Is there a rational explanation for the export of American culture?

Closed Thread
Page 4 of 10 FirstFirst 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ... LastLast
  1. #31

    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    420

    Part of it's American foreign policy. Part of it is the perceived personalities of some Americans. But a large part of it is just dislike of cultural homogenisation. I don't want every city in the world to be a carbon copy of some perceived ideal American city. I don't want a McDonalds, Starbucks and KFC on absolutely every street, especially if they wipe out the local equivalents and replace local cultures with American corporate branding.

    Not that I'm particularly against McDonalds or anything. Those things are fine in moderation. It's just good to preserve diversity and unique local things.


  2. #32

    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    on the road again
    Posts
    927
    Quote Originally Posted by Claire ex-ax:
    And if it wasn't for the British, Americans would be speaking Dutch...
    And French! The ignominy!

  3. #33

    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Pampanga, Philippines
    Posts
    29,764
    Quote Originally Posted by ontheroad:
    And French! The ignominy!
    Instead they end up speaking like Bush. Perhaps he would make more sense if he spoke French?

  4. #34
    Quote Originally Posted by Hamton:
    I don't want a McDonalds, Starbucks and KFC on absolutely every street, especially if they wipe out the local equivalents and replace local cultures with American corporate branding.
    If it's really all about demand & supply, then that's the local people who actually wiped out the local equivalents.

    But there were many stylish and lovely old corner shops, grocey stores, restaurants and alike were forced to shut up shop because their landlord raised the rent by 100%. And you're right, then they rent the premises to multi-national entreprises.

  5. #35

    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Sarcasm - because beating the crap out of people is illegal
    Posts
    14,622
    Quote Originally Posted by hullexile:
    Instead they end up speaking like Bush. Perhaps he would make more sense if he spoke French?
    It's not which language he speaks that is the problem...

  6. #36

    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Posts
    4,905
    Quote Originally Posted by xxxlionxxx:
    If it's really all about demand & supply, then that's the local people who actually wiped out the local equivalents.
    Bottom line is that McD, KFC and the like exist and thrive because there are enough people that want them... I think they are awful places but there's no accounting for taste I suppose and they won't be going away anytime soon.

    I hate to see the small towns in North America with the big Wal Mart, Home Depot and food superstore but the majority want them and the cheaper prices they bring. That's life and there's not much that can stop "progress"

  7. #37

    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Pampanga, Philippines
    Posts
    29,764
    Quote Originally Posted by Claire ex-ax:
    It's not which language he speaks that is the problem...
    .....but which orifice it comes out of.

  8. #38

    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Sarcasm - because beating the crap out of people is illegal
    Posts
    14,622

    Carl Bernstein's words apply so well to many modern cultures, unfortunately:

    "We are in the process of creating what deserves to be called the idiot culture. Not an idiot sub-culture, which every society has bubbling beneath the surface and which can provide harmless fun; but the culture itself. For the first time, the weird and the stupid and the coarse are becoming our cultural norm, even our cultural ideal."


  9. #39

    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    North Point
    Posts
    160

    Yipppeeeee.

    I get to listen to anti-american talk everyday at work. It's a joy!!!

    I LOVE to rip on America too, but everyone says Americans this, Americans that blah blah blah. I'm not like that, not any Americans I know are like that, you're being the giant to dbag not me.

    It gets very old after a while...

    But hey We're #2! We're#2!

    Last edited by smelly; 24-06-2008 at 06:05 AM.

  10. #40
    Quote Originally Posted by smelly:
    During my stay in Melbourne, I really didn't see many obese guys there (maybe there were still young and maybe they were mostly living outside Melbourne) but the girls.......as some people told me the 3 most commonly seen things in OZ are 1) Beer 2) Flies 3) well make a guess....
    Last edited by xxxlionxxx; 24-06-2008 at 09:21 AM.

Closed Thread
Page 4 of 10 FirstFirst 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ... LastLast