It's Thursday night, almost 11. Just watched the vice presidential debates, they were interesting. While taking my dog out to dog his business, I ran into the girls(2 Rutgers college graduates) that live upstairs and they asked about class tonight. I told them I was told there was no "American Culture" when I suggested so and they were shocked. We googled it, google sent us here . We talked for about an hour and came to the conclusion that there is an American Culture, all semantics aside. (ie, Culture of the United States). People who argue over semantics on this one are closed minded and not thinking of the big picture.Yes, America is our continent, but our country is also called the United States of America. When is the last time anyone has heard a person from Canada(a Canadian) or Mexico (a Mexican) refer to themselves as American. American is the US of A for short. In fact, there are American Studies departments at most universities and courses taught on American Culture. I didn't want to argue and I don't normally fight what I am told unless I am right, and I feel I am right. We are a 200 year old country, that enough time for several generations and assimilation into the American Culture. Why is there an assumption that culture has to due with lineage? Yes, we are a nation of immigrants but don't forget that we are also a nation of immigrants who became Americans. America is a melting pot and there are many who have lost a connection with past lineage. For example, my grandfather who was born in Italy, fought in WWII against for America and against Italy. There are culural aspects that he and his family have that are italian, but as for me, I am a second generation American with Italian and Greek heritgage, neither of which are that influencial in my life. There are many individuals in this country (myself, my husband, 2 girls that live upstairs, and many more including our future students) who do not associate with a specific food(I eat anything that tastes good) or religion or race. Do we not have culture, or is our culture simple based on our class and our ability to survive in this world? I live my life for today and my culture is American Culture. I am America's lovechild. I view the world as an American. My culture is ever changing and do not feel attached to anything in particular. I watch TV, listen to the radio, read magazines. I enjoy entertainment provided to me by the various media outlets and media has a direct affect on culture. I left class feeling as if I was devoid of culture. I can't deny that there are some who are more closely attached to other cultures or are bi-cultural, but to deny that there is an American culture is absurd and some here are two many generations off from their original immigrants to have another culture of influence. We have this collage poster to do. I am having a problem summing up who I am and what my culture is other than American Culture which is a fad and pop culture. I do have circumstance in my life that have altered my view in one way or another, but overall I do not choose to say my circumstances make me who I am culturally. I love rap music, but I do not feel particular attachment to anyone other than Lil Wayne (and there are somethings he raps about and does that I disagree with). People assume that pop culture is shallow. But when devoid of any other outstanding factor that contributes to our definition of culture,American Pop Culture is what there is. I do not let my class define me. My race is white and I feel no particular attachment to that either( although I understand if minorities do). Someone suggested putting my dog and my husband on this poster, but they are not part of my culture, they are people and animals, that I love and enjoy to be around. I have a great mother and sister both whom I love, All of these things mean the world to me. But... They do not make me who I am. I have never felt defined and restricted to a specific culture and now I do. I love America, and so should you. What makes this America is that you can have freedom of speech and the right to have an opinion. This is mine. There is the down fall to allow the platform for speaking your mind, sometime we do.:) Sorry for the rant. Til next time.
The Popular Culture and American Culture Association website if interested
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I agree with you that the United States has its own culture, and that as people who are living, going to school, and working in this country we all live under certain institutions that make us American. For example, America has a specific type of government with a president, vice president, and a congress. Americans expect certain things from that government, and also feel that as citizens of this country they have certain inalienable rights (i.e. freedom of speech). We do share a lot of the same pop culture, almost all Americans have some connection to the popular media, whether they choose to actually view it or not, in some form or another, it effects their lives. We live within a certain framework, for example, we have a highway system, a postal system, a judicial system, etc. that almost all Americans are subject to. Therefore, we do have similarities even if we do come from different upbringings or even different countries. In other countries, these systems and institutions are different.
I believe that our culture remains sort of under the surface to us because we consider ourselves such an amalgam of DIFFERENT people from all over the world. We celebrate difference, almost to the point that we do forget that we have our own culture. American culture became entirely clear to me the minute I set foot off American soil. I lived in Italy for 6 months, and simple things like the way people drove, the way people ordered in a cafe, and the way people dressed in public all were things that I noticed as distinctly different from the way things worked at home. Culture affects us all very deeply; it is inside our very bodies, down to the way we walk, move, and make gestures. This becomes extremely apparent when you are in a place where a different culture is the norm.
So, I do agree that their is an American culture no matter how different we may think we are (or how different we may actually be), but my qualms come with the term "culture" itself. To me, it is homogenizing and limiting. I think it creates stereotypes in peoples' heads, when they hear something like "Chinese people are _______, or Mexican people are ______ (fill in as you wish). Thinking about America as our frame of reference, we see that Americans (and like you, I am ignoring semantics to get at the meat of the conversation and actually talk about these issues)are very different. That within our culture, we have regional differences that include variations in dialects, food, value systems, etc. I recently drove to South Carolina, and these differences were glaringly obvious. Thus making generalizations about specific cultures or trying to define a specific culture becomes very problematic. People are complex, and even harbor value systems within themselves that may be in contradiction with one other. That is why I believe making statements about American culture will never be accurate because there are always people who do not fit the mold. That does not mean we should not discuss culture altogether; the discussion needs to happen. I just think that we need to keep in mind that the situation is very complex and messy and that people do not fit into the cookie cutter molds that we like to try and place them in. That is not the way the world works. Overall, thanks for getting the wheels turning in my head!
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