World's Cultural Capital

[tinyp3nis]

So what ideas NY spreads worldwide?

[Ned]

Yeah, and everyone disses Silicon Valley. Think!

We brought you VIDEO games, the PC, the sound card, the mouse, graphics cards, the disk drive.

We brought you biotech.

We brought you integrated circuits.

We brought you microprocessors.

And the list goes on. Silicon Valley changed the world. What, if anything, has New York given the world exept arrogance.

[Boris Godunov]

Industry != Culture either, Ned.

[MattyBoy]

The answer is obviously Melbourne.

Even though you live in Melbourne, you are flying the American flag.
I think that supports my "Hollywood" assertion.

[Ned]

Originally posted by Boris Godunov
Industry != Culture either, Ned.

Boris, This is not merely industry, Boris. These inventions changed the way we live - like TV, the electric light or even fire. The way we live is the very definition of culture.

[JohnT]

What this thread does best is show how one can twist the meanings of simple words as to get the definition that best fits our prejudices. Good going, guys!

[Ned]

JohnT, You are right of course. In the course of this debate others have put down SF's "counter-culture" and Silicon's Valley contributions as not being culture at all. Indirectly, this implies that certain folks view culture as constituting only "high culture." Thus they can ignore the massive impact on the world's culture coming from California two major metropolitan regions.

It use to be said about LA's cultural inovations: When LA sneezes, the United States catches a cold. Well, we have also seen how much the baseline world culture has become "American." But this really means the baseline world culture has become Californian.

I just want my MTV!

[Combat Ingrid]

[Ned]

Combat Ingrid, What no MTV in Sweden?

[Sandman]

Most of your great things from SV are the pretty much the same thing (apart from 'biotech'), Ned.

[Ethelred]

Originally posted by Ned


I just want my MTV!

MTV is still in New York isn't it? When it first started in was shot in New York but it wasn't available IN New York for quite a while. Not sure how long, at least a year.

[Ned]

True, but at least I list things. Other here simply claim that so and so city is greater than other cities without listing something unique that city has contributed to world culture.

[- Groucho -]

culture != high culture. If it did, you wouldn't have to add the word "high". Culture is about the way people live their lives - not how some cooler-than-thou type thinks they ought to live their lives.

Now that the OBVIOUS is out of the way clearly Paris is out of the running. The Parisian mono-culture is cool, interesting etc. but it is not nearly as influential as the Parisians would love the rest of us to believe.

Determining the world-capital of culture is all about deciding whose culture is the most dominant. Just look at all the McDonalds the world over - that is culture, whether you find it edifying or not. Clearly US culture is the most dominant. And in the US, NY culture is the most dominant (though the LA/Orange county entertainment industry does give it a run for its money in filmed entertainment, NYC holds its own there and kills in all the other big categories (music, fashion, language, food, etc.)).

So NYC is the clear winner.

As for "high culture" - pfft, whatever.

[orange]

no...current culture is not global culture...there is a difference...who we are and how we behave as people is not influenced by some hollywood movie or some jackass food chain as much as it is influenced by religion, architecture, drama, and war

[- Groucho -]

really - your eating a big mac has nothing to do with some jackass food chain? What - you make them yourself?