Muhammad Ikhsan

AG. 1

INTRODUCTION OF LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Paper I

1. ENGLAND CULTURE

A. The People

English cultural roots lie in a merging of Anglo-Saxon, Danish, and Norman

French culture that has existed as a synthesis since the late Middle Ages. A

process of negotiation was at the heart of this cultural creation. In the British

Isles and abroad, the English record in colonized areas is no better than that of

other European colonizing cultures. Beginning in the 1960s with the

Immigration Acts and reaching a low point with the 1981 British Nationality

Act, laws have been passed to restrict the rights of foreigners to enter the

country and obtain citizenship and benefits. The support of Margaret

Thatcher's government for free-market capitalism contributed to the decline of

the areas where most ethnic minorities lived, sparking violent protests in the

1980s, such as London's Brixton riots in 1981. Antiracism legislation and the

improving economy have lessened public and official attention to the

nonwhite population. However, economic migrants and political refugees,

 chiefly from East Asia, eastern Europe, and Africa, have taken the place of

the non-white populace as objects of public concern.

B. Language(s)

The primary language since the sixteenth century has been some version of

English. English, however, is an amalgam of languages brought to the British

Isles by invasions that began before written history. The Celts made Gaelic

the dominant language until the Romans invaded in 55 and 54 B.C.E. , and

introduced Latin and Greek, but it was the invasion of England by Germanic

tribes in the fifth century (Angles, Saxons, and Jutes) that laid the basis for

English. The arrival of Christianity in 597 allowed English to interact with

Latin as well as with Greek, Hebrew, and languages as distant as Chinese.

Viking invasions a few centuries later brought Scandinavian languages to the

British Isles, while the Norman invasion in 1066 introduced French.

Gradually, all levels of society adopted English, which had largely supplanted

Latin and French in the second half of the fifteenth century.

Modern English comes from the East Midland dialect of Middle English. This

divide between the East Midland dialect and all others emerged between the

fourteenth and nineteenth centuries when those speaking with a "proper" or

"posh" accent separated themselves from those speaking "Cockney" or

 working-class English. This division is signified by the distinction between

"received pronunciation" (r.p.), Standard English, or BBC English and

regional or local dialects of English. This linguistic divide has always

corresponded with social rank. The elite generally spoke with an r.p. accent

(also known as the Queen's or King's English), and other residents spoke a

non-standard, locally mediated English. In recent decades the connection

between class and accent has begun to loosen.

Except in certain urban communities, bilingualism and multilingualism

continue to play a minimal role in England. As of 1980 at least twelve

languages other than English had more than 100,000 speakers in Britain,

including Punjabi, Urdu, Caribbean patois, Hindi, and Cantonese, which are

among England's more influential second languages. In the last decade, the

many varieties of spoken English have been thriving. Popular culture,

especially music, radio, and television, has brought English creoles and patois;

Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi English; and Celtic versions of English into

the lives of the country's inhabitants. Thus, while Standard English still holds

sway, it is no longer an unquestioned standard.

C. Food
Food in Daily Life. England is known for its bland cuisine. Traditional

middle-class notions of diet put. meats at the heart of the main meal, which

usually was eaten at midday. Along with this main course, there might be a

dish such as a meat casserole, and fish also was consumed. Heavy sauces,

gravies, soups and stews or puddings (savory and sweet), and pasties and pies

also were eaten. Vegetables included potatoes and carrots, turnips and

cabbage, and salad vegetables. Fruit was also part of the diet, though in small

proportions. Lighter meals included variations of the sandwich. Breakfast

foods ranged from hot cereals to tea, toast, and marmalade, to steak, eggs, and

kidneys. These foods were not available to most people before World War II.

The rural poor, for example, ate a diet based on cheese and bread, with bacon

eaten a few times a week, supplemented by fresh milk if available, cabbage,

and vegetables if a garden was kept. All the classes drank tea; beer was drunk

by the working classes and other alcoholic beverages were drunk by the

middle and upper classes.

