Posted by Anne LeVeque on August 02, 1999 at 15:36:56 from 207.197.129.139:
In Reply to: Re:Harry Potter (was: What a scene!!) posted by Robert Hill on July 30, 1999 at 18:13:28:
Robert:
I think there is a great deal of truth in what you say. We call it
"cultural imperialism," and many Americans are astonishingly ignorant
of cultures other than their own, and in many cases are ignorant of
their own cultural heritage and history. Pop culture is the defining
influence for our youth - MTV, Disney, and the nightly TV news tell us
what we know about the world. Those of us who try to keep our kids from
being over-exposed to this trash are seen as a bit peculiar.
The last time my teen-aged nephew visited, he marveled that my son could
spend so much time reading - he had never known any of his peer group
that did that!
I think the view of America perpetrated by pop culture is indeed skewed.
But I think it is true that non-Americans would have more knowledge of
American cultural references than Americans would have of non-American
cultural references.
Anne LeVeque
aleveque@nccbuscc.org