How Have You Been Affected By American Entertainment?

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Brooker

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When I was young, before I'd done any traveling, I thought people from every country in the world mainly watched movies and TV shows and listened to music that was only from their own country. I figured every country had their own Hollywood. As I became older and more traveled I realized that many people from all around the world grew up watching/listening to a lot of the same stuff I did. American stuff.

So, the question... What influenced you when you were growing up. Or what influences you now? How much of it is from your home country? How much of it is from America? How much of it is from another country?

For me, the main foreign influence in entertaiment growing up came from British music. Americans seem to take a lot of British bands and start thinking of them as their own. The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, etc. are just as much a part of American culture as they are a part of British culture. And now one of my favorite bands is from England, "Muse". But I can't think of too many other obvious foreign influences. Most of the movies and TV shows I watched were American.

I was a little surprised (although I guess I shouldn't have been) that a lot of my coworkers in Japan (not American) knew more (or as much) about a lot of American entertainment than I did.
 
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that's a hard one.. Can't really remember what influenced me when I "grew up".

First of all I have a hard time defining when the period I "grew up" in was...
I feel like I just recently got out of that period or maybe even still am in it.

23 soon.. somehow I still can't see myself as a grownup.

If I had to define it I'd say (for now) when I was a kid.. and if that's the case then maybe the answer would be Robocop, Transformers and whatever cartoon happened to be on... Really isn't an easy question though.
 
I was a little surprised (although I guess I shouldn't have been) that a lot of my coworkers in Japan (not American) knew more (or as much) about a lot of American entertainment than I did.
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I had the same experience. Several of my teachers expected me to know all about Brittiny Spears, Tom Hank's love life, and all kinds of other pop mumbo jumbo. They always are so disappointed when I don't.

:relief:

Still, I would be nuts to say I haven't absorbed lots of cheap pop culture like a sponge. When it's beat into your head all day long for your whole life, you're bound to pick up something. I might not recall the date of the Boston Massacre, but I can sing the Golden Grams song like a pro.

On a side note, when I was growing up, I always thought Seasame Street was in Chicago. Did anyone else think that Seasame Street was in their own town?

:blush:
 
mad pierrot said:
I might not recall the date of the Boston Massacre, but I can sing the Golden Grams song like a pro.:
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:D

mad pierrot said:
On a side note, when I was growing up, I always thought Seasame Street was in Chicago. Did anyone else think that Seasame Street was in their own town?
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I never thought about where it was, but I never thought it was Seattle. Doesn't look like any street in my city.
 
I suppose that Hollywood is the biggest part of my entertainment that comes from the US, although many of the movies I liked recently had an Anglo-American cast or were completely British with American money for the production (LOR, Harry Potter, Bridget Jones, Troy, Alexander, Phantom of the Opera...).

The second biggest influence are (non-fiction) books by American authors (mostly scholars), but usually not related to American culture (eg. about Japan, neuroscience...).
 
Up until high school, most of the music I listened to was J-pop:)emblaugh:), in colllege listened to the Beatles, a lot of rap, some Brit pop like Duran Duran, Oasis; it makes me feel a bit funny to name those bands because I would never listen to them now.
I watched a lot of Hollywood movies and other foreign movies, wasn't interested in Japanese movies.

I have to say the strongest influence I got was a Japanese cartoon of "Adventure of Tom Sawyer", although it's not American Entertainment at all, I recall watching that cartoon made me feel courageous and got me thinking of coming to the US for the first time. I always loved Tom & Huck and wanted to live like they did.
 
Shooter452 said:
Isn't that the purpose of entertainment?
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Ah, but it does (intentionally or unintentionally) so much more. Never underestimate its ability to change minds and sway opinions.
 
the only shows i'm really influenced by are anime shows and IRON CHEF!! *one of my goals is to be a pro chef now..*
 
Brooker said:
Ah, but it does (intentionally or unintentionally) so much more. Never underestimate its ability to change minds and sway opinions.
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*rolls eyes* Does it? I suppose we could debate that for some time. However I do not discount your opinion, only that the jury is truly still out on it.

I would expect a verdict would be a long time coming, but what do you think?

*winking*
 
I'm now allergic to sitcoms. Does that count?
 
Shooter452 said:
*rolls eyes* Does it? I suppose we could debate that for some time. However I do not discount your opinion, only that the jury is truly still out on it.

I would expect a verdict would be a long time coming, but what do you think?

*winking*
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Sure seems like a lot of young Japanese are very affected by American pop culture. I'm sure that interest also affects their outlook on some things (maybe sometimes inaccurately). If media doesn't affect people minds, why do companies bother spending so much money on advertisements?
 
One of the biggest influences in my life have come from America in the form of jazz, which I think is America's greatest contribution to art (and musical entertainment). The European tradition of improvised music had almost died before jazz became popular, and in classical music it is basically gone. Whilst improvisation exists in many other styles of music, I would say it is nowhere as advanced in a total sense (rhythm, melody and harmony) as in jazz. The concepts imbedded in jazz have injected new blood into art music all over the world, and jazz itself is played everywhere and considered a serious art form. Jazz inspired me to study music at university and become a musician.
 
Index,
What kind of instrument do you play?

I once tried to play alto saxophone after listening to Charlie Parker so much, but I got very frustrated because it was just impossible for me to sound good.
 
Guitar. I think anyone who tried to play like Charlie Parker would get frustrated (including me!), because he was phenomenal. A musical genius. Everytime I hear him play I feel inspired to pick up my guitar. I was listening to some live recordings of his on the radio yesterday and he blew me away once again...Yesterday was the fiftieth anniversary of his death. He's been dead now for longer than he lived. Do you play any other instruments misa.j?
 
I heard that on the radio, too. They played the recording of him playing tenor instead of alto, oh man, his saxophone always makes me want to cry, it touches me so much.

I would like to say that I do, but no, I don't play any right now. I could not understand how to play guitar; it is too complicated for me. I played clarinet, saxophone, piano here and there.
 
It's too complicated for me too, it often seems. It would be better if there were only three strings :nuts:
 
I know right? I mean, how can you press and pluck the strings at the same time...
 
Exactly. Actually, one of the difficulites in the guitar, I think, is that there are three or four ways of playing any one thing. While this gives you lots of options, it also makes it more complicated.
 
Index said:
Exactly. Actually, one of the difficulites in the guitar, I think, is that there are three or four ways of playing any one thing. While this gives you lots of options, it also makes it more complicated.
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Not being a guitarist, I am in no way qualified to endorse or to reject that statement. However, comma, could not the same thing be said about any other instrument?
 
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