Since 1950, the English have eaten less red meat, more poultry, and about the

same amount of fish. The consumption of fats is down, and that of alternatives

such as margarine is up. Fresh fruits are in favor, while vegetables are not, and

the focus is on salad vegetables. The main meal is now eaten in the evening

and is likely to consist of frozen or ready-made food. In addition to eating out

in pubs, inns, and restaurants, people consume fast food. There has been a
 dramatic increase in the variety of foreign cuisine, ranging from Chinese and

Indian to French and Italian.

There are few food-related taboos. People avoid some foods for so-called

hygienic reasons, such as onions and leeks, which can cause bad breath. There

are also foods that are considered uncivilized. Traditionally, the English have

never eaten dogs, horses, other carnivores, or insects. Increasingly, eating

meat is looked on as uncivilized. As part of the shift away from meat toward

fruit, vegetables, and fish, people have become more distanced from the

production of the meat they eat and less willing to eat as wide a variety of

meats.

Food Customs at Ceremonial Occasions. Apart from cakes on birthdays, few

special foods are eaten at major secular ceremonies, although such ceremonies

involve toasting and drinking alcohol. In religious ceremonies, alcohol,

usually wine, is common at most celebrations of the Eucharist in Christian

churches and also is used at Jewish ceremonies. On Shrove Tuesday, which is

both a secular and a religious occasion, many people eat pancakes.

D. The Building Architecture

Architecturally, little is left from the Celtic, Anglo-Saxon and Roman periods,

although Roman town planning, roads, and walls are still evident and Anglo-
Saxon churches and Celtic monuments are still standing. The Middle Ages

have left Gothic and Romanesque architecture while the Tudor and Stuart

periods of England's history have also left their contributions, notably not just

in buildings for the elite and the state but also for the middling sort. The

eighteenth century saw Georgian and neo-Gothic architecture, which

continued into the nineteenth century when neo-Classical styles arose. The

twentieth century has seen the rise of suburban building styles and Modernism

and reactions against both in the form of conservation, community

architecture, and a tendency to revive old styles such as neo-Classicism.

Government buildings serve a range of symbolic purposes. Monuments more

often symbolize particular historical figures or events. The purposes of public

spaces also vary. The pews in a typical church promote an orderly separation

between congregants while emphasizing togetherness as a congregation.

Piccadilly Circus and many museums encourage people to mingle. Tea rooms,

coffee shops, public houses, and nightclubs provide separate seating but

promote a social atmosphere. People in England prefer to live in detached,

suburban dwellings, ideally with a garden. First built in large numbers in the

1920s, many suburban houses were built in twos with a garden in front and

rear. Another detached style was the single-story bungalow, which also

became popular in the 1920s. Although in the post-war era it became common

to build large, boxy modernist apartment blocks, especially for public

 housing, suburban building continued in additional new towns, some of which

used the uniform, modernist styles. Since the 1980s more traditional designs

for housing have been popular and both detached and non-detached housing

have been constructed to evoke one of England's past eras. In private dwelling

spaces, the English tend to fill much of the available space.

E. Etiquette

Etiquette is changing, but norms for appropriate behavior articulated by the

elite and the middle class are still an important normative force. Greetings

vary by the class or social position of the person with whom one is dealing.

Those with titles of nobility, honorific titles, academic titles, and other

professional titles prefer to be addressed by those titles, but like people to

avoid calling too much attention to a person's position. Unless invited to do

so, one does not call people by their nicknames. Postural norms are akin to

those in other Western cultures; people lean forward to show interest and

cross their legs when relaxed, and smiles and nods encourage conversation.

The English expect less physical expression and physical contact than do

many other societies: handshakes should not be too firm, social kissing is

minimal, loud talking and backslapping are considered inappropriate, staring

is impolite, and not waiting one's turn in line is a serious social blunder.
 In conversation the English are known for understatement both in humor and

in other forms of expression. On social occasions, small talk on neutral topics

is appropriate and modest gifts are given. People reciprocate in paying for

food and drink in social exchanges, by ordering drinks by rounds, for

example. In public houses (bars), appropriate etiquette includes not gesturing

for service. In restaurants it is important to keep one's palms toward the

waiter, and tips are in the range of 10 to 15 percent. Standard table manners

include holding the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right hand,

tipping one's soup bowl away when finishing, and not leaning one's elbows on

the table. Deviations from these norms occur in ethnic subcultures and among

the working class. These groups usually develop their own version of

etiquette, appropriating some rules from the majority standard while rejecting

others.

