American Culture

Impact of the Popular American Culture Melinda A. Valdez Soc. 105 March 17, 2010 Impact of the American Culture There are many advertisements being held by the media and television commercials that affect the American culture.

They do not just affect the adults but the children as well for instants, this week my children and I were watching the Disney channel and we saw a commercial of Chucky Cheese and right away my children say they want to go there, so to satisfy my children now I want to take them there so they could enjoy themselves and now I am going to have to spend money that I was not planning on and it might not even be that exciting to them as it was shown on TV.

In the past three days not only was I coming across kid commercials but make up products, red lobster, and movies that are just coming out, and when you see these they encourage you to go out and get them. These advertisements are not things that I have to have in life to survive; they are stuff to pleasure me and to entertain me as well. Personally I know that the media has impacted my lifestyle in many ways even though I am aware of the influence it has on my decision making.

For example, the makeup commercials, do I need the makeup more likely no but I see the commercial and see what it might make your skin look like and even though I know that they are doing it to sale there product it just looks so good that I have to try it. I honestly think I have more luxury in my house than what I really do need. Such as my television it is a sixty two inch do I really need a TV that big, no but it looks nice. Overall I do think that the media and advertising has a big impact on our American culture and yes we can say no to advertisements but we are more likely not to.

Despite the abduction of millions of blacks from their homeland, slaves developed a strong familial camaraderie in America, retaining their African traditions as seen through dance, language, clothing and hairstyle. Although kinship ties were usually broken during the slavery process, blacks living on the same plantation created a strong-knit community that took part in festivals that highlighted the vibrant music and dancing of the African culture. Additionally, blacks expressed the individuality and uniqueness of their African tribe through their clothing and distinct hairstyles.

The constant influx of black slaves into America guaranteed the survival of the African culture, as more and more generations of slaves replenished the African heritage (Yacavone 570). Although most evidence suggests slave culture was rooted in Africa, slave advocacy in adopting Christianity supports the theory of their assimilation into American culture. In dealing with the hardships of slavery, blacks endeavored in numerous efforts of rebellion and escape to avoid assimilation into the American culture.

Nat Turner’s revolt embodied African resistance towards American tradition, as Turner sought to free his fellow slaves from oppression and achieve a sense of equality, as seen through the eyes of God (eblackstudies. org). As a result of enslavement, blacks became united in times of resistance, as their “ethnic heritage bonded and emboldened them and underlay their New World identity as ‘Africans,’ forged in their common struggle (Rucker 285).

Similar to the tightly bonded African extended family, slaves exhibited strong camaraderie during times of escape, as it was common for Africans to leave in bands of six or more people (Couvares 290). Slave participation in communal festivals each year promoted the existence of the lively African culture, as they congregated by the hundreds to perform rituals, sing, and dance. The Pinkster festival featured a mass assembly of blacks that would dance to the “hollow Sound of a Drum, made of the Trunk of a hollow Tree…the grating rattling Noise of Pebles [sic] or Shells in a small Basket” (White 8).

Music along with dancing took various shapes and forms as the Jonkonnu festival reflected the African importance of nature, as it was accompanied with “songs strange, monotonous cadences” (Warren 9). Slaves were also successful in maintaining their African dialects, which “not only allowed them to endure the collective tragedy of slavery, but to bequeath a notable and enduring heritage to generations to come (Joyner 280). Slaves also exhibited their allegiance to the African culture through their clothing and hairstyle.

Hair was regarded as one of the most important parts of the body for Africans as “elaborate hair designs reflect[ed] tribal affiliation, status, sex, age, [and] occupation” (White 49). In addition, hairstyles conveyed different messages to society and nature, as people of the Yoruba culture braided their hair to send messages to the gods (Wiki). Similarly, African-American women made cloth that incorporated the West African ideals of design, using radiant colors to embody the highly spirited culture (Thompson 170).

Although blacks maintained several traditions of their past African culture, many slaves gave up their pagan beliefs and adopted Christianity in order to gain a sense of belonging in the new American culture. Christianity became an Americanizing force on slaves not only because it served an opportunity for them to escape the white encroachment towards their African religion, but it also “fit into West African ideas about the deities, the universe, and rebirth (Frey 282).

Likewise, blacks were so quick to adopt Christianity because it acculturated them into American society with a feeling of equality among their white counterparts (Raboteau 283). Despite many blacks retaining their past cultural traditions, the goal in converting slaves to Christianity was successful as “slaves turned not to traditional African sources of wisdom and solace but to Christianity for a useful and restorative understanding of daily life” (Couvares 283).

In Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America,1 Morris Fiorina takes aim at the contention that there is a culture war in America, that our society is badly divided and polarized so that we are rapidly falling into two competing camps ready to do battle with one another. It is a bold argument.

The idea that a culture war is raging in America is a staple of certain media outlets, especially AM talk radio, where the likes of Michael Savage, Bill O’Reilly, and Rush Limbaugh on the right, and Thom Hartman, Randi Rhodes, and Al Franken of left-leaning Air America constantly sound alarms, crying that whichever barbarians they dread are about to storm the temple. Against this popular belief, Morris Fiorina has impressive credentials: he taught at for ten years at CalTech, for sixteen years at Harvard, and he is now a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute and holds an endowed chair in political science at Stanford University.

