Re: Mass availability and globalization
Posted by Anne Beltestad on July 25, 2003 at 09:06:19:
In reply to: Re: Mass availability and globalization posted by Ilithiya on July 23, 2003 at 16:13:39:
: American "culture" isn't culture. Culture has traditions.: Americanization is a soul-sucking lifestyle; a lot of people don't
: get it because they're so caught up in it, and it takes a lot of
: exposure to honest culture until they see this for what it is.
Correction: True American culture is a LOT of cultures - regional,
ethnic, religious, linguistic...this is what makes us rich
(culturally) - what grows from the bottom up.
What comes from the TOP DOWN - what you're talking about, I think, is
what's imposed by those in power, in other words those who profit
from selling us moreandmoreandmore - and you're right, it has no
meaning or value.
: I am deathly afraid of cross-cultural experiences, and that is
: because I was raised all-American, with my only cultural contact
: being a pseudo-Bavarian tourist trap (Yes, for those of you in
: Washington, I lived in Leavenworth... lol)
I never made it to Leavenworth, but real Bavaria is cheezy enough for
me!
I break out into cold
: sweats at the prospect of going to a real Chinese restaurant.
Don't
: get me wrong - there's nothing wrong with Americanization, but I
: missed out on a lot, and there's a lot more people who'll miss out
: too.
Until we learn that we have a lot to learn from the people next door,
down the street, or (gasp, god forbid!) on the 'wrong' side of the
tracks. Those cross cultural experiences are a lot of what makes
America special, but because there are so many little ones I think
it's hard to resist the big, dumbing down, mass force that sucks us
all together waving that (ugly-ass) flag and watching (mindless)
sporting events.
: Contact with and learning about different cultures and traditions
is
: wonderful. Ripping off those traditions and robbing them of all
: their meaning is one of the worst things that we can do - that's
why
: so many people in foreign countries think of us as "those stupid
: Americans".
:
And exactly why the mass marketing of 'henna tattoos' is, in my
sister's words, SICK and WRONG.
: My vote is firmly with the anti-commercialization of henna. We can
: refuse to be "those stupid white girls (and guys)", but we also
: don't have to be Aunti Bibis either. Learn and share and teach,
but
: never EVER commercialize.
:
: <gets down off soapbox> :)
:
Applause to you!
You go, girl!
: Illy
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