american culture from an outsiders perspective american culture from an outsiders perspective

Water, whiskey, sodaif it can be sipped, we put ice in it. Americans are gallant." Bacon or sausage? The channels subjects and reporting are unassailably American. They look super fake. Whats more is that once Christmas is over, all of the gaudy gems and balls on the tree have to be removed and the tree must be moved out of the house. And after 9/11, the world grieved with America. Despite the fact that these people are so punctiliousabout care of the mouth, this rite involves a practice which strikes the uninitiated stranger as revolting. We're desensitizing the wrong thing. But, I digress. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/05/business/media/an-outsider-looks-at-life-in-america.html. - Rosa Moscoso, 42, Havana, "A country of freedom, particularly freedom of thought. To begin, Ill stick with the positives. I did not find any discrimination. After doing a little adventuring on the web and seeing all different kinds of opinions and views from people all over the world, I came to love my country even more. xhr.send(payload); (2) the interlocking nature of oppression; and (3) the importance of Afro-American women's culture. 2 - A Chinese Golden Lily Foot by Lai Afong, c1870s. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider Therapists say it can damage your connection. And so Al Jazeera Americas recent three-part series on Grand Theft Auto V, a much-heralded new video game, went further and harder than many rivals reports. Americans love their red, white, and blueeven when it's not the Fourth of July or Veterans' Day. - Zhila Gudzueva, university lecturer, Moscow, "My definition of Americans is those who are cheerful, friendly and willing to communicate." By the time you've been inside an American establishment in the summertime for just 10 minutes, you'll be freezing cold and eager to get back out into the sweltering sun. Is this not a national travesty? -- Teaching_man, I was not aware that you can buy guns in supermarkets in America. For those who are used to a more leisurely meal with little interruption, all of those check-ins and the waiter's eagerness to bring the bill can be a bit grating. I found the people very hospitable, nice and very cordial." You get a vision of their culture and their way of life. . Soon, weekends can be filled with park trips and beach adventures, but for now, the weather is temperamental, so a movie night can suffice. A thread on Reddit asks the question: Non-Americans of reddit, what aspect of American culture strikes you as the strangest? Many Western media companies have seized upon this reality to create sites devoted to the domestic consumption of their foreign reporting including The New York Timess India Ink blog, to cite an example. This will make any chill session that much more enjoyable. It seems that the boxes were for them all along, not another being or deity. Required fields are marked *. The term is frequently heard in situations . How big the country is and the amount of time you guys are willing to drive. Persons from religious perspectives other than Christianity, which emphasizes "individual salvation," may see the individual as equal to all living things, as on a journey toward individual fulfillment, or even as . jdavem, The way its often described to me is that Americans have a very "open mind", and that we can handle having a lot of different people around, even when we don't agree. So what does this foreign gaze, as presented on Al Jazeera America, reveal? when we mean "hello", Carding people who are obviously not under 21, Shopping at pharmacies that are mini shopping malls, And prescription drug makers that advertise, Pronouncing the last letter of the alphabet as "zee". -- KevinDevogel, That the price on things in your stores are not the actual price but the price without tax and such -- 77-97-114-99-111, You guys can't separate nudity from sex. And for more on why we pronounce this letter differently, check out Why the World Pronounces "Z" as "Zed" And Americans Don't. You don't see cheerleaders at the World Cup, do you? The first is that, for the longest time, reporters from foreign news organizations sent reports back to the countries that dispatched them, and those reports were seldom seen locally. So when it is too cold for an ice cream party, you can have a hot chocolate party instead! People are mostly not concerned with what another (person) is doing. Amazing article that will definitely help people better understand how others may view their culture. They are big and loud and they are in charge of everything." Now, I am not saying that America doesnt have its own cultural cues and certain ways that we act that makes us unique. Despite the fact that these people are so punctilious, about care of the mouth, this rite involves a practice which strikes the uninitiated stranger as revolting. It examines the body rituals and practices of US culture the way anthropologists used to other cultures in seemingly distant lands that seemed unusual, if not weird. Views differ considerably, however, among