"Happy Birthday to
You" The main problem in discussing American popular culture
is also one of its main characteristics: it won’t stay American. No matter what
it is, whether it is films, food and fashion, music, casual sports or slang,
it’s soon at home elsewhere in the world. There are several theories why
American popular culture has had this appeal. One theory is that
it has been "advertised" and marketed through American films, popular music, and
more recently, television. (1) .They are, after all, in
competition with those produced by other countries. Another
theory, probably a more common one, is that American popular culture is
internationally associated with something called "the spirit of America."
(2) . The final theory is less complex: American
popular culture is popular because a lot of people in the world like
it. Regardless of why it spreads, American popular culture is
usually quite rapidly adopted and then adapted in many other countries.
(3) ."Happy Birthday to You," for instance , is such an everyday
song that its source, its American copyright, so to speak, is not remembered.
Black leather jackets worn by many heroes in American movies could be found, a
generation later, on all those young men who wanted to make this manly-look
their own. Two areas where this continuing process is most
clearly seen are clothing and music. Some people can still remember a time when
T-shirts, jogging clothes, tennis shoes, denim jackets, and blue jeans were not
common daily wear everywhere. Only twenty years ago, it was possible to spot an
American in Paris by his or her clothes. No longer so: those bright colors,
checkered jackets and trousers, hats and socks which were once made fun of in
cartoons are back again in Paris as the latest fashion. (4)
The situation with American popular music is more
complex because in the beginning, when it was still clearly American, it was
often strongly resisted. Jazz was once thought to be a great danger to youth and
their morals, and was actually outlawed in several countries. Today, while still
showing its rather American roots, it has become so well established. Rock ’n’
roll and all its variations, country & western music, all have more or less
similar histories. They were first resisted, often in American as well, as being
"low-class," and then as "a danger to our nation’s youth." (5)
.And then the music became accepted and was extended and developed,
and exported back to the US. A. As a result, its American
origins and roots are often quickly forgotten. B. But this
theory fails to explain why American films, music, and television programs are
so popular in themselves. C. American in origin, informal
clothing has become the world’s first truly universal style. D.
The BBC, for example, banned rock and roll until 1962. E.
American food has become popular around the world too. F. This
spirit is variously described as being young and free, optimistic and confident,
informal and disrespectful.