Long post: American culture is a very complex and intricate fabric, and I am always very interested when observing the differences between American culture as it is from family to family, region to region. Obviously, most of the people here are Southern, so the "American culture" that you were raised in probably has a blatant Texan twist. I want to know what parts of your familial traditions and daily human interactions can be characterized as quintessentially American (I want it to be noted that I'm well aware that certain American traditions are not solely American, but IMO, that doesn't make them any less important to the American nation; e.g. the U.S. isn't the only country with Protestants, but that doesn't make Protestantism unimportant to the image of America). Such examples may include the food you eat, father-son relationships or any familial variation thereof, watching baseball games, picnics, values instilled in you from a young age, apple pie, American idioms you use and so on. What's also important is the variety of different art genres you may indulge in, including what kind of music you listen to, the books you read, poetry, paintings, film and so on (assuming they are American in origin). Since this is a board that includes many different people from many different regions and backgrounds, there will probably be a number of differences in regional culture. To put it stereotypically, New Englanders might have penchants for making and eating clam chowder, and Texans may have penchants for making and eating chili and so on. This is all out of a personal joy of understanding cultures in general, and also out of a personal desire to gain a deeper understanding of the American identity, and I hope you guys will help me out and share your cultural experiences! Sorry for the long-windedness, BTW.
I'm making cheeseburgers for dinner tomorrow night (tonight). Does that count? We don't eat "bad" food like that regularly...but it's been a while. Also, once my single mother worked us out of poverty, we went to baseball games pretty regularly. If that ain't American...
Sure it counts, the cheeseburger is a notorious American staple. However, I don't think an isolated incident can constitute a cultural value for your family, since you say you don't eat "bad foods" regularly. Although I look back upon what I just wrote and find it a little bit absurd that one could consider eating bad foods to be culturally American... I suppose some foreigners would not disagree with that statement, though.
^^It's definitely a stereotype. I guess they say it's pretty close to true in comparison to other countries but we're a fairly healthy family.
Apps I am going to go ahead and say it.. You are a strange bird. What response are you looking for? How would I know what I do is uniquely american if I am american doing it in america? Your thread is weird. You need to be more specific if you want to know. I can tell you that I don't walk a lot. That is pretty specifically american. Even if I have to go short distances there is this tendency to drive. I think that is uniquely american on some levels.Listening to screwed music for a while was htown. I have lived in other countries and certainly there are many things about americans that are definitely different. Obviously idioms will be different in regions that's what makes them idioms. surely the region of the country you come from has its subsets. ..people can argue that a pathan is the same as a pashtun or that a gallego has anything to do with cataluyan. Even in the US we have regional things that make us uniquely regional. Like, say in dallas, where one of the pre requisites is to suck at life.
What's the difference between a cup of yogurt and the United States of America? Spoiler If you leave the yogurt alone for 200 years, it will grow a culture
I was expecting responses like this, and I would've taken the time to perhaps address this problem in the OP, but it was already getting to be really long-winded, and I know people don't wanna read all that, you know? I understand that what I'm asking is very abstract. Most people rarely look at the culture that they live in, because it has become second-nature to them. I suppose the point here is is that there are a number of things that pretty much every American goes through. Reading Tom Sawyer/Huckleberry Finn, for example, reading To Kill a Mockingbird, or Catcher in the Rye while in high school, watching high school football games, attending baseball games, going to church, etc. But of course, people are going to have different experiences. When I'm at my friend's house, I can sit and be enthralled by listening to his father talk about Dodgers stats from 30 years ago! This is obviously unique, but finds its footing in American culture. What I'm looking for is how these experiences come together from region to region, and from family to family--again, an example could be how a family in the South can be rabid football fans, and a family in the North could be steadfastly hockey fans. It's these differences that I find enthralling, but at the same time there are American traditions caught up in the history of both sports, and it is an obvious depiction of how important sports and competition are to the American people. We cherish many different sports, and probably have the most money caught up in the sports industry than any other country in the world. It's the individual stories that create this overall culture, however. I don't know... perhaps this is too sentimental or strange to ask of people on the internet, and I'm fully expecting joke answers. I was just interested to see what some people had to share and say about their American identity.
