American culture
Culture: black music - African American - American censorship - American cinema - American comics - American erotica - American exploitation - American horror - American literature - American music - black music - country music - Europe - Hollywood - West - world
Culture of the United States
U.S. popular culture has a significant influence on the rest of the world, especially the Western world. U.S. music is heard all over the world, and it is the sire of such forms as blues and jazz and had a primary hand in the shaping of modern rock and roll and popular music culture. Many great Western classical musicians and ensembles find their home in the U.S. New York City is a hub for international operatic and instrumental music as well as the world-famed Broadway plays and musicals, Seattle is a world leader in the grunge and heavy metal music industries, and Nashville is the capital of country music. New York, Seattle, and San Francisco are worldwide leaders in graphic design and New York and Los Angeles compete with major European cities in the fashion industry.
U.S. movies (primarily embodied in Hollywood) and television shows can be seen almost anywhere. This is in stark contrast to the early days of the republic, when the country was viewed by Europeans as an agricultural backwater with little to offer the culturally "advanced" world centers of Asia and Europe. Nearing the mid-point of its third century of nationhood, the U.S. plays host to the gamut of human intellectual and artistic endeavor in nearly every major city, offering classical and popular music; historical, scientific and art research centers and museums; dance performances, musicals and plays; outdoor art projects and internationally significant architecture. This development is a result of both contributions by private philanthropists and government funding. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA#Culture [Aug 2005]
American music [...]
The music of the United States includes a number of kinds of distinct folk and popular music, including some of the most widely-recognized styles in the world. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_the_United_States [Sept 2005]
The USA was along with Jamaica one of the first loci where white music and black music met, clashed and fused. The UK is third place where this happened.
American popular culture
American popular culture has expressed itself through nearly every medium, including movies, music and sports. Mickey Mouse, Barbie, Madonna, Babe Ruth, screwball comedy, G.I. Joe, jazz, the blues, The Simpsons, Michael Jackson, Gone with the Wind, Britney Spears, Michael Jordan, Charlie Sheen, Indiana Jones, Sesame Street, Catch-22 — these names, genres, and phrases have joined more tangible American products in spreading across the globe.
It is worth noting, that while America tends to be a net exporter of culture, it absorbs many other cultural traditions with relative ease, for example: origami, soccer, anime, and yoga.
It can be argued that this ability to easily absorb parts of other cultures and other languages is its greatest strength and helps American culture and language spread. Americans in general do not worry about protecting their "indigenous culture" (see below) but instead eagerly create and adopt new things and then change or modify to make them their own. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arts_and_entertainment_in_the_United_States#American_Popular_Culture [Aug 2006]
Exportation of American popular culture
The United States is an enormous exporter of entertainment, especially television, movies and music. This readily consumable form of culture is widely and cheaply dispersed for entertainment consumers worldwide.
For better or worse, many nations now have two cultures: an indigenous one and globalized/American popular culture. That said, what one society considers entertainment is not necessarily reflective of the "true culture" of its people. More popular syndicated programs cost more, so overseas entertainment purchasers often choose older programs that reflect various, and dated, stages of United States cultural development. Pop culture also tends to neglect the more mundane and/or complex elements of human life. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arts_and_entertainment_in_the_United_States#American_Popular_Culture [Aug 2006]
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs : A Low Culture Manifesto (2003) - Chuck Klosterman
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs : A Low Culture Manifesto (2003) - Chuck Klosterman [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto is a collection of essays on popular culture written by Chuck Klosterman, a cultural analyst and senior editor for Spin Magazine.
The book is a narrative elaborating from abstract associations or ironic historical happenings, generally with a connection to music or music culture. Topics at the root of these narratives include Klosterman's obsession with serial killers and his tradition of watching pornography at Christmas. The cultural truisms Klosterman displays form an overall theme of interconnection. This theme seeks to explore the idea that nothing is "in and of itself". --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex,_Drugs,_and_Cocoa_Puffs:_A_Low_Culture_Manifesto [Aug 2006]
See also:
popular culture -
culture -
low culture