Re: CHAT: Which world? Which culture?

On Sat, 2003-07-12 at 23:11, Costentin Cornomorus wrote:
> --- Aquamarine Demon <aquamarine_demon@...>
> wrote:
>
> > In my opinion, my native country doesn't _have_
> > its own culture yet, really. Give it a few
> > centuries to settle in.
> >
> > Padraic.
> >
> > *Confused* How do you figure?
>
> I guess if Taco Hell, JLo and rap are "culture",
> then we've got it in spades!
>
> I don't consider that mass of "stuff" a culture.
> Not yet anyway. Right now, it's kind of cultural
> raw material that may, along with the goodies
> it's picked up along the way; become an actual
> culture. There's also too much turn-over: two
> years from now, no one will even know who or what
> a "jaylow" is. Stability is required in the mix
> in order for it to set.
Umm? Okay, I can understand JLo not being culture. I can understand Taco
Hell (Bill?) not being culture. But rap surely is a part of it (I mean,
a lot of rap is even *good music*. Not the same sort of music that's
been traditional, because society changes, but some of it is more
poetical than poetry). And Taco Bill and JLo, while themselves not being
'culture' are something to show for your cultures. Commercialised Crap
does count for something, strange as it may be.

On the other hand, I'll grant that Australia doesn't have a culture. We
suck in America and regurgitate it, sometimes slightly australianised
(e.g. a lot of people wear (or used to) those USA jumpers with the
American flag. Some people also wear (or used to) very similar jumpers
with the American flag replaced by the Australian one and the order of
the letters rearranged into AUS). Occasionally, to be different, we suck
in Europe and regurgitate that. OTOH, we eat our spaghetti with a fork
and soup spoon, that might count for something. And I would say that we
might've had one in the 19th c. except that Australia didn't actually
exist then as anything more than a collection of colonies.

--
Tristan.

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