F. Religion Life

In 1998, approximately 10 percent of the population claimed to be atheists and

15 percent said they were agnostics, while 20 percent said they believed in

God. In 1991, about 25 percent of inhabitants claimed to believe in astrology

and good luck charms, and 42 percent believed in fortune-telling and faith

healing. The major religious traditions are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism,

Sikhism, Judaism, and Buddhism. In recent decades, so-called pagan or cult

 religions have included Wicca, shamanism, heathenism, druidry, goddess

religion, the Unification Church, and Transcendental Meditation.

Christians celebrate an annual cycle of rituals that vary by denomination.

Most celebrate Christmas and Easter and attend services in a church on

Sunday. Judaism has particular days of celebration, such as Passover, and

weekly services on Saturdays in a synagogue. Islam has special celebrations

(the month of Ramadan) and weekly attendance at worship services in a

mosque.

G. Arts

Literature. The elaboration of an expressly English literature began in the

medieval period with Geoffrey Chaucer and continued into the Renaissance

and then into the Restoration with William Shakespeare, John Milton, and

John Dryden. During those periods, drama and poetry were the major literary

forms, with popular literature shading into song, cartoons, and storytelling.

The eighteenth century is notable for the emergence of new literary forms

such as the novel, the true crime tale, light opera, magazines, and new oral

traditions associated with England's port districts. Regionalized music and

storytelling from this era still provide the foundation for much currently

performed folk music in England.

The nineteenth century is the age of the Romantics and the Victorians. Artists

in both movements were social realists, with the Romantics known for

recovering older forms and the Victorians known for highly elaborate

language. Popular literature offered the penny dreadful and a profusion of

magazines that published novels and other literary work serially. New oral

traditions sprang up around labor protest movements such as those of the

Luddites and Chartists.

In the twentieth century, writers born in England shared the stage with

Commonwealth writers such as Derek Walcott, V.S. Naipaul, and Nadine

Gordimer and with other non-English writers such as James Joyce, Dylan

Thomas, and Alice Walker. The twentieth century also saw the continuance of

the phenomenon of Anglicized émigré writers such as T. S. Eliot. Edwardians

such as E. M. Forster and moderns such as D. H. Lawrence and Virginia

Woolf dominated the period 1900–1950. Edwardians extended Victorian

approaches, and moderns worked in older forms such as the novel and helped

develop the short story.

Since World War II, the efforts of writers to stretch the bounds of genres

expanded. Poetry is now performed in the form of hip-hop music or at poetry

slams, while written poetry may be rooted in jazz and has lost prominence.

Drama has flourished, as have filmed versions of classic and contemporary

 works. Novels focus on the everyday and the autobiographical, a reflection in

part of women's influence on literature.

Graphic Arts. Most training of graphic artists is provided by universities and

art colleges. Art has been incorporated into the school curriculum as part of

the nation's educational policy, and all English students receive some training

in and exposure to the graphic arts. In 1997 and 1998, 22 percent of the

population over age 15 visited a gallery, museum, or other major collection, a

figure that has shown little change since the late 1980s. Whether museums are

egalitarian in terms of affordability and relevance, however, is debatable. The

National Disability Arts Forum and similar organizations are funded by the

Arts Council of England and improve access to the arts and training in the arts

for the disabled population; the Arts Council promotes cultural diversity as

well.

Performance Arts. The Royal Shakespeare Company and musical productions

in London's West End are well attended. Musical productions range from

orchestras such as the London Philharmonic to jazz, rock, and folk music.

Dance forms range from classical ballet to free-form club dancing. Ticket

prices limit attendance at elite forms of performance art, although statistics

show that in the last decade their audience has not decreased in size.

H. Sports
 Popular team sports in England are football, cricket, rugby union football

and rugby league football. Major individual sports include athletics, tennis,

golf, motorsport, and horseracing.

2. UNITED STATES CULTURE

A. The People

U.S. Census categories identify populations according to whether they are of

European descent (white). Whites constitute a large majority at about 70

percent of the population. According to current census figures, in the year

2000 the largest minority was blacks, who number about 35 million, or 13

percent of the population.

