Community | November 08, 2007 | 6 comments

Visit America before America visits you

source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6915187.stm

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dlesliegunner
I'm interested in what this says about the transplantation of American culture abroad. The fact that people listen to rap music across the globe is nothing new. American music, television, and radio can be viewed in almost any country of the world. American fashion trends dominate the minds of youth everywhere. Generally, the effect of American trends being transplanted across the globe has been viewed as rather innocuous. But recently, people in the Middle East and elsewhere are beginning to question this rabid consumption of all things American. In Sudan, transplantation of gangsta culture in particular has not occurred without damaging effects. Without necessarily knowing the origins of the music that they are listening to, some young Sudanese emigrants have begun to take on the lifestyles referenced in various rap songs. They are coming up at odds with the Egyptian police as a result.
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    Hip Hop,  Gangsta,  American Gangster,  Hip Hop Generation,  1 more
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6 comments // Visit America before America visits you

  • joshuaheller
    • 0
      joshuaheller  

    • d,

      i like your posts. culture is not an object. it is something transient. it doesn't really make sense to say that one thing has more or less culture than another.

      i am particularly interested in the way that american popular culture, the Cokes and Bulls jerseys, are incorporated into communities outside mainstream america and re-appropriated / reconfigured by the people that live there.

      if you have more stories like this , i'd love to check them out.

    • 4 years ago
  • dlesliegunner
    • 0
      dlesliegunner  

    • hey josh,

      some salient points. of course other countries have cultures entirely their own. I don't believe in cultural relativism or comparing aspects of culture that make some more precious than the others. Culture is in most forms very hard to quantify. However, there is no question whether all countries of the world are overwhelmingly influenced by American culture. Do you know that American movie studios make nearly half their income on sales outside of America? Look at this Guiness commercial Mr. Costello posted, for instance. It's not that people just love America, it's that they see American products so much. American products dominate the markets of developing countries. Sure these products aren't the only thing other people are interested in, but if you go to a developing country and give young people Chicago Bulls T-shirts they will love you forever. I've seen it happen and I'm sure you've seen it as well.

    • 4 years ago
  • ssppeencceerr
  • joshuaheller
    • 0
      joshuaheller  

    • I find it overwhelmingly surprising how influential US culture is abroad. In much of Latin America you can find people who have a hatred of American Foreign Policy but still wear Converse listen to Nirvana and drink Coca-Cola.

    • 4 years ago
  • ssppeencceerr
    • 0
      ssppeencceerr  

    • just so you know,
      american culture isn't as big in other parts of the world as you think.
      yeah there are some places that like american fashion, or music, or cinema but they by no means obsess over such things. Many parts of the world have MORE culture and pretty things than this country ever will. Don't get me wrong i love it here, but there are so many places all around the world that dress better and sound better and look better than we ever can.

    • 4 years ago
  • joshuaheller
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