are no clear division between high culture and folk culture in the U.S. as in Europe. It is American populism. As an unintended result, it is very hard to determine in American art, literature, and music what is fine art and what is not. They are, generally speaking, equal. This proved quite beneficial to American Artists, writers, and musicians up until very recently. Under this cultural frame, a huge variety of styles and genera were created (for instance, in music there is Blue Grass, country, Folk, Jazz, Blues, Soul, R & B, Big Band, punk, etc). Yet, when companies found that they could make money by picking up people off the street and having them sing what ever manufactured song the company had commisioned, the artistry of the individual was removed. (The British tried this early on in the Rock and Roll era, but were largely rebuffed by the British youth at the time. Now, of course, they have their own Idle). Still, there are many instances even in today's music where this does not hold true and great and innovative forms of art, literature, and music continue to poor out of the United States.
But, I'm not entirely sure I am making myself clear about American populism and the break away from European standards of high and low culture. Here are some examples of this phenomena: American classical music stems from and is continually informed by American popular music. For instance, when Martha Graham commissioned Aaron Copland's "Appalachion Spring" for her ballet, he borrowed directly from an old Quaker tune, "Simple Gifts". When Gershwin was seeking inspiration for his own music, he looked to jazz. Conversely, American popular music is informed by classical music. Indeed, Gershwin's area "Summertime" from the opera Porgy and Bess now vies with the Beatle's "Imagine" as the number one covered pop song in the world.
Original version of "Summertime" as performed by the London Philharmonic directed by Sir. Simon Rattle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7-Qa92Rzbk
One pop version of "Summertime", Janis Joplin live in Stockholm, 1969:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzNEgcqWDG4
While this versatility is present in American classical music, it is also present in its folk or popular music. For instance, an American sea shanty is now a staple of many the worlds finest concert choirs. The one I'm referring to is "Shenandoah" (from the Iroquois word meaning daughter of the stars). Though, this can also be said of many other American traditionals and spirituals, including African American spirituals.
A somewhat traditional take on "Shenandoah" performed by the Norwegian soprano, Sissel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5grgB-dV2o
Shenadoah arranged for concert choir (a bad recording, but the one least modified by European aesthetics. That is, it retains the simplicity and depth common in the American Traditional.) The Cologne Cathedral Boys' Choir performs "Oh Shenandoah":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj1qUGKXKog&feature=related
One thing that is true about American culture is its unique ability to simultaneously pay homage to its European roots while mocking what many in America would considered its decadence and snobbery.
Here is an excellent and humorous example: "Glitter and Be Gay" from Bernstein's opera "Candied" as performed by the French Prima Donna, Natalie Dessay:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCg4r1Ile4w
So, you see. There are a myriad of advantages and disadvantages to this particular cultural structure. Increased versatility and creativity of the masses, a democratization of the arts, verses a loss of standards established by the elite. Of course, the United States is not without its own elite who push the boundaries of the avant-garde.
Shaker Loops, a piece of American Minimalizm based on Shaker dances choreographed by Itzik Galili:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w1eKG-hdhA
Documentary on Philip Glass' Opera, "Einstein on the Beach":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b26E0D2pm1c
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