Shadow Culture

I enjoy my exchanges with other interns. Two nights ago my roommates and I had a discussion about our respective countries, colonialism, and globalisation. I explained Singapore’s history to them and pointed out that we reaped benefits from the British colonisation—many of which were unintended consequences of British actions. This was a very different perspective for Audrey Ann, the Canadian, who had learned that colonisation was mostly bad for the colonies. We also touched upon the white superiority myth that the colonial powers left behind in the colonies and talked about the spread of American culture around the globe.

Sarah, the American from Atlanta, had a bone to pick about the term “American culture”. In her eyes, the current culture that is spreading from the developed to the developing countries is like a shadow of American culture: a hazy form of the US that is somewhat but not completely representative of the US. In her mind, she does not identify with burgers, freedom and the American flag, the three items Audrey Ann and I used as symbols for American culture. She doesn’t like burgers, as a Southerner she feels that much of her family history determines her life (though probably not to the degree that caste determines one’s life in India, and as a liberal she feels that the American flag symbolises many ideals she disagrees with.

Audrey Ann and I accepted that. As outsiders, it’s easier for us to generalise about the US. Sarah, on the other hand, sees the intricacies of her culture. I’d probably be in the same position if asked about Singaporean culture.