Using sophisticated sampling data, Fiorina shows that the American public holds a range of diverse opinions, but finds that instead of being increasingly polarized, the American public has generally been moving to the center of the political spectrum on many issues. Consider an issue which he admits is a “hot button” item: homosexuality. Fiorina finds that the American public has gradually but steadily become more accepting of homosexuals over the past 30 years.

True enough, the public does not accept homosexual marriage, nor did they accept opening the military to gays, but these are not the entire question of homosexuality. On the issue of being willing to accept homosexuals in general, the public attitude has shown increasing moderation. To establish this, Fiorina considers polls in which the sample group was asked to rate homosexuals on a “thermometer”scale, in which 100 is total acceptance, and 0 is total rejection. In 1984, homosexuals earned a “0″ score from 30 percent of Americans.

By 2000, the percentage of “0″ scores has dropped to just 10 percent, and the overall acceptance rating for homosexuals has risen from 30 percent to 49 percent. (84) While these ratings do not show that homosexuals have managed to escape the stigma under which they have been compelled to live, they show that the shocking divide in which the issue is often portrayed does not exist. Similarly, the abortion issue, long considered the most divisive of social issues, is decidedly less divisive than it is pictured in popular media.

A clear majority of Americans now support the basic decision in Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court abortion case. More than 65 percent of Americans support a strong right to choose. (54) Further, attitudes as to when abortion should be allowed are virtually unchanged since 1973. As of 1999, the last year for which Fiorina has data, 88 percent of Americans believe that abortion should be allowed if the life or health of the pregnant woman was seriously endangered. (55) In 1973, the number was 87 percent.

If, like Fiorina, we accept the norm that a change of four percent or less in a survey of this type is not statistically significant, then the only factor about which the surveys have asked which has seen a statistically significant change is the right to a woman to have an abortion based on a claim that she has an income so low that she cannot afford another child. Even in this situation, some 40 percent of the general population would allow the abortion. (55) The change in attitudes, such as it is, is in the percentage of Americans who believe that all abortion is murder.

While this saw a slight rebound in the late 1990s, it has fallen from 22 percent in 1973 to 18 percent, and since Roe, it has never been above 25 percent. (71) Another remarkable finding that Fiorina uncovered is that men and women have virtually identical attitudes on abortion, even though they differ markedly in their views on other issues. (71-72) The percentage of men and women who believe that abortion should be legal under all circumstances has varied between 21 and 36 percent for women, and between 20 and 30 percent for men, with the difference between sexes never being more than six percent.

The percentage of men and women believing that abortion should be illegal under all circumstances has run between 15 and 23 percent for women and between 13 and 21 percent for men, with never more than a difference of four percent. (71) By contrast on other issues, the difference between men’s and women’s attitude is far more marked. Responding to the suggestion that all handguns except those carried by police or other persons in authority should be illegal, only 28 percent of men agree; 48 percent of women agree.

Regarding the “caning” of an American teenage arrested in Singapore for acts of vandalism, 61 percent of men approved of the punishment; only 39 percent of women approved. While 43 percent of men consider themselves conservative, only 29 percent of women do. (72) In short, while abortion does not appear to be as divisive an issue as it is portrayed, there are other issues on which there is division. Fiorina presents a sweeping array of data, all of which shows far less division than is generally assume to exist.

This raises a natural question: if there are fewer deep divisions than Americans believe, why do Americans believe that there are such division? Fiorina points to several sources, including political parties, media, and pundits. Media and pundits want to portray conflict, because conflict sells. (115-23) As the quip goes, “If it bleeds, it leads. ” To reach his conclusions, Fiorina has to delve into sophisticated statistical models.

The reader wishing to follow his argument in detail faces a daunting task, because Fiorina uses three dimensional statistical models ass he works through assumptions about voter and candidate behavior. (118-24) In the end, Fiorina argues that it is not the general populace that is divided, but the elites, the people who are active in party work. (125-31) In their turn, the elites are the most accessible to and the most accessing of the media and the pundits. (141-42) Party elite organizations tend to be strongly self-selecting.

Only a true believer among Republicans can rise far through the Republican party organization; only a true believing Democrat gets to the top of the Democratic party. Once in the elite, these people tend to demand equal zeal from anyone else wanting admission, and to select people with the same ideals to join the elites. The result is set of self-perpetuating cadres of zealots, who believe, or at least would like to believe that they stand on the ramparts and fight for the Lord. In Fiorina convincing? He would probably find a certain irony in the response: maybe.

Any serious reader must give pause. There is comfort in the idea is that we are not becoming constantly more polarized. Still we are conditioned to believe we are polarized. That idea appears so often that a refutation is hard to accept. But anyone who reads this book will probably ponder if Fiorina is right or not. He would probably approve of that response. AUTHORITY CITED: Fiorina, Morris, with Samuel Abrams and Jeremy Pope. Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized Amierca. New York, New York: Pearson/Longman, 2005.