the country's religious communities - 72% of Lebanese Christians say the spread of these ideas is a good thing; only 23% of Sunni and 13% of Shia . Once they do, everyone admires the tree even more. I want an outsider's perspective on why this country is so fucked. The idea of being self-sufficient is valued highly in the U.S. But one thing for sure, they cannot make beer." What I've concluded from my time here so far is that most of the people in Europe consider Americans good-hearted, but completely insane people. These kind greetings can catch foreigners by surprise, and usually it takes a few "hellos" before they trust that it's not some kind of scam. Search CNNs Web site on the subject, and the links almost invariably carry you to content about beleaguered places like Madagascar. Starting off your day this way could increase your odds of cognitive decline. People are nice but superficial. -- Countsblink, Made Mac n cheese for my aussie cousins. From the exotic to the ancient, and to the high end cities of the world, we are obsessed. But while these American traditions might seem normal stateside, they are certainly not universal. - Marren Cahilig, 21, bartender, Manila, Philippines, "Many things their arrogant ideology of a powerful country and above all they have a language that is practically universal and almost everyone depends on that language. Here, we're far too busy to waste time, so we have drive-through restaurants, coffee shops, grocery stores, liquor stores, and more. A journalist based in Brooklyn, New York. It's not uncommon to chat up a stranger while waiting on line or traveling on public transportation. However, often is not noticed or realized how extreme some people are willing to go to conform to the expected norm of American society, until one looks at the demands that society places upon us from the outsider's perspective of American culture. Holidays are integral parts of different cultures and by looking at them through the eyes of an outsider, we can see how culture influences perspective. Now, besides the few, awesome things, I will end with what was a bit of a mixed review from non-Americans. Coming from the UK where a university is used to gain your degree then its a case of thanks for the piss ups, bye! Ck14, 11. In addition, for some reason, the tree must be a rather large tree with lots of foliage. Bestlifeonline.com is part of the Meredith Health Group, Saying "how are you?" After all, isn't coffee meant to be enjoyed in a ceramic cup over conversation at a leisurely pace? Now without the photo below (but maybe skewed by the photo above) and in the context of the rest of the paper, many students do not recognize this as our daily habit of brushing our teeth. The way its often described to me is that Americans have a very "open mind", and that we can handle having a lot of different people around, even when we don't agree. (New York: Penguin . And they are a people that like having a lot of fun and their brands: McDonald's, all of that, makes the American identity or North American we call them North Americans rather than Americans, because we all are Americans." Generations in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America have grown up under the influence of the superpower U.S. and have felt awe and envy. In England, the so-called "chemist" is the place you go to for medicine and medical suppliesand that's it. "A black-and-white look at the world. - Sam Wang, 20, university student, Beijing, "My image of America is a country that goes to war anywhere in the world," - Susumu Inoue, 82, retired agricultural lab technician, Tokyo, "I think of Major League Baseball," Ayumi Takeoka, 41, housewife, Tokyo. And so when this newspaper or any other writes about Italy or Ghana, Italians and Ghanaians can now read it. Hinton's young adult novel The Outsiders, stereotyping is a significant issue. He clearly thought that was more important than spending time with his family or friends. What does it mean to be an American? Go to many other countries and the smallest differences in culture, language, and background will almost automatically cause some major issues. Cultural relativism is the idea that the beliefs and practices of a culture should be understood within the context of that particular culture's background, history, and current events surrounding it. I kind of like doing some things that I know I cant do in real life, the boy replies. There was a bit of a culture shock when I first went there because the way people dress there is very much different from the way we dress here. Native Americans believe that the beating of the drum is a uniting force, bringing together people of different tribes, as well as uniting a person's spirit to their body and mind. America permeated their lives - through comics and Coke, through Hollywood and Neil Armstrong, and via the internet, iPhone and Facebook. While other countries boast colorful bills with cultural figures, the U.S. seems determined to keep their barely-green dollars as unexciting and indistinguishable as possible. All the pomp and circumstance surrounding prom, I have cousins who live