The roots of modern American culture lie in many places far removed from one another. Before the colonization of the United States, the country was inhabited by Native Americans. Europeans cut in, occupied the land, and began overriding the native traditions with their power and greed. This is the true American culture—usually seen as nothing more than a ghost of the past. Nowadays, it has been through years and years of transform. Western culture, regardless of how it began, has become independent in several ways. Through time and change, baseball, cowboy subculture, and blues music have all helped American culture break free of it’s unoriginal ties.
Baseball, the truest of American pastimes, has been exceedingly influential to the development
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For a long time, cowboys were seen as the go-to American stereotype. Making use of the dry land in the west end of the country was not easy. As such, those who had to face the trials of colonizing that area needed several things in order to ease the difficulty of the work. Many of these things are now iconic and represent an entire American lifestyle—lassos, boot spurs, chaps, and, of course, the cowboy hat itself to name a few. In 19th century Texas, the first ideas of cowboy subculture was born. Colonists were seeking new land and places without Native Americans (“Cowboys”). The terrain of the western United States was much too rough and the weather too dry to travel on foot or even most wagons. As a result, the cowboys turned to the use of horses for transportation. Spurs on their boots were installed in order to control the horses more effectively. The work they came to be known for is cattle driving. However, these jobs were exceedingly difficult and required an ability to be patient. Many people died while transporting cattle along unforgiving terrain. On another note, the entire Western movie genre is based heavily on this lifestyle. The directors would be trying to fit every possible stereotype they could so an authentic atmosphere could be achieved. People all over the world were inspired by these films and it left a lasting impression of true American …show more content…
It’s easy to just write it off as being derivative of countless other cultures. In his essay, “Toward Something American: The Immigrant Soul,” Marin writes, “Culture, after all, is more than the way immigrants (or, for that matter, the rest of us) do things, dress, or eat. It is also more than art, ritual, or language” (81). The points mentioned in this essay reflect the meaning of this quote. American culture is not defined by food, art, or ritual. Instead, it is moreso within the context of it’s tradition. Taking a deeper look, it can be seen that the country has some very unique and original culture of it’s own. Baseball, cowboy subculture, and Blues music are all very good examples of this and deserve to be noticed as some of America’s true culture. While they were all, without a doubt, inspired, it is more important to understand their cultural
Richard Rodriguez article, “The Chinese in All of Us (1944)”, argues that many different cultures have contributed to making up the American culture. Rodriguez backs up this claim by sharing
Masculine’s definition is stereotypically twisted. The myth and reality of the cowboy shaped today’s definition of masculinity because they have this high and strong structure they need to uphold. Masculinity is having the traditional acts as a man, such as being strong and secure. In today’s world man and women have two different mindsets. Even though we are all humans, our gender defines the way we should act due to how society makes it. The myth has affected males physically, emotionally and mentally. The idea is that they are supposed to act accordingly. In reality, everyone wants to grow up differently, so why would they be forced to act/be a certain way?
Peter Marin’s article “Toward something American: The Immigrant Soul” explains the subtle but noticeable difference between American life and American culture. American culture is defined as primarily western, but is influenced by Native American, African, Asian, Polynesian and Latin American cultures. (Wiki) Marvin explains that American culture is not much more than a mixture of past cultures. American life is slightly different. Marvin writes American although influenced by past cultures struggles to find home. Marvin states “home” is for us, as it is for all immigrants, sometimes to be regained, created, discovered, or mourned”. There are qualities and aspects that make up culture which can be defined as American or Western. In this essay we will explore the distinction between life and culture and if culture can be easily be distinguished between American or Western.
"Baseball as America." Academic Search Premier. Spec. issue of USA Today Magazine 1 Apr. 2002: n. pag. EBSCO. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. The Baseball Hall of Fame is an iconic American landmark, which houses thousands of artifacts from baseball's crude beginnings to its current day glory. This piece is simple, yet it demonstrates what an important aspect of American culture baseball has become. The artifacts demonstrate how far baseball has come, among its highlights are Jackie Robinson's uniform, articles from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, and even "Shoeless" Joe Jackson's cleats. Pictures accompany the article which adds the needed bit of glamour to illustrate how greatly baseball has influenced American
American culture encompasses customs or traditions in the United States. Customs or traditions include, but would not be limited to, values, language, religion, or how we communicate. The population in the United States is over 325 million, (United States Census Bureau, (n.d.) and is built on immigration. In comparison to other countries, the United States is considered cultural, as most nations unite, and later mix, their culture into American culture.
