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In lugnet.loc.au, Lindsay Frederick Braun writes:
>
> That's the root of my rant about Americanism--it's actually a hybrid culture
> that's gravitated towards the US because of economic power and demographic
> strength. The insidious part of Americanism is actually its functioning--its
> corporatist nature. 'Tis not the Americanisation to me, 'tis the • Disneyfication
> that's new. Americanisation has been around since the 1890s, after all--the • idea
> that the new and odd is American, but the traditional and wholesome is • entirely
> home-grown. The equations both that American=New/Alien and
> American=Degenerate/Inferior is a venerable bugaboo.
Indeed each 'culture' has an obsession with 'home-grown=100% pure'
> And, of course, calling it "Americanization" makes it an easy target for local
> conservative nationalists (witness France). It's much harder to admit one's • own
> people's complicity in its creation and advancement.
Some call it Coca cola colonisation.
> By the way, for the .au folks, have you heard any of these awful "Outback
> Steakhouse" commercials they have up here in the eastern US? The supposed
> "essence" of Australia--Paul Hogan, wallabies, and Men at Work, mostly--has • been
> canned and parleyed into a good-sized STOW-restaurant (STOW=Stuff* Tacked On
> Walls) empire up here. It's depressing, and IIRC it was started by an • Australian
> emigre catering to US myths about Australia. Perhaps it's indicative that • there
> aren't any in Australia, but there's one in Guam and a bunch on the Pacific
> Rim--and they have a partnership with NASCAR, a US stock-car racing syndicate
> usually associated with country bumpkins.
One of the guys at work visited one of these while on holiday, and was annoyed
with the depictions and so-called Australian cuisine.
But even with authentic ethnic cuisines in ethnic restaurants here in Aus they
almost end up becoming parodies of their own culture,in a bid to appeal.
A lot of Westerners love the new and spicy and interesting and are willing to
try different things but they are the minority in our own culture, the large
proportion though pick the sweetened/homogenised watered-down version.
A lot of the time we let ourselves down (speaking collectively).
pete.w
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