Why do they want to be us?

I have always wondered why other countries feel the need to try to be America. I think that the beliefs of the artist quoted below are hollow. It's not as if Americans invaded his country and forced him to start living like us.

An example I always think of is fast food in foreign countries. Yes McDonalds and others go and set up shop there to turn a profit. But nobody is forcing the locals to adapt to that lifestyle. They have a choice. What is your opinion on America being blamed for the loss of everyone else's culture?

"We are all under the influence -- and it's a very bad influence -- from America," said the 49-year-old Dane. "In my country everything has to do with America. America is kind of sitting on the world. America has to do with 60 percent of my brain and all things I experience in my life, and I'm not happy about that," von Trier said. I'd say 60 percent of my life is American so I am in fact an 'American' too. But I can't go there and vote or change anything there. That is why I make films about America."

http://reuters.myway.com/article/20050516/2005-05-16T160306Z_01_N16697712_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-ARTS-CANNES-AMERICA-DC.html

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Updated On: 5/16/05 at 01:59 PM

it may be because they all think that the streets are paved with gold here.....while we that live here know the truth. We are just as human as anyone else......and perhaps they don't see that......although King George is making a point of making sure EVERYONE knows how bad we can be.

There is nowhere else I would rather live, but with rights being deleted, that could change.

We could eaisly become the Christian version of Iran if we are not careful.......and the book 'A Handmaidens Tale' does not seem so far-fetched....nor does Escape from Los Angeles......

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America is losing its pizazz. Well, economy-wise at least. The dollar is rapidly losing value, especially compared to the Euro.

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You know you're Americanized if you say "like" after every other word. Or simply use it as a filler. We have a foreign exchange student from Norway/Netherlands, and she definitely notices a change in her speech, especially using like. Also, we have two girls from England, and though their accent is still present, they have "like" before every adjective.

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Beats me. And I know it's annoying, I catch myself doing it all the time, and I try to stop, but any sentence just sounds awkward without it. And even though I try not to (I tell myself in my head not to say it), it just slips out right before giving an example of something, orrr...when I describe something. It's really annoying to myself, but it sounds so awkward when I don't put it in. I'm not one of those people who say it literally, every other word, but I still use it quite often. Better than the run-of-the-mill "ummmmmmmmmm"

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Updated On: 5/16/05 at 04:19 PM

"How awful! That really is a very prevalent and annoying thing here. What's its origin?"

"Like" comes from the Valley Girl talk of the late 1970's.

Like, gag me with a spoon.

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a weak dollar means that american goods are cheaper overseas which spurs manufactuing which is the segment of economy that needs the biggest boost.

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