The Implication of Individuality in Today's Society
Uploaded by sweet-caramel on May 11, 2007
American culture is diverse, eclectic and contradictory, including everything from classical music and literature to hip-hop and TV cop shows. From jazz and Broadway musicals to abstract expressionism and beat poetry, America has a history of vibrant and innovative cultural output. Hollywood movies and popular music are exported around the world, but more broadly the spread of brands like Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Starbucks and Google is thought by some to symbolize the triumph of the American way of life and a particular way of looking at the world at the expense of diverse national and regional cultures. During the Nineteenth Century, Americans tended to think and provide for themselves. By large, they farmed their own land, slaughtered their own meat, and made their own clothing. They cooked their own food and provided for their own health and their own old age. They even managed to entertain themselves. Very few of them worked as an employee of another. They depended only upon themselves. No one had a claim on them, and they had claims on no one. They had both freedom and the responsibility that goes with it. Nowadays you can drive through any town and you’ll see the same McDonald’s, the same Wendy’s, and the same Burger Kings, offering the same food at the same quality for the same price. Walk through any supermarket and you’ll see the same cans of Green Giant vegetables, the same Sara Lee pastries, and the same Pepsi Cola soft drinks. But overtime this image of the American culture has changed, and everything now looks the same. After the success of fast food restaurant the American culture has started to be homogenized. Although homogenization has moved American culture forward, it has engulfed individuality.
When you are born, you are a tiny insignificant spec in this humongous world. It will depend on your individuality to make yourself grow and move ahead or stay low and far behind. Making yourself a good individual will help you survive in the world, succeed, and be recognized and understood by people. Surviving in today’s world is not very simple for an individual. Not everyone can live with their parents all their life and be baby sited. There comes a time in a person’s life when they have to be on there own and make their own decisions. When you are an adult you can’t rely on anyone but...