There is something magical in the crack of a baseball bat meeting a baseball. The hush of the crowd before the pitch allows the 1.4 kHz to echo through the stadium. This sound needs no onomatopoeia; we can all recall it from a memory at a baseball park or from any of the countless baseball movies ever produced. This classic sound has traveled through the years, from the beginnings of professional baseball to today. First called a national pastime in 1856, baseball has endured over two hundred and twenty years as a sport in America, almost as long as America has been America. It has been with us through revolutions, civil wars, world wars, and depressions. To quote Gerald Early in Ken Burns’ documentary, Baseball, “There are only three things that America will be remembered for 2000 years from now when they study this civilization: The Constitution, Jazz music, and Baseball.”
There have been 50 superbowls so far in the NFL and a lot of special moments, but here are some of them. The first super bowl, super bowl 1, Packers and Chiefs. The score was Packers 35 and Chiefs 10. The teams were led by coach Vince Lombardi and the quarterback Bart Starr. The Chief’s coach was Hank Stram and their quarterback was Len Dawson. The super bowl trophy is named “The Lombardi Trophy” because of Vince Lombardi winning the first super bowl.
Texas longhorns have far more to offer us than their hides and horns and as beef cattle. Subjected to the cruelest demands nature imposed and the most careless overuse that man imposed, Texas Longhorns prevailed. As this cattle breed continues to find its way in a competitive industry, its contributions will be remembered and its will to survive revered. A HARD WON INDEPENDENT STREAK TYPIFIES THE AMERICAN
Baseball has for a long time been a staple in the American sporting culture as baseball and America have grown up together. Exploring the different ages and stages of American society, reveals how baseball has served as both a public reflection of, and vehicle for, the evolution of American culture and society. Many American ways including our landscapes, traditional songs, and pastimes all bear the mark of a game that continues to be identified with America's morals and aspirations. In this paper I will be addressing the long residuals of baseball as it specifically relates to the emergence of the
In Vincent J. Cannato’s article, “How Americans Became Italian,” it explains how America gained many things from the Italian culture, such as food, music, and films. Vincent J. Cannato states, “The Italian American experience reminds us that immigration is a process of transformation for the individuals and for American society. That bilateral cultural evolution will continue to mold who we are as a nation,” (Cannato). Like Italians, many other countries are shaping America with all the different cultures. Today, Americans combine varying cultures into their lives.
The job wasn't just for anyone. Certain character traits and physical characteristics were required if someone wanted to be a good cowboy. Considering the distances that they covered, traveling was rough. ?? the cowboy needed great
The obvious answer to this question would most likely be, “America is a melting pot. The many different diverse cultures that fill up the country are what makes America, America.” This answer is in fact, true. The United States of America is the land of the free and is full of opportunities. The pledge of allegiance to the U.S.A flag, does say “liberty and justice for ALL” does it not? People from all over the globe leave their families and homes to find their freedom, their purpose, and to live the lives they have always imagined, America would provide for them. But what is it about the United States of America that is so appealing to outsiders?
Saunders of the Texas Trail Drivers Association that of the 50,000-75,000 cowboys who helped to created the West, 25 percent were black (Porter, 1971). However, to merely state that there were 13,000-19,000 Black cowboys is inaccurate simply because the American definition of a cowboy has become distorted. To understand the role of the blacks in the West, one must first comprehend what the cattle-industry workers or cowboys truly did.
Culture is a behavior that consists of several critical elements, such as language, religion, race and ethnicity, clothing and politics. Culture is what one does in his/her daily life. In order to understand others, we must first keep in mind that every culture carries its own set of values and assumptions. Culture is an evolving, ever changing civilization, which includes several different groups people. For immigrants, America is a land of opportunity; for others it is just the best country in the world because of its economic success and/or its democratic political system. Americans usually value independence a lot, believe in equal opportunity, and have a direct communication
American culture refers to the traditions and practices of the people of the United States. Culture comprises of the nature of buildings, religion, music language and marriage. The population of the United States is more than 320 million people making it the most culturally diverse country in the globe. Books such as Crabgrass Frontier, Manifest Destination and Muscular Christianity are important sources of information about American culture. This paper is a reflection on the methods that these books use in providing information about the evolution of the US culture. The paper examines the relationship between these three sources and ways they challenge or inform an understanding of the American society during the late 19th and early 20th century. There is an analysis of the efficiency of the issues tackled by these books in influencing the contemporary discourse surrounding American culture. The major argument of this paper is that Crabgrass Frontier, Manifest Destination and Muscular Christianity provide reliable information about the evolution of the US culture and they supplement each other through the use of relevant examples.