AMC_Padlet_Anne van Moerkerk_CPE1 by https://padlet.com/annevanmoerkerk/vvyn1660bkda Workshop American Culture - Padlet Portfolio Assignment en-us 2019-03-13 19:13:02 UTC 2025-11-11 10:22:07 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-uploads.storage.googleapis.com/356042918/962b1b700f34b4292de2f80b694832bc/united_states_of_america_usa_flag_clean_background_4k_3840x2160_rpd55yoc_thumbnail_full01.png Sports popularity annevanmoerkerk https://padlet.com/annevanmoerkerk/vvyn1660bkda/wish/341060275
It is striking that in a country where obesity is such a huge problem, sport plays such an important role. You would almost think where it went wrong. Yet a large proportion of Americans enjoy sports. In addition, watching sports is also extremely popular.
This is often also a social matter. That is why you often see television screens hanging in bars but also in restaurants where sports matches can be seen. Typical American sports are American football, basketball and baseball.
Nowadays, other sports are also attracting increasing interest, including European football that is called 'soccer' in the US.
What is very remarkable is that the experience and support in sports is generally very social. Hooliganism was virtually non-existent in America. But with football (soccer), this negative fringe phenomenon also seems to have spread to the States. Where other sports are mainly outings where you go with friends, family or business relations, there you see that things sometimes go wrong with 'soccer' (Zimmermann, 2017).

Zimmermann, K. A. (2017). American Culture: Traditions and Customs of the United States. Retrieved 4- 2, 2019, from livescience: https://www.livescience.com/28945-american-culture.html 

]]> 2019-03-13 19:29:12 UTC https://padlet.com/annevanmoerkerk/vvyn1660bkda/wish/341060275 Martin Luther King Day annevanmoerkerk https://padlet.com/annevanmoerkerk/vvyn1660bkda/wish/341061440 Martin Luther King Day is an American holiday to honour the African-American pastor Martin Luther King. The holiday is annually on the third Monday of January, around the time of King's birthday, on January 15.
 
The holiday is the result of a large-scale campaign led by a number of activists. One of the most remarkable of these was the blind musician Stevie Wonder, who managed to reach a wide audience with the hit Happy Birthday in 1980 and the Rally for Peace press conference in 1981. People wanted to turn this day into a national holiday and a national holiday naturally includes a day off. It was the American president Ronald Reagan who signed the law on November 2, 1983, with which the federal holiday in honour of King could become a fact.
 
On January 18, 1993, Martin Luther King Day was an official holiday in all 50 states. Content was given with demonstrations for peace, justice and equality for all races and sexual beliefs. On this day, most schools are closed and also most large companies. Smaller companies, shops and restaurants are usually open.This shows how big this day is (Timeanddate, 2019).

Timeanddate. (2019). Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States. Retrieved 4- 2, 2019, from Time and Date : https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/martin-luther-king-day 

]]> 2019-03-13 19:32:34 UTC https://padlet.com/annevanmoerkerk/vvyn1660bkda/wish/341061440 Strive for physical perfection annevanmoerkerk https://padlet.com/annevanmoerkerk/vvyn1660bkda/wish/351158652
The appearance has become so important in America that more and more Americans strive for physical perfection. What is meant by perfection is mainly inspired by commerce, which gives you certain fashion phenomena. In the first instance, you saw that in the field of plastic surgery, liposuction (removal of fat), lip fillings and breast augmentation were mainly applied. The removal or reduction of external signs of aging also quickly became popular. This has actually gone so far that teenagers who have barely grown out already have the first Botox syringes put in their face to prevent wrinkles. In the area of ​​teeth, you first saw that teeth had to be straight. More and more adults switched to braces. Once the teeth were straight, the teeth suddenly had to become whiter than white. The so-called 'Prodent smile' has almost become a must in the entertainment industry. The moment you watch a news broadcast on television in America, you mainly see rows of white teeth dominating the picture. Sometimes it is certain subcultures that lead to a certain desire for beauty, with some people appearing to be completely absorbed in this beauty ideal. Consider, for example, well-filled derrieres. In particular, the hip-hop scene and people like Kim Kardashian have fueled this desire. A woman's head has a 'big booty' within a number of subcultures and this contemporary beauty ideal sometimes causes women to be rebuilt to the extreme in order to arrive at disproportionate bottoming’s (SHUKLA, 2009).

SHUKLA, A. (2009). Top 10 Reasons Why Physical Appearance Is So Important?Retrieved 4- 2, 2019, from paggu.com: https://www.paggu.com/getting-into-roots/top-10-reasons-why-physical-appearance-is-so-important/

 

]]> 2019-04-12 14:04:22 UTC https://padlet.com/annevanmoerkerk/vvyn1660bkda/wish/351158652 Disposable America annevanmoerkerk https://padlet.com/annevanmoerkerk/vvyn1660bkda/wish/351167326 From 'the outside counts' we can actually go straight to a next point that is typically American: the disposable society. In order to instigate the capitalist system, it is primarily necessary to consume. 
Eating and drinking makes it easy: if something runs out, something new has to be bought. With products such as clothing, cars, appliances, furniture and even houses that is different. As long as it works well you don't have to replace it. The Americans in particular solved this with three elements: fashion, slow improvements and the need to replace something. 
By using fashion you ensure that people replace something because the old product no longer meets the current fashion image. This is actually one hundred percent an emotional decision. If you do not go along with fashion, then you 'no longer belong'. You see that here the element 'desire' is actually surpassed by the element 'fear' when you look at how products are promoted. You don't want to be seen in the color of last season or considered to be poor because you don't have the latest smartphone model? 
Also quality in the form of shelf life is not that relevant for Americans. After all, a sustainable product lasts too long and will therefore not be replaced as quickly. It is better to find a good mix between the life of a product and the speed with which fashion changes in a certain area. As a result, a consumer is more likely to throw something away and replace it. The disposable company can also be found in America when using one-off products. Think especially here of packaging. Plastic and paper cups, cutlery and other goods are used en masse in the US
(Madrigal, 2018).

Madrigal, A. C. (2018). Disposable America. Retrieved 4- 2, 2019, from The Atlentic: https://medium.com/the-atlantic/disposable-america-c255f4a007fd 

 

]]> 2019-04-12 14:23:27 UTC https://padlet.com/annevanmoerkerk/vvyn1660bkda/wish/351167326