The Hispanic (Latino) population, which includes primarily people of

Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban (who may be any color) descent, is

estimated to number 31 million, or 12 percent of the population. Latinos are

expected to become the largest minority group early in the twenty-first

century.

The Asian population (including Pacific Islanders) is defined as people of

Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Indian, Korean, and Vietnamese origin. It is

 estimated that there are eleven million Asians, making up about 4 percent of

the population.

The Native American population, which includes natives of Alaska such as

the Inuit and Aleuts, is estimated to consist of over two million people,

slightly over 1 percent of the population. Roughly a third of Native Americans

live on reservations, trust lands, territories, and mother lands under Native

American jurisdiction.

B. Language(s)

There is no official national language. If English is its unofficial first

language, Spanish is its unofficial second language. The United States ranks

fifth in the world in the number of Spanish speakers.

Standard English is the language Americans are expected to speak. Within the

social hierarchy of American English dialects, Standard English can be

described as the exemplar of acceptable for correct usage based on the model

of cultural, economic, and political leaders. There is no clear-cut definition of

what Standard English is, and it is often defined by what it is not. For

example, it often is contrasted with the type of English spoken by black

Americans (African-American Vernacular English).

Standard English grammar and pronunciation are taught by English teachers

in public schools. Like "whiteness," this implies a neutral, normative and

nonethnic position. However, most Americans do not speak Standard English;

instead, they speak a range of class, ethnic, and regional variants.

Spoken English includes many dialects that have been influenced by Native

Americans, immigrants, and slaves. These languages include not only Dutch,

German, and Scandinavian, Asian, and African languages, but less widely

spoken languages such as Basque, Yiddish, and Greek. Thus, spoken English

reflects the nation's immigration and history.

As linguistic diversity has increased, and particularly as Spanish has become

more widely spoken, language has become an important aspect of the debate

over the meaning or nature of American culture. Linguistic and cultural

diversity is accepted in states such as New York and Illinois, where Spanish

bilingual education is mandated in the public schools. In California, however,

where tensions between Anglos and Mexican immigrants run high, bilingual

education has been abolished in the public school systems. State laws prohibit

even bilingual personnel from using Spanish with Spanish-speaking patients

in hospitals or with students in schools.

Bilingual education is not new. In the nineteenth century, Germans

outnumbered all other immigrant groups except for all the people from the

British Isles combined. With the exception of Spanish speakers in the

Southwest, at no other time has foreign language been so widely spoken.

German-only newspapers and German and bilingual public schools were

found throughout the Midwest and Oregon and Colorado and elsewhere from

the mid-nineteenth century until World War I, when anti-German sentiment

resulted in the elimination of German instruction in public schools.

Other languages used in the press and in public schools included Yiddish,

Swedish, and Norwegian. Thus, proponents of English only, who claim that

bilingual education should not be provided to Spanish-speaking immigrants

because earlier immigrants did not have this advantage, overlook the fact that

those immigrants often were schooled in their native languages.

Education was important in spreading English as a standard language. Public

schools played a major role; by 1870, every state in the country had

committed itself to compulsory education. The percentage of foreign-born

persons who were unable to speak English peaked 31 percent in 1910, by

1920 had decreased to 15 percent, and by 1930 had fallen less than 9 percent.

Among Native Americans, English was enforced by the establishment by the

Bureau of Indian Affairs of compulsory boarding schools for school-age

 children. Contemporary Native American speech patterns can be traced to that

experience.

C. Food

Food in Daily Life. Americans eat large amounts of processed, convenience,

and fast foods. The average diet is high in salt, fat, and refined carbohydrates.

It is estimated that 60 percent of Americans are obese. The preference for

packaged and processed foods is culturally rooted. Americans as a whole

enjoy the taste of hamburgers, hot dogs, and junk foods. Processed foods

generally are perceived to be cleaner or more safe than unprocessed foods.

Industrial food producers use advertising to associate processed foods with the

desirable modern and industrial qualities of speed, cleanliness, and efficiency.

