Americanism

Alright, there seems to be a lot of anti-American feelings on this forum, based off of what America has influenced, produced, etc. So share your thoughts, but please, if you're going to make claims, have proof, or at least acknowledge that assumptions/inferences have been made so one does not assume it's factual.

To start off, Lee said that some of his friends have American accents from watching so much American shit. Okay, so it's America's fault that his friends watch so much TV? Yes, TV is appealing. No, America did not invent the TV. No, not all shows on TV are American. No, the quality of the content of a television program does not effect how influential it is on speech. I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that his friend wasn't forced to watch TV, or American shows. So I'm a bit confused as to how it's America's fault, or even played a direct role (in this case) in his friend watching so much TV that he began to speak like an American. To me, it seems like that's his friend's fault, as (again here, assuming) it was his choice to watch the amount of American programming that he did.

There are problems with every country.

i was talking about young kids, watching cartoons and the like. Have you ever watched English TV? I haven't seen an English kids show in a long time. I never said it was America's fault young kids watch TV, or Americans invented TV. And using the term "American shit" I was referring to the quality of the show when I said shit, because to be honest, most kids television is pretty poor now. And I also said "Although I wouldn't really blame America for it entirely, I can't think of anything else to blame." Meaning I don't blame America for it, but I don't know who to blame. The lack of English Kids shows, the TV networks or what. But no where in that comment did I blame America for anything.

How can't you blame America for American shite? You might not have explicitly said it was, but dude, it's really heavily implied.

I'm not trying to back up everything America does, let me make that clear, we fuck up, a lot. And yes, we produce a lot of shit TV. It just bugs me when people blame things on America when it doesn't really add up. And to me, you made it sound like your friends having an American accent due to American shit was a bad thing, and that America was responsible. America has a huge influence on what's on TV, that's obvious, but people need to take responsibility for their own actions as well. But as Jaymes said, every country has problems. We just have to deal with them the best we can.

not like our accents are bad or anything

They're not the best.

LeeLee wrote:i was talking about young kids, watching cartoons and the like. Have you ever watched English TV? I haven't seen an English kids show in a long time. I never said it was America's fault young kids watch TV, or Americans invented TV. And using the term "American shit" I was referring to the quality of the show when I said shit, because to be honest, most kids television is pretty poor now. And I also said "Although I wouldn't really blame America for it entirely, I can't think of anything else to blame." Meaning I don't blame America for it, but I don't know who to blame. The lack of English Kids shows, the TV networks or what. But no where in that comment did I blame America for anything.

Because English shows are shite. And the reason for that is the nanny state making our shows so unbelievably dull that kids watch American shows. Have you seen Dennis the Menace recently? It's not menacing at all. I'm not saying all American kids shows are good, but the majority are better than the crap we're producing.

LeeLee wrote:i was talking about young kids, watching cartoons and the like. Have you ever watched English TV? I haven't seen an English kids show in a long time. I never said it was America's fault young kids watch TV, or Americans invented TV. And using the term "American shit" I was referring to the quality of the show when I said shit, because to be honest, most kids television is pretty poor now. And I also said "Although I wouldn't really blame America for it entirely, I can't think of anything else to blame." Meaning I don't blame America for it, but I don't know who to blame. The lack of English Kids shows, the TV networks or what. But no where in that comment did I blame America for anything.

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I'd pick American television any day tbh. The shit we call kids programmes are completely irrelevant and boring, like Niamh said above. And it's probably because people are so uptight that you can't make a joke about ANYTHING without being threatened with the court or something.

apap3rplat3 wrote: having an American accent due to American shit was a bad thing, and that America was responsible.

the problem: they watch too much tv. And that must be a lot, because as someone who watches a lot of American shows, I've never had the urge to come outside and start talking with an accent, the closest I've ever come to having one was just a hint after spending a few months here. That's just ridiculous.