American teenagers take a lot of things for granted, but what we don’t take into consideration is what would happen if these things suddenly disappeared. Teenage life consists of school, jobs, driving, friends, sports, and going out with friends. We never consider others’ way of life. In some cultures, they are just fighting to stay alive, while others don’t have the freedom to go out with friends, or play a certain sport. They are so consumed in family life or their future jobs that they have no social life. No one ever thinks what would happen if their way of life was completely turned around.

This concept is shown on a reality television show called 16 and Pregnant. It follows a group of teenage girls throughout their pregnancy and a few weeks after. It shows the trials, worries, and changes in these girls’ lives. There is also a follow up show called Teen Mom that follows 4 girls from the first season of the show. I will be expanding on these girls’ lives from the beginning of their pregnancy to their lives now. Maci Bookout was just your ordinary teenage girl. She was an excellent student, played softball, and was very popular.

She had big plans to go away for college and be a typical college student.This is the way the typical American is viewed. But things suddenly changed for Maci when she discovered she was pregnant. All her dreams and aspirations soon faded away and she had to consider her life with a baby. Maci comes from a middle upper class family, so concerns for money were minimal, and she didn’t have much of a struggle, other than with her baby’s dad, Ryan. But she couldn’t go away to college; she was just worried about graduating high school. She had to quit softball, and her friends soon turned on her.

Her life was completely changed with just one decision.She took her teenage years for granted, but once she became a teen mom, that was all she wanted back. Amber Portwood was a big party girl, who didn’t care what others thought of her. She would party instead of doing homework, and didn’t have many friends that truly cared about her. She viewed life as a big party, and didn’t take it seriously, until she had to. She became pregnant at 16 and her whole life was changed. She dropped out of high school, and moved in with her boyfriend, Gary.

They were from a lower class family, so they struggled with money. Gary and Amber soon both were working, and had to leave their aughter with Gary’s mother. It was obvious from the start that Amber and Gary were not meant for each other, because they would often get into fights. Fights started to get physical and Amber soon saw herself sitting home alone while Gary took their daughter and left, after many months of physical abuse. Amber knew she had a problem, and needed help, but she realized it too late. Gary broke up with her and she was alone, and without her daughter. She took her teen years for granted, and instead of living life to the best of her ability, she tried to grow up too fast, and got what she wanted.

Farrah Abrams was the popular cheerleader in high school. She had great friends and an amazing boyfriend. She had big dreams of going to culinary school, becoming a chef, and opening her own restaurant. All those dreams were put on hold when she discovered she was pregnant. Things became even worse when the father of her baby, and boyfriend of 1 year, was killed in a car accident. 2 months later, her daughter, Sophia, was born. She had to go through the loss of her boyfriend, and the birth of her daughter.

Soon after Sophia’s birth, Farrah began to miss her boyfriend and saw herself going out more, and leaving her baby with her mother.Farrah’s mom constantly had to remind her daughter that she was now a mother and couldn’t just go out with friends anymore. She was from a very wealthy family and had no problems with money, but all her other problems took the place of money problems. Farrah and her mother did not get along very well at all. She was constantly disrespecting her mom, and her mom was constantly nagging her about everything. When Sophia was almost 1 year old, Farrah’s mother punched Farrah. Cops came to the house and arrested her mother, and Farrah didn’t see or speak to her mom for months.

Farrah had a successful life planned out for herself, but now she’s unsure of whether or not she’ll ever reach her goals. Catelynn Lowell is an ordinary girl. She doesn’t have any special gifts or talents, she’s just a teenager. She and her boyfriend, Tyler, were dating 3 years when she discovered she was pregnant. Ironically this was a good thing for her. She had no plans or goals for her life, because her mother and step-father (which is Tyler’s real dad) are both drug addicts and have never been strict on Catelynn about anything. Being pregnant made Catelynn realize she needed to do something with her life and not turn into her mother.

She and Tyler talked for months, and both decided that they needed to give their daughter, Carly, up for adoption, because there was no way they could raise their daughter in the living situation they were in. Catelynn and Tyler are both from very low class families, and could barely provide for themselves, so they knew their daughter would be very unhappy. While it was a difficult decision, they also knew it was the best one. Catelynn and Tyler will be graduating from high school this year, and have many goals they’re eager to achieve. The similarities and differences between these girls are many.Amber dropped out of high school, and missed out on graduating. Will she ever get her GED? Farrah is the only one who does not have a father in her baby’s life; will her baby ever have a father figure? Maci seems to have it all together, but does is she really happy not being with her first love? Catelynn and Tyler gave their daughter up for adoption, and while it was a smart decision, will they later regret it? All these girls’ lives will be affected forever because of the decisions they’ve made.

I believe this show takes the concept of the average American teenager, and adds some reality into it.While not all teen girls become pregnant, it’s amazing to see that this is what it take to make some teens grow up. Other cultures would think that this is just crazy because these girls took for granted the fact that they had people who loved them, a house to live in, and a chance for education. American culture is very different from other cultures, just in the fact that we don’t value things that should be valued, such as family, morals, and God. If we viewed life a little more seriously, and not as a game, then we may be a much stronger, happier nation.