🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1993Feb23.101350.26822@ee.rochester.edu>, 
seah@ee.rochester.edu (David Seah) writes:
|> *** NOTE ****
|> This followup has been heavily paraphrased.  Apologies to Richard Gardner
|> if I misinterpreted his carefully-prepared text, but it was LONG.
|> *************
|> 
|> >[KEY STATEMENTS!
|> > There's an unrealized direction that could make the US Number 1 in the
|> > world economy, by exploiting a unique American strength.  Currently,
|> > the US's largest export is of course Airplanes.  The rest of the world
|> > are getting into this, so domination will not be permanent!  But the
|> > #2 export is (take a wild guess)
|> >
|> >How  about... art and culture!  

	is the us influence in `art and culture' not declining?
	i would suggest that in `low' art your country was, in some
	regions, dominant, but is now falling.  in `high' art you
	never made it, apart from visual art in the 60s and 70s.

	in popular music the more interesting developments seem to
	be based on `ethnic' sources.  literature has never been a
	strong point for your country.  visual art seems to be taking
	a breather at the moment.  seattle could make a brief claim
	for music, i suppose...

	the dominant us presence is in film and television.  but much
	of the work is, while watched, considered as `low' art, at least
	here (uk).  it is rare praise indeed if someone decribes an
	american film (simple men by hal hartley is the last one i've 
	seen) as `almost european'.  

	it seems likely that the dominance in the field of tv is a 
	product of the largest single-language audience: with other 
	nations becoming richer this will be less important.  the us 
	is also becoming ethnically more diverse - english is beginning 
	to lose its universality.

	some specifics:
	film: the double life of veronique.  a polish director, i
		guess made in poland.
	music: shonen knife.  excellent japanese pop/rock.
	cartoons: most here are now japanese.
	
	i don't suppose you've heard of any of them.  and i'm not
	surprised - i'm afraid the cultural isolation of americans is 
	one of the biggest standing jokes in the rest of the world. 

	the idea that great art requires freedom is ludicrous: the 
	best art is art fighting against restrictions (although, i 
	concede, not necessarilly political restrictions).  ironically 
	this should give the states some hope, but probably not 
	for people from your socio-economic background...


	...but what seems strangest of all is that you should want
	america to dominate anyway.  diversity is the best part of
	art.  and if your society was less aggressive internationally
	then perhaps the whole world could benefit...


	and apologies to jane whitten if this wasn't discussing ART.
	
	
	apologies, sincerely, may be due if k12 is not for public
	use - it's not clear what its use is from here...

    fax (0223) 337523          andrew cooke            (0223) 337504/48 
    institute of astronomy, madingley road, cambridge, cb3 0ha, england   
    i think about you in as many ways as the rain comes  norman maccaig