I'd also pick American TV over British TV, the only downside for me is all the adverts you get when watching it. I also think American kids TV shows are better than British ones. British kids TV has gone so downhill in the past 10 or so years. My sister started watching one the other morning called 'Grandpa In My Pocket', but turned it off because she didn't like it. I don't blame her for watching the Disney Channel over crap like that, haha.

And as for the accent thing, we all did it. What accent did we play with our Barbies in? American accents. Just like now, when kids are playing 'mums and dads' or whatever they play now, they always put an American accent on.

grandpa in my pocket is amazing.

Most of what I watched as a kid back in England was American stuff anyway, besides Pokemon/Digimon/Sailor Moon/Cardcaptors which was Asian.

I liked watching Sabrina, Kenan and Kel, Sister Sister, The Brothers Garcia, Taina, All That, The Amanda Show, Saved by the Bell.

I do, however, prefer British comedy. I liked all the old stuff...Only Fools and Horses, Fawlty Towers, Are You Being Served?, etc. And I did like watching some of My Family. And I think British stand up comedians are way better. Here, I think they suck...

When it comes to music....so-so. I have a slight bias for British bands, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF PARAMORE, but that's cause I'm British.

Politics suck everywhere.
People suck everywhere.

....I did not find myself wanting to speak in an American accent even though I watched plenty of American stuff, however. I still have my British accent and I've been here 3 years.

I hate how other countries are adapting to an American volcabulary.
Lately I've seen words like Mall and Store used daily by people.

When I was younger I never called anything by an American term. It's a shopping center or a shop. A pair of fucking trousers mate.

We're not American. Stop using American words. I bet if your English teacher noticed you were writing with a z instead of an s and spelling colour as color you would get told off.

Also, I just noticed that even though my Mac is set to British language, the on-board dictionary still says that colour is a spelling mistake fs.

I don't think it's a big deal.
People just whining for the sake.

As for the language thing, all languages/dialects are influenced by others. I mean, where I live, we refer to soda as "coke" regardless if it's Coca Cola or not. Other people say "soda", "pop", or "soda pop" and some people here use those words as well, but it's not like we're becoming Minnesotians (or whatever people from Minnesota are called) if we use them, it's just it's another word to call it. If the words are interchangeable, I don't see the big deal. Spelling is a bit different, I will admit, but what's wrong with having a larger vernacular to utilize?

Quite frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.

Can I ask why you lot say aloominum when its spelt aluminium? where did the u disappear to?

kappa99 wrote:Can I ask why you lot say aloominum when its spelt aluminium? where did the u disappear to?

hahahaha I was so surprised when I found out they pronounced it that way.

And that's because they spell it that way too - aluminum.

It all dates back to some chemist spelling it as "Aluminum" in some book in the 1800s, and then both spellings were accepted, although aluminium is used more today.

I like America. Most of the people I admire/obsess over are american, I mostly watch american shows, some american accents are the only accents I like (I hate ours), I want to go to LA and or NY so bad, their music festivals are so much better, they have Dr Pepper in McDonalds (lol) and Vitamin Water everywhere, awesome shops such as Hot Topic, Forever 21 and Wal-Mart. Etc.

As for it 'corrupting' our minds or whatever you're trying to say. Nah.

They also have the right to carry a pair of Bears arms to protect them from our pending British attack.

We know you tea-sippin redcoats will be back, any day now.

Too busy decrying Obama as Hitler and the fuckin' Anti Christ to do anything about it, mind.

Joely wrote:I like America. Most of the people I admire/obsess over are american, I mostly watch american shows, some american accents are the only accents I like (I hate ours), I want to go to LA and or NY so bad, their music festivals are so much better, they have Dr Pepper in McDonalds (lol) and Vitamin Water everywhere, awesome shops such as Hot Topic, Forever 21 and Wal-Mart. Etc.

As for it 'corrupting' our minds or whatever you're trying to say. Nah.

If you believe that, your mind is well and truly corrupted. Wal-Mart is just like a massive Tesco or Asda.

No it's not, Wal-Mart is awesome.