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Cultural globalization = Americanization of everything
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| Vector A |
True or false?
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| Lira |
False, I still find you guys exotic as hell... and there are loads of things we get from other cultures as well.
Don't worry, this belief only makes awesome German music, but I find it wildly inaccurate :p
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| Vector A |
| quote: | | Originally posted by Lira |
Haha, that's a great one. "Coca Cola, sometimes war." :stongue: |
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| Lira |
Seriously though, let me elaborate on my answer a bit,
In a way, globalisation is skewed: Your average Brazilian is much more likely to know something about American culture than the other way around. But, it goes both ways, and other countries can exert just as much soft power. I'm surprised by how strong the cultural exchange between the United States and the United Kingdom is. From the Beatles to Oasis, you've embraced English music quite passionately, whereas I'd be hard-pressed to mention one single Portuguese band/singer/whatever popular in Brazil.
Likewise, migrants bring their culture along with them, and America itself is probably more culturally diverse now than it was one or two hundred years ago. I've only know about falafel, tacos, and chop suey thanks to you - but I'm sure no American would think of these things as being American themselves.
Finally, there's quite a lot about your culture you simply can't inculcate in other peoples. I can't quite fathom why Americans split according to ethnic lines the way you do, but I also admire your love for self-reliance (though I can't understand the rush in leaving one's parents' house). This holds true to most other countries, I guess. We see what you're up to, but that doesn't mean we'll imitate you (and, if we do, that doesn't mean we'll be successful either). |
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| Halcyon+On+On |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lira
(though I can't understand the rush in leaving one's parents' house). |
:stongue: |
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| Lira |
Seriously, it's like you're catapulted out of it once you turn 18 or something! :p
Here most people live with their parents up until marriage... sometimes they won't leave even when they're marriage (though I don't think this is common any more), so you see three generations living in the same household. |
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| Halcyon+On+On |
| I almost wonder if it was sustained economic and political conditions that caused such a cultural gulf. Because it's true- in most every corner of the world, people will live with their parents well into adulthood, and it's generally free from the same stigma people in the US place on it. But in its halcyon century (now well past), the US experienced a grand shift from factory and industry to clerical, financial labour with leisurely incentive. There were jobs, homes were affordable, family was encouraged as an atomic opportunity to thrive in a cellular manner. Well, that's gone, and the incidence of people living with their parents has seen a sharp rise in just the last decade- the burgeoning uncertainty is creating a trend that I think is going to continually reunite people within their tribes. I don't know if it's good or bad, it's just a thing. |
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| Lews |
What do you mean by Americanization / American culture?
| quote: | Originally posted by Lira
I can't quite fathom why Americans split according to ethnic lines the way you do... |
Elaborate? |
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| Lews |
| quote: | Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On
I almost wonder if it was sustained economic and political conditions that caused such a cultural gulf. Because it's true- in most every corner of the world, people will live with their parents well into adulthood, and it's generally free from the same stigma people in the US place on it. But in its halcyon century (now well past), the US experienced a grand shift from factory and industry to clerical, financial labour with leisurely incentive. There were jobs, homes were affordable, family was encouraged as an atomic opportunity to thrive in a cellular manner. Well, that's gone, and the incidence of people living with their parents has seen a sharp rise in just the last decade- the burgeoning uncertainty is creating a trend that I think is going to continually reunite people within their tribes. I don't know if it's good or bad, it's just a thing. |
Don't forget geography. We had a wide open space [cue Perfecto Remix] to fill, which required people to continually move out by themselves and set up a homestead. The idea of moving out and being self-reliant has been in the American mindset since before 1776. |
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| Lira |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lews
Elaborate? |
It seems to me that there are white suburbs, black neighbourhoods, Hispanic areas... resulting from effects such as the white flight. Sure, there's something of a racial divide here in Brazil as well, but miscegenation is so common I don't think you could have an actual black/white divide that isn't tied to an economic difference (sadly, melanin and wealth are still inversely proportional to some extent here, no matter how much interbreeding there is)... specially because there's a mixed race group that is just too broad.
Because of how common miscegenation is around here, concepts such as "jungle fever" and "yellow fever" don't seem to exist in Brazil. I was taught in school that we all share European, African, and Native American ancestries... and it's hard to find an exception.
On the other hand, and I could be mistaken about it, integration doesn't seem to be the norm in North America as a whole, reason why Theresa even got away with saying she was in an interracial relationship because she was Irish and her boyfriend was German, or something along these lines. |
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| Lews |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lira
It seems to me that there are white suburbs, black neighbourhoods, Hispanic areas... resulting from effects such as the white flight. Sure, there's something of a racial divide here in Brazil as well, but miscegenation is so common I don't think you could have an actual black/white divide that isn't tied to an economic difference (sadly, melanin and wealth are still inversely proportional to some extent here, no matter how much interbreeding there is)... specially because there's a mixed race group that is just too broad.
Because of how common miscegenation is around here, concepts such as "jungle fever" and "yellow fever" don't seem to exist in Brazil. I was taught in school that we all share European, African, and Native American ancestries... and it's hard to find an exception.
On the other hand, and I could be mistaken about it, integration doesn't seem to be the norm in North America as a whole, reason why Theresa even got away with saying she was in an interracial relationship because she was Irish and her boyfriend was German, or something along these lines. |
Did Theresa get away with saying that? Because she certainly shouldn't have lol
Yes, we certainly have split along ethnic lines in the sense of neighborhoods. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that whites have the most purchasing power, and so tend to buy up property in choice areas, where other ethnicities can't afford to live. It also just has to do with the waves in which people came to this country and where they came from. |
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