So I dropped my drama class (the last time I was in a play was probably when I was Simba in Miscouche Consolidated's "production" of The Lion King in third grade) and am now in America and Americanisation! I'm so excited about it I almost got goosebumps.
Today our assignment was to analyze Jack Vettriano's paintings and provide a definition of "Americanisation" and then discuss it in small groups. The unfortunate part of my accent is that I'm a dead giveaway [North] American (though my Scottish flatmate is convinced I'm Irish... I think it's the Canadian accent) so I automatically got questions about my perception of Americanisation in my small group. When we went to the seminar, I wanted to hear what everyone else thought, so I kept my mouth shut so they wouldn't watch what they were saying around "the American." Hilarious! They made a lot of valid points, but some were a little presumptuous, I think.
They found it very interesting that Americans fly the flag at every opportunity and from every corner, while their pride really only comes out during the World Cup, when it's okay to have a national identity. Here, they view patriotism as racism, and many were peeved that Hollywood always makes the English character the villain. They speak fondly (wistfully?) of Britain's imperialistic days, though there's a definite guilt there that they think America lacks. They also found it ironic that the US prides itself on freedom, when there are such strong anti-gay marriage and anti-abortion sentiments. It was really interesting listening to their theories and they had an almost I-told-you-so attitude about America's decline. I think that's more of a reflection of our government than the population as a whole, hopefully that doesn't offend anyone.
[Sidenote: A group of Eau Claire kids went to BOP (an on-campus dance club) this week with my British neighbors on the floor and as we were walking there, Iain (a British floormate) said "Aww, we're all together, the Americans and British... just like in Iraq!" hahaha.]
The students in my class are convinced a Democratic candidate will take the White House, and are really excited about the prospect of having a woman or a black man in power. A Republican in office seemed inconceivable to them and seem to automatically assume the next administration will be Democratic. They predicted Americans will vote for Obama or Clinton because they're minorities instead of for their platforms, and never really suggested that we might not vote for them because they're minorities. Fascinating. I made some sort of involuntary mouth noise at their trust in the average American citizen's desire for change, and the (incredibly nice) guy and girl beside me from our small group laughed at me, since we had just been discussing the election and primaries.
I can't wait until next week, when we discuss Americanisation not as forced conformity but as voluntary consumption. We have to bring in something British/European with obvious American influences; too bad most of my products are from Chin... I mean, the States.
Today our assignment was to analyze Jack Vettriano's paintings and provide a definition of "Americanisation" and then discuss it in small groups. The unfortunate part of my accent is that I'm a dead giveaway [North] American (though my Scottish flatmate is convinced I'm Irish... I think it's the Canadian accent) so I automatically got questions about my perception of Americanisation in my small group. When we went to the seminar, I wanted to hear what everyone else thought, so I kept my mouth shut so they wouldn't watch what they were saying around "the American." Hilarious! They made a lot of valid points, but some were a little presumptuous, I think.
They found it very interesting that Americans fly the flag at every opportunity and from every corner, while their pride really only comes out during the World Cup, when it's okay to have a national identity. Here, they view patriotism as racism, and many were peeved that Hollywood always makes the English character the villain. They speak fondly (wistfully?) of Britain's imperialistic days, though there's a definite guilt there that they think America lacks. They also found it ironic that the US prides itself on freedom, when there are such strong anti-gay marriage and anti-abortion sentiments. It was really interesting listening to their theories and they had an almost I-told-you-so attitude about America's decline. I think that's more of a reflection of our government than the population as a whole, hopefully that doesn't offend anyone.
[Sidenote: A group of Eau Claire kids went to BOP (an on-campus dance club) this week with my British neighbors on the floor and as we were walking there, Iain (a British floormate) said "Aww, we're all together, the Americans and British... just like in Iraq!" hahaha.]
The students in my class are convinced a Democratic candidate will take the White House, and are really excited about the prospect of having a woman or a black man in power. A Republican in office seemed inconceivable to them and seem to automatically assume the next administration will be Democratic. They predicted Americans will vote for Obama or Clinton because they're minorities instead of for their platforms, and never really suggested that we might not vote for them because they're minorities. Fascinating. I made some sort of involuntary mouth noise at their trust in the average American citizen's desire for change, and the (incredibly nice) guy and girl beside me from our small group laughed at me, since we had just been discussing the election and primaries.
I can't wait until next week, when we discuss Americanisation not as forced conformity but as voluntary consumption. We have to bring in something British/European with obvious American influences; too bad most of my products are from Chin... I mean, the States.
1 comment:
Janie, this is fascinating!! And the comment Iain made?? Bring him home, he sounds hilarious. Keep me updated about this class...I think it will be super interesting. I love being back here, but I'm so jealous of you--to learn and explore and do something different and go to clubs and have a drink and get a whole new lot of friends. Wow. I hope you are still well!
~Audrey
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