american culture things i like / dislike (as a non-american person)
i have been exposed to american culture from the young age, in various form. but i do not live in the usa and don't get the current cultural landscape - everything i know about it is from random videos i come across, or articles. so this list is mostly aesthetic - not a value judgement on anything.
this might be fun to read for americans, this is a bit of a snapshot of what a foreigner is exposed to from your country. i think it's fun, anyway. the interesting part is how non-nuanced it is, nor can it be since i do not have the full cultural context
like
- how stephen king described national parks
- pacific south west, horror movies, including ironic ones (like the cabin in the woods)
- old-school new york, think "breakfast at tiffany's"
- my chemical romance, fall out boys (circa 2006)
- romantic comedies a-la "the breakfast club", especially the light in the shots, make-up, and clothing
- charles bukowski (american-german, not strictly american, but still)
- bearblog
- garage bands
- startup vibe. somethimes amazing, sometimes naive and messy
- entrepreneurial spirit
- toy story 1 and 2. in general pixar movies before toy story 3 (2010). cartoons with old-school/shitty animations have a soft spot in my heart still. i watch indie animations even now, they have the similar vibe (to me) as old pixar. anyway, i digress...
- peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
dislike
- taylor swift, victoria's secret, pregnant at 16 - they all seem from the same cultural room
- any parades, including macy's parade
- fried snickers bars, chicken on waffles as a meal, gravy as a concept. powdered waffle mixes, those sweet sandwiches with jam inside for the toster.
- being extremely self-deprecating
- tan california vibe, think of a fit girl with sun-kissed riding on skates on the beach with ice-cream in her hand. again, i don't hate the girl, nothing against her or fitness - i just thoroughly dislike the vibe. i am not even sure if people do that or if it's something i've seen in music videos.
- meta, instagram. i dislike it way way more than tiktok for some reason
- youtube reaction channels that were popular in 2010s, think of "kids watch"
- the persistence of bank loans
- ! when i was online as a teen, my grammar and spelling would sometimes be corrected by people. then, others (native speakers) would scold those correcting my grammar saying i might be an ESL and they should be more tolerant. that boils my fucking blood - so if i do not have english as my first language, i should not be able to spell?! that is so condescending and patronizing, i hate it with all my heart still! please, correct me! correct my prononciation and spelling and grammar and whatever else. foreigners are not less than you, and this is treating them like they are. i hate it. i am not sure what world would describe this, but i have not encountered this from the brits, or australians. perhaps that is because i was never in uk/aussie online spaces