Week 4 Reading Response - Page 1078 - Is that Really American Culture?

In “Making a Visual Argument: Exporting America” I discovered that a lot of the popular American culture has been shipped overseas to other nations. Fast food, beer, cigarettes and the basic bad habits that we swim in on a daily basis are becoming a big part of developing countries. It’s a bit embarrassing to imagine that people think “America” when they see big names such as Marlboro, Coke, Pepsi, or even Budweiser. Our country is a lot more than those names, but the media and advertisers have the power to lead them to feel otherwise.

The picture posted on page 1074, shows a mother and her children at DisneySea at the Disney Theme Park in Japan. This is a good way to represent America, having fun at a Disney Theme Park with Mickey sounds like a good way to spend some quality family time - American style. I am proud to be an American who is promoting family togetherness.

In the last picture on page 1007, I notice three children sipping on Coke bottles and in the background I see Marlboro advertisements. This scene really disgusts me being that I am a Persian-American. These children could be my family members in Iran. I would never want my family or any child exploited in such a way as to advertise cigarettes. What does that make America look like? We are promoting children to smoke Marlboro now? THAT’S DEFINETELY NOT OKAY!

Obviously we could pick at each picture and have our judgment of every one. I know that we can’t put restrictions on these companies when on foreign soil; however, we can make educated choices when purchasing items right here in the great U.S. of A. We have a right to our own opinions and can make a difference, if we feel these companies are compromising our American values - because there is such a thing as values in America.