Speed of preparation was essential in a nation of nuclear family households

where wives and mothers did not have relatives to help them and usually were

solely responsible for food preparation.

However, gourmet, regional, and alternative styles of eating are highly

influential. Gourmet foods, including high quality fresh and local produce,

imported cheeses, fine coffees, and European kinds of bread, are available in

every city and in many towns.

Regional cuisines, from cheese steaks in Philadelphia to the green chili stews

of New Mexico and the grits of the South, are culinary reminders that the

country encapsulates many different traditions.

An alternative tradition is the health food movement, which includes a

preference for unprocessed foods and fruits and vegetables that have not been

chemically treated or genetically altered. Some health food proponents are

concerned primarily with avoiding the heavily processed foods that make up

the bulk of the traditional diet. Others also see the consumption of organic

products, which generally are produced by small, labor-intensive farms, as a

way to fight the ecological damage caused by agricultural chemicals and

challenge the corporate nature of food production.

Food Customs at Ceremonial Occasions. Americans have few occasions that

they term ceremonial. In the case of weddings, funerals, and other rites, few

fixed food rules apply. Most weddings, whether religious or secular, include a

large tiered cake. After the wedding, the newlyweds feed each other a piece of

the cake. At Jewish funerals, fish, usually smoked or pickled, and eggs may be

served as symbols of life's continuation. Some Americans, particularly in the

South, eat hopping john, a dish made with black-eyed peas, to bring good luck

in the New Year.

 Americans have many fixed food rituals to accompany events and occasions

not generally considered ceremonial. Waking up is accompanied by coffee.

Social occasions usually include alcohol. Hot dogs and beer are ubiquitous at

sporting events, and popcorn and candy are consumed at movie theaters.

D. The Architecture

The early suburbs of the elite classes were characterized by large and

architecturally unique homes. Beginning in the early twentieth century,

federal subsidies such as deductible mortgage interest and loan programs

made suburban living a possibility for working-class and middle-class

immigrants. Standard designs and quick building methods resulted in

uninspired architecture but relatively inexpensive housing.

The use of the automobile and the growth of highways made possible a

nationwide suburban sprawl of which shopping malls and motels are

ubiquitous reminders. Americans have a complex relationship to the suburb.

On the one hand, it represents success, family life, and safety from the chaos

and danger of the city, fulfilling the peculiarly American promise that every

family should be able to own its own home. On the other hand, the monotony

of this landscape is a metaphor for cultural conformity, social isolation, and

racism.
E. Etiquette

Personal comportment often appears crass, loud, and effusive to people from

other cultures, but Americans value emotional and bodily restraint. The

permanent smile and unrelenting enthusiasm of the stereotypical American

may mask strong emotions whose expression is not acceptable. Bodily

restraint is expressed through the relatively large physical distance people

maintain with each other, especially men. Breast-feeding, yawning, and

passing gas in public are considered rude. Americans consider it impolite to

talk about money and age.

F. Religion Life

The overwhelming majority of the people are Christian. Catholicism is the

largest single denomination, but Protestants of all denominations (Baptist,

Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and others) outnumber Catholics. Judaism

is the largest non-Christian faith, followed by Islam, which has a significant

African-American following. Baptism, the largest Protestant sect, originated

in Europe but grew exponentially in the United States, especially in the South,

among both whites and blacks. Aside from the many Christian movements

from England and Europe that reestablished themselves early in the nation's
history, a few religious sects arose independently in the United States,

including Mormons and Shakers.

Although religion and the state are formally separated, religious expression is

an important aspect of public and political life. Nearly every President has

professed some variety of Christian faith. One of the most significant religious

trends in recent years has been the rise of evangelical and fundamentalist sects

of Christianity. As an organized political-religious

Another trend is the growth in New Age religions, which blend elements of

Eastern religions and practices, such as Buddhism, with meditation, yoga,

astrology, and Native American spirituality.

The country does not have religious rituals or designated holy places that have

meaning to the population as a whole. However, Salt Lake City is a holy city

for Mormons, and the Black Hills of South Dakota and other places are sacred

native American sites.

There are many shared secular rituals and places that have an almost religious

importance. Secular rituals include baseball and football games.