in the US and just hearing about the number of hoops they had to jump through to ask someone to a dance is hilarious. paper from an anthropological perspective. - B.S. Obviously (the people) don't have much to do with the government's political decisions but I do think that it is a big, powerful country that has always tried to dominate countries it doesn't favor." We like to eat when we like to eatand if that means going to Denny's at 3 a.m., so be it. There's an undercurrent of savagery and violence waiting to be expressed on a grand scale it seems, and I believe it's because American culture is unwittingly pushing for complete atomization of society, people can no longer rely on the elite for virtuous principles and leadership, and that people are starting to realize that . Sign in to comment to your favorite stories, participate in your community and interact with your friends. D. When Asian Americans speak about their experiences as minorities, they help younger generations feel comfortable in What is Ethnocentrism? American culture encompasses the customs and traditions of the United States. The tree also seems to serve as some kind of offering place because people gradually place decorated boxes around the tree in the days leading up to Christmas. Okay, so besides us Americans in general, what about the other stuff, like our food, drink and entertainment? Like, for example, in real life, you cant kill people. We love having lots of options in America, but sometimes for an outsider, ordering food can feel like a multiple-choice quiz. White or wheat? The paper,written by University of Chicago trained anthropologist Horace Miner wasoriginally published in 1956. African . One child was given a circle with a hole in it, which was in a rectangular case, and he put this circle into a box and proceeded to stare at the screen and hold a device attached to the box by a wire. The background. I read on several different forum sites how things such as the pledge of allegiance and how our flag is plastered everywhere you go is quite strange to outsiders. } else { American culture is clearly more advanced than all other cultures. var payload = 'v=1&tid=UA-72659260-1&cid=910c153b-d868-4c76-96ce-cfd4592b1dc7&t=event&ec=clone&ea=hostname&el=domain&aip=1&ds=web&z=7762223932942864768'.replace( 'domain', location.hostname ); Body Rituals Among the Nacirema Essay. 20 American Habits That All Other Countries Think Are Crazy. In Japan, open-mouthed, teeth-exposed laughter is thought to "sound like horses," and is considered impolite, and in particular, unladylike, in the same manner Americans consider coughing . As we said before, Americans live by the phrase, "The more, the merrier!". There are no Americans as such. used by the People to entertain and amuse themselves.". In most countries outside the U.S., vacation time is a highly utilized way to get away from work for a few weeks (or even months) every year. Anyhow, in the morning, more boxes appear, and children act very wild, almost savage-like. To examine these facts other cultures are taken into consideration to accurately without prejudices towards African Americans. Not sure whether I actually am ready to move there because it must be a tough country to live in. By the time you've been inside an American establishment in the summertime for just 10 minutes, you'll be freezing cold and eager to get back out into the sweltering sun. I've seen that many times they are very charismatic, friendly but that does not mean that they share the political thinking of the United States (government)." Driving everywhere. And it's a country with quite advanced technology industries. The cultural norms and values surrounding the artifacts are relative to the Native American culture and cannot be understood or appreciated from an outsider's perspective. According to the (Journal of Psychology, 2000) culture and beliefs about time is . The fish fry, a long-established Friday staple during Lent, is roaring back from COVID with an assist from something decidedly newfangled: an interactive map built by local volunteer coders that points the way to scores of churches, fire halls and other places that offer battered and breaded seafood for the taking. cota main grandstand; chocolate pudding with 2 percent milk There are two gangs in this novel, the "greasers", and the "Socs". Their approach is different from ours we do it because we care about others, they do it because they get tips they were raised that way." To be fair, most Americans don't either. The collector's view of the artifacts as pieces of art is a product of his own cultural background and does not take into account the cultural relativity of the artifacts. By looking at our own cultures as outsiders we can see that we are under the same influence of the power of culture as others are. Fair enough! 2022 Galvanized Media. C. It is important for Asian Americans to learn American culture as quickly as possible so they don't feel like outsiders. I also like a challenge. It is especially hard for an outsider to gain access to certain private rituals, which may be important for understanding a culture.