Popular American Culture I Encounter

Popular American Culture

I encounter the emblems and elements of American popular culture every day, whether I like it or not. Walking down the street, I see the golden arches that mean a McDonald's is nearby. I shudder to think of the garbage that people are putting into their mouths. Then I see a KFC, a Burger King, a Wendy's, and practically every other American fast food chain restaurants. There is no way to avoid fast food signs, logos, and advertisements on billboards, bus benches, and store windows; they are ubiquitous. Nearby, are all the retail stores selling clothes made in China but bearing American labels such as the Gap, Banana Republic, and even larger stores like Macy's. Likewise, there are also all the hideous corporate conglomerate culprits such as Wal-Mart and Target, also seducing consumers to buy low-priced junk they do not need.

The popular culture of America is shopping and rampant consumerism (Cohen, 2003). Even the arts have been packaged as the lowest common denominator: they no longer emphasize creative expressions, but merely play a role in propelling the mass consumption engine. American popular music has also become mainly about image and the cult of celebrity instead of music. Movies have retained some of their entertainment value although much of what comes out of Hollywood also seems designed to promote actors rather than art. Finally, American popular culture is little more than a mix of nonsense driven by advertising disseminated and propagated by various American media outlets. The more familiar I become with American popular culture, the more aware I become of the difference between what I truly want and what marketing departments tell me I should want. In fact, telling people they should want what advertisers promote is a major part of American consumer culture (Cohen, 2003).

American popular culture has also infected our dietary choices although in my case, it has encouraged me to think much more critically about what I put into my body. Ironically, the poor suffer the worst in that regard because fast food restaurants are concentrated in their neighborhoods (

Kasser, 2003). Meanwhile, fast food is much more expensive than quality food and it only perpetuates obesity and diabetes. I have sworn off all American fast food, largely because of my continual exposure to its effects on those who eat it regularly. I cringe to think that people still eat McDonald's, especially knowing how much fat, sodium, and artificial flavorings are in their imitation of real food. The mass consumption of meat is also destroying the environment. Knowing what I do about fast food has turned me off to it completely and the fact that American popular culture pushes it so hard has influenced that decision on my part. It is the exact opposite of the way that corporate marketing departments want me to react. Rather than sell me on the latest bun-free chicken burger that uses slabs of pre-fabricated and reconstituted chicken, KFC has only ensured that I will never patronize any of their "restaurants" ever again. American popular dietary culture has actually driven me to make healthy dietary choices. I now make sure to cook my own food and take it with me so that I am never so hungry that I am tempted to set foot into a McDonald's or KFC for any reason.