To add, yes, your "not walking" thing is distinctly American. America has a pretty extensive car culture. The American's relationship with his/her first car is probably unmatched and unrivalled in the rest of the world.
Interesting thread, reminds me of cultural anthropology from undergrad. Eating all kinds of foods (Italian to Japanese) is something I think is very American: having access to a wide variety of food that the common man can afford (or waste). Another "American" quality - I have several cars and motorcycles though I'm relatively young and an environmentalist (I do have many bicycles as well). Driving/riding at high speeds on open highways is a passion. On American clothing style - I have a diverse wardrobe, from bespoke suits to a pair of Levis and a white t-shirt. On any given day of the week, I can be wearing whatever I want, wherever I want. The same cannot be said for my co-workers in Europe or Japan who have a restrictive dress code and/or few clothes IMO versus America's casualness sprinkled with people who dress well. Phrases I've picked up: "fixin to [do something]"..."y'all" Having a dedicated home theater room for movie nights with friends and family -> very American thing. Also, watching football and basketball (college and professional) games with friends, snacks, and ice-cold beer in a separate hangout room with a pool and poker table, foosball, darts, etc. I listen to all kinds of music (electronic to raï to jazz). I own many guns as well, both for hunting and self-defense. And, I plan to buy a ranch either in Montana or Wyoming soon, but maybe that's less American for its similitude to the concept of dachas in Russia or the English country house?
Reminiscent of Rawlsian survivalism, definitely big amongst the rural conservative American; however, I don't know if there's any ideological reason for why you want to do that, and you obviously don't seem to be rural at all. Interesting that you listen to rai. Yes, eclectic musical tastes are American, but some genres are usually never on the radar. Great reply, by the way.
The most American thing that I can think of that I've ever participated in is church-league softball. Maybe I'm mistaken, but I can't imagine any other country where churches have sports teams and play teams from other churches. The church I attended in Canada had some sports days, but even then, it was just pick up games.
Mexican churches (at least where I'm from) have teams and play each other in soccer and baseball all the time. Many will argue that BASEBALL is "America's Pastime", not softball.
As I have just observed a few fine examples of this specimen at breakfast at my (American hotel chain) hotel in Buenos Aires, I can describe the typical American tourist: - wears jeans that are bleached too much - tucks his t-shirt or polo shirt into said jeans - is overweight - wears tennis shoes - talks in a very loud voice to fellow countrymen (who are dressed the same way) in the lounge
Texas Culture - Frito Pies...I always assumed everyone had these..evidently we're the only state that does. Tex-Mex..of course...and blue bell Ice cream..although some other southern states have blue bell..its heralded in Texas. In small towns, people still pull to the side of the highway to let you pass if your driving faster than they are - thats driving the Texas Way. At the Dallas World Aquarium, a couple was having trouble pulling their stroller up a door step..I immediately grabbed the wheels and lifted it up for them - they were in disbelief and thanked me..they said in NY, where they were from, NOBODY would do something like that..they were impressed with the friendliness and helpfulness of Texans - I told them I couldn't imagine anyone NOT helping. American Culture - Spending lots of money on things we don't need..then claiming we don't have any money. No other country does this to the extent that we do this. Many other countries save money, then buy..instead of buying so much on credit. Face it...we're spoiled. At the height of the recession, 60% of Americans were planning on buying a flat screen TV in the "near future". Thats just insane. If you don't have the Cash..don't buy it. In many developed countries, a 30-yr mortgage is unheard of - they save their money first, and pay cash, or get a 15yr mortgage - we are a culture of "I want it NOW" - ..we spend extra money on "quality" clothes because we want them to "last longer"...but then we don't wear them after a year or two anyway because they're no longer in style. I remember one guy in this forum compaining that as a single person, it wasn't possible to live on 40K a year..I was aghast when I read that. There are stories of families of 4 living comfortably on that and SAVING money..and yet a single guy in his 20 couldn't?? We are a spoiled country.
yes, we are super spoiled. and also, one thing that always struck me was the portion sizes in our country...it encourages people to eat more than they need and simply fuels the multi-billion dollar weight loss industry. They did a study of peoples' reactions to and the words they connect to certain foods. In France, the number one word attached to chocolate cake is "celebration." In the U.S., the word is "guilt." That's unhealthy.