Championship games in these sports, the World Series and the Super Bowl,

respectively, constitute major annual events and celebrations. Important

 places include Disneyland, Hollywood, and Grace-land (Elvis Presley's

estate).

G. Arts

Support for the Arts. The level of public support for the arts is much lower

than it is in other wealthy nations. Patronage for unknown individual artists,

writers, and performers is scarce. The National Endowment for the Arts

(NEA) has a very small operating budget with which it funds everything from

public broadcasting to individual artists. In recent years, the NEA has been

under attack from Congress, whose conservative members question the value

and often the morality of the art produced with NEA grants.

Literature. Much of American literature revolves around questions of the

nature or defining characteristics of the nation and attempts to discern or

describe the national identity. American literature found its own voice in the

nineteenth century. In the early decades of that century, the essayists Henry

David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson set out the enduring themes of

personal simplicity, the continuity between man and nature, individualism,

and self-reliance. Walt Whitman celebrated democracy in his free verse

poems.
Other nineteenth-century writers, such as Herman Melville, Emily Dickinson,

Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Mark Twain, articulated moral and ethical

questions about the new country and were particularly influential for their

critique of American puritanism.

Turn-of-the-century writers such as Edith Wharton, Henry James, and

Theodore Dreiser picked up on those themes but were particularly concerned

with social class and class mobility. They explored the nature of American

culture and the tensions between ideals of freedom and the realities of social

conditions.

In the early decades of the twentieth century, writers such as F. Scott

Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway began to question the values earlier writers

had represented. Fitzgerald questioned the reality of the American dream by

highlighting the corrupting influence of wealth and casting doubt on the value

of mobility and success. Hemingway, like other modernists, addressed the

issue of how one ought to live once one has lost faith in religious values and

other social guidelines. Other early twentieth-century writers, such as Zora

Neil Hurston, Nella Larsen, and William Faulkner, introduced race and racism

as central themes in American literature.

In the 1930s, the Great Depression inspired authors such as John Steinbeck

and Willa Cather to write about rural America. Their novels romanticized the

hard work of poor rural whites. Implicit in these novels is a critique of the

wealth and excess of the urban metropolis and the industrial system that

supported it. Although these novels are permeated with multiethnic characters

and themes, Anglos are generally the focal point.

Issues of identity and race were explored by earlier American black writers. A

generation of black authors after World War II made these permanent themes

in American literature, illustrating the poverty, inequality and racism

experienced by American blacks. Many black writers explored the meaning of

living inside a black skin in a white nation with a legacy of slavery. These

writers included James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison, and Richard Wright. Perhaps

the most influential contemporary writer who deals with these themes is Toni

Morrison.

An important literary school known as Southern Gothic discussed the nature

of rural southern life from the perspective of poor and middle-class whites.

Writers such as Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams, Carson McCullers, and

Shirley Jackson explored the contradictions between privileged whiteness and

a culturally deficient southernness. These novels feature lonely, grotesque,

and underprivileged white characters who are the superiors of their black
playmates, servants, and neighbors but cultural inferiors in America as a

whole.

Beginning in the late 1950s and 1960s, a generation known as the Beats

challenged the dominant norms of white American masculinity. They rejected

conventions of family and sexuality, corporate success, and money. Among

the Beats were William Burroughs, Lawrence Ferlingetti, Allan Ginsberg, and

Jack Kerouac.

Starting in the 1960s, women writers began to challenge the notion that

women's place was in the home. Early feminist writers who critiqued the

paternalism of marriage include the nonfiction writer Betty Friedan, the

novelist Marge Piercy, and the poets Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath.

Feminist themes, along with issues of ethnicity and otherness, continue to be

important in American literature. Gloria Anzuldúa and Ana Castillo show

how female and Latina identities intersect. Novels by Louise Erdrich and

Leslie Marmon Silko illustrate how Native American families attempt to

survive and reclaim their traditions amid poverty and discrimination.

Other contemporary novels try to deconstruct the experience of the "norm" in

American culture. Ann Tyler's characters are often empty and unhappy but

cannot locate the sources of those feelings. Don Delillo writes about the

amoral corporate world, the American obsession with consumer goods, and
the chaos and anxiety that underlie the quietness of suburban life. Joyce Carol

Oates is attracted to the sinister aspects of social conformity.

