04th Aug 2002
The American Century
*Gulp* I’m probably going to regret this, but a conversation I had the other night has been gnawing at me. In fact, even though I didn’t make the list, I would comfortably call myself a liberal. I truly don’t consider myself to be a jingoistic, gung-ho, rah-rah America promoter. I lived five years in Europe (Budapest), which gave me some perspective on my country’s role in the world. But during that time abroad, I also got really sick of hearing Europeans say that America didn’t have a “culture.” Not compared to Europe anyway. I’d look at the blue jeans on their asses, the music playing in the background, the burger or pizza crumbs on their lips and think, “Yeah, right, may I have the pleasure of the next waltz?”
Well, I got into it again the other night with a young Hungarian woman I don’t know well (and whom I believe does not read the Bruner Blog, but if you do, dear, nothing personal, I swear! You are lovely and charming). We were talking about the state of the world these days, and I wanted to make a point along the lines that while the 20th Century had been the American Century, the cultural dominance we have exerted on the rest of the world for many years might not sustain itself long into the next century, given the New World Order, etc.
The conversation didn’t get further along those lines, though, as my new friend immediately seized with incredulity on my premise that the 20th Century had in any way been dominated by America. Granted, this person grew up (till the ripe age of her mid teens, probably) under Soviet Communism, so perhaps she was somewhat shielded in her youth from what I was had in mind, but I was still surprised that she thought that this was a point worth arguing about.
I mean, am I living with cultural blinders on, nationalistic to the point of myopia, or is it not true that the United States did in fact have disproportionate influence on the way the rest of the world has lived in the past 100 years or so?
For example, starting with “The Arts” and “Culture,” I’m thinking in terms of jazz music, rock music, hip hop, modern musical theater, modern dance, motion pictures and casual fashion. As for technology and communications, there is, oh, say the telephone, television, the automobile, mass production, air travel, air conditioning, computers and the Internet. And let’s not forget issues like civil rights, women’s rights, gay rights, the environmental movement, the United Nations and modern philanthropy. I could go on, but I think you get the idea.
Let me be clear that I am not suggesting that all of these trends and inventions occurred in a vacuum exclusively in America by “full-blooded” Americans. Obviously, jazz, blues and rock music were born out of traditions from Europe and Africa. Of course I’ve heard of the Lumiere brothers, Fellini and Bollywood, but I just don’t think I’m going out on a limb to suggest that Hollywood’s influence on the global film industry is overwhelming. Of course, French, English, Hungarians and many other nationalities made important contributions to the technologies I’ve named above, including the TV, computer and motion pictures, both as immigrants in America and in their homelands. And in the alternative universe where there were no America, probably many or most of these things would have come to pass in any event (e.g., the car, air travel, the environmental movement, etc., though I’m less sure about jazz, The Simpsons or Amazon.com).
I’m also not suggesting that everyone in Hungary or Pakistan or Nepal or wherever are listening to American Top 40 and wearing baseball caps and surfing Amazon. But similar American characteristics of modern life are certainly recognizeable in almost every corner of the globe, more pervasively, anyway, than French, Japanese, Argentine or any other country’s international impact.
I could cite the obvious patriot stuff about American inventiveness, entrepreneurialism, can-do spirit, personal liberty, democracy, etc. And to a large extent, I’d agree those is true. But I’d argue that the forces most responsible for the influence this country has wielded in shaping “world culture” in the past century were sales savvy and unbridled consumerism. America simply has the largest affluent consumer base in the world. Once a phenomenon — be it the hamburger, a Bruce Willis flick or laws against beating up gay people — has found wide enough acceptance in this society, the producers and promoters of that phenomenon know that it has very wide appeal, and they can benefit from the momentum and economies of scale they achieved in “selling” to this market in order to replicate that success in countries around the world. No other country has that advantage.
Also, I am not saying that America’s influence on the world is all for the good, far from it. I strongly believe that American-style consumerism, not to mention foreign politics, have wrought terrible ills on people and the environment around the world, the consequences of which are at least almost equal to the corresponding benefits. And the financial scandals ofi the last year are only going to further erode international confidence in “The American Way of Life.”
My point is, I wasn’t trying to make a judgment call that premise. I thought I was just stating a fact: America, more than any other country, anyway, dominated the 20th Century. I’m amazed this was even a point of debate, but I’ve encountered the sentiment too often while living in Europe before to let it go (now that I blog). I suppose that blue jeans, t-shirts, rock music, TV sitcoms, the World Wide Web, the telephone and so on are taken so much for granted today as part of daily life everywhere that people like my new friend consider these things to be universal and they no longer see the American stamp in their innovation. To my friend’s mind, “culture” apparently meant “high culture,” which she felt excluded America (T.S. Elliot, George Gershwin, Orsen Welles, et al, notwithstanding).
The Simpsons is broadcast in more than 100 countries, and BayWatch is the most popular TV show on the planet. High culture, perhaps not, but the last time I watched a Dutch, Nigerian or Chinese TV show was, well, never. (Granted, I don’t have cable.) Sure, everyone eats sushi anymore (although I’d bet it caught on in NY before Paris), but not many folks in London or Rio are walking around in Kimonos and bamboo slippers to the best of my knowledge. As for Karaoke, they’re more than welcome to take it back.
And let’s not even get into World Wars I and II. As for the Cold War, what is the best of the Soviet Union’s legacy on world culture? Tremendous sacrifice in WWII, great ballet, subsidized recordings of Tchaikovsky and… Remind me what else the Hungarians are thankful to the Russians for.
Of course the 20th Century was the American Century. In the last 100 years, by example, through consumer appeal, through economic and military might, this country has defined in very large part what modern life, for better and worse, means all around the world today. Obviously. That’s what September 11th was all about.
As for the 21st Century, well, I never got that far in the conversation, and I’ll leave it here for another writing. All I can say is, if not America, than who?
Feel free to flame away.
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