Cultural differences between Europe and America

US peoples seem to have a really stereotypical image of Europe I think, especially when it comes to France, you seem to see it as a really sophisticated culture (see how you use french words in english sentences), but there are tons of idiots peoples in France, most of them aren't really cultivated, most people don't chat about Baudelaire or Monet, they chat about what's on TV tonight (lot of stupid reality TV), it's like everywhere I guess. The culture of our country (art, history and such) is known by peoples who are interested in it.
There are certainly cultural differences, but don't generalize that much, I'm pretty sure the interesting/cultivated/smart peoples % in the population is the same from Europe to USA, that's where the differences lay.
I've never been to the US, so I can't really tell the differences, except that :
US peoples are patriots (most of the time, 'you' seem to be proud of your country, put flags etc), in France, saying you like your country sounds like you like the government and don't want other people in it ; If I had a French flag on my house, people would think I'm a crazy nationalist/right-wing. (it's not that simple actually, but you get the idea)
Also, the religion seem to have a very different importance in the US. For example, when N Sarkozy crossed himself on tv as he entered a church (seemed against secularism), he had to justify himself afterward (saying it was out of respect for the members of the church if I recall). Or at school (public schools), when a teacher talks about evolution and say something like "or god created all" it's a joke and everybody laughs, because most people are atheists (that may be a bad example because creationism isn't brought up here, even by catholics).

NOTE : It's not easy for me to talk about such a topic in english, because you always have to be careful with the words you choose when you make such generalizations. I can't express myself as clearly as I would like to here, so just get the idea and don't take it all too literally

 

actually most people think the french are assholes lol

 

In every single country in europe there are regions with big differencies. I have no clue where you have got this idea that europe is all the same.

Overlooking the obvious ones like language/architecture/location, there is South vs North Italy, All the Lands in German, England vs Scotland vs Wales vs Ireland, Swiss divided into 3 regions all with their own culture, north vs middle vs south Poland.

Every country is different + most of the countries have their own 'subcultures'

 

:iagree:

 

Goood morning,

yepp, you're right. I don't even understand the guys from the next valley. I think they sacrifice midgets to their many gods, which we totally don't do here. We use goats instead.

Regards
Gyro

 

Actually, I experience it differently. Most AMERICANS think the french are all assholes. If most people allover the world have to pick a nation of assholes they would pick USA rather than France...

 

Guns. Adherence to a document written hundreds of years ago.

 

Good i is québécoise

there for i is not french
there for i is not english
there for i is not united state
there for i is not Européenne

 

Why is that so good?

 

It's more mainstream in Europe to be culturally aware; in the US, it's more like a subculture. In most schools, there is a small social group that is very aware of the fine arts.

Would you say it is an urban/rural divide? That is often the case here.

On a typical day, I don't see any US flags except in front of government buildings.

And I have never seen two US states that were the same. Most US cities have a 'generic' area full of national chain stores and restaurants, but that's only a couple of square miles.

 

England is different everywhere you go. Accents and dialects, way of life in general.

Having only been to the US once (new mexico- albequerqie), I noticed culture there. That massive hot air balloon show was pretty crazy and fun. America is multicultural, as is England, culture can vary from family to family.

Europes cultures are very noticabley different too. I am from Sicily and the difference there compared with mainland Italy is crazy. The language is much different due to dialects. Sicily has arabic, roman, spanish, norman, greek, even viking buildings due to being a very easy invasion target, whereas northern Italy has a lot more renassaince and roman type buildings. The difference between a town in Sicily and a town in northern Italy would make it seem as though they are on opposite sides of the world..

 

Karen_J : Well, I think you could say that yes, (there again, it's a very rough generalization).

In France we picture the USA from US tv shows, sitcoms, and movies (news often talk about what's happening in USA, laws, politics and such aswell) so I always wondered how accurate is the representation of the american school-life ? Are there really the popular ones, the cheerleader, the nerds etc ? In France there are social groups of course, but they're not defined like that, they are just group of friends

 

in my experience it's not accurate at all, but i went to a small school. i get the impression that large schools are a lot more like the media portrayals of schools.

 

we play football without a helmet!

 

I went to a small high school (about 350 students) and it was very accurate there.

 

American TV and movies mostly reflect the cultures and values in the cities of Washington, New York, and Los Angeles. Those three are very different from each other, and also very different from the big cities I know the best; Atlanta, New Orleans, Charlotte, Nashville, Memphis, Philadelphia, Chicago, and San Francisco. They have even less in common with our best rural areas of natural beauty; the beaches and mountains, Niagara Falls, Yosemite Valley, and the Grand Canyon.

The real America is much less violent than the media version. I have never in my life seen anyone fire a gun, except for target practice, and none of my friends or relatives have had these experiences either. We have a lot of small places where life can be very relaxing; not good material for an exciting movie.

When most Americans talk about France, they really mean Paris. Everything most of us know about France comes from Paris. It seems obvious to me that Paris is a true one-of-a-kind city, like London and Berlin and San Francisco. We have no good sources of information about rural France, or its many small towns.

That was true at every school I attended.

There is probably less social diversity among American schools than in any other part of our culture, because they get so much of their culture from TV, movies, and the internet. Kids don't have the money or the freedom to get out and see the real world for themselves, so they copy what they see on a screen. It's been like that for decades.

Cool! I'd love to see that!

You know something about America that I don't know! :cheers2:

 

I liked the hot air ballon show in Zürich.

 

Didn't the EU just have a celebration for not fighting each other for 50-60 years - Beautiful :hurray:

Now if we (including USA) could just stop killing brown people.

 

Among french people, peoples from paris kind of different (actually the clichés are that they're arrogant, stressed and unpleasant).

I'd like to take a trip across the USA one day, seems like there's a huge diversity in nature/places and people