These novels are not the most widely read looks in the United States. Much

more popular are genres such as crime and adventure, romance, horror, and

science fiction. These genres tend to repeat valued cultural narratives. For

example, the novels of Tom Clancy feature the United States as the moral

victor in cold war and post–Cold War terrorist scenarios. Harlequin romances

idealize traditional male and female gender roles and always have a happy

ending. In horror novels, violence allows for catharsis among readers. Much

science fiction revolves around technical-scientific solutions to human

problems.

Graphic Arts. The most influential visual artists are from the modern period.

Much early art was imitative of European styles. Important artists include

Jackson Pollack and Andy Warhol. Warhol's art documented icons of

American life such as Cambell's soup cans and Marilyn Monroe. His work

was deliberately amusing and commercial. Most graphic art is produced for

the advertising industry.

Performance Arts. Performance arts include many original genres of modern

dancing that have influenced by classical forms as well as American

traditions, such as jazz. Important innovators in dance include Isadora

Duncan, Martha Graham, and Alvin Ailey. Theaters in every town that once

hosted plays, vaudeville, and musicals now show movies or have closed. In

general, performance arts are available only in metropolitan areas.

The United States has produced several popular music genres that are known

for blending regional, European, and African influences. The best known of

these genres are the African-American inventions blues and jazz. Among the

most important jazz composers and musicians are Louis Armstrong, Duke

Ellington, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Thelonius Monk. Although now

considered classics, blues and jazz standards were the popular music of their

day.

Music fits into "black" and "white" categories. Popular swing jazz tunes were

standardized by band leaders such as Glenn Miller, whose white band made

swing music hugely popular with young white people.

Rock 'n' roll, now a major cultural export, has its roots in these earlier popular

forms. Major influences in rock and roll include Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix,

Janis Joplin, and Bruce Springstein. Although rock 'n' roll is primarily white,

soul and Motown, with singers such as Aretha Franklin, the Supremes, and

the Temptations, produced a popular black music.

 Country music, another popular genre, has its roots in the early American folk

music of the Southeast now termed country or bluegrass. This genre reworked

traditional gospel songs and hymns to produce songs about the everyday life

of poor whites in the rural Southeast.

Popular music in the United States has always embodied a division between

its commercial and entertainment value and its intellectual or political values.

Country and folk, blues, rock 'n' roll, rap, and hip-hop have all carried

powerful social and political messages. As old forms become standard and

commercialized, their political edge tends to give way to more generic

content, such as love songs.

H. Sports

Soccer, the most popular sport in the world, is not as popular in the U.S.

compared to the four most popular team sports, namely baseball, American

Football, Basketball, and Ice Hockey (MLB/NFL/NBA/NHL).

3. THE DIFFERENT UNITED STATES AND ENGLAND CULTURE

 Americans are outwardly very friendly, they will talk to strangers in a

store, laugh with someone at a bar, and help their neighbours in a

pinch
 Americans generally do not like / 'get' satire. Some ex-pats claim "they

just don't understand it" while many Americans think it "is just a waste

of time by those who have nothing substantive to say." Satirical

comments in the workplace are almost always misunderstood, and

generally not done in social settings either.

 Many Americans are very family-oriented (at least those with

families). Family life is an endless parade of school musicals,

extracurricular sports, birthday parties and the like.

 The majority of Americans have never been abroad. They may have

heard of Spain but have no clue about Ibiza for example.

 Most Americans are 'hyphenated-Americans' and proud to boast of

Scottish or Irish or German or Italian ancestry, even if it has been

centuries since anyone in their family lived overseas.

 Americans will joke about English people's teeth, for what it is worth.

If you ever get into an insult match, expect some dentistry comments.

Monty Python and the 'Killer Rabbit' with 'Big Gnarly Teeth' is as

much to blame as any British dentist.

 Making friends can be daunting. While for someone in their 20s they

can reach out to folks who are also 'just starting out' and eventually

form some lifelong bonds, for some who are older, in their 30s and
40s, with kids and a family and their own way of doing things,

meeting others can be difficult.