# What American pop-culture has become world culture? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 28, 2004, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-pop-culture-has-become-world-culture/262004 "2004-08-28T21:47:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-pop-culture-has-become-world-culture/262004/21 "2004-08-29T12:18:25Z")
\*\*The Godfather[/ib], and Clint Eastwood. Translate the phrases “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse” or “make my day” to any language in the world and they’ll know exactly what you’re talking about. Then they’ll make little shooting motions with their hands. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-pop-culture-has-become-world-culture/262004/22 "2004-08-29T14:26:49Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > Elvis? Hah. Try **Tupac.** How many musicians put out gold-selling albums of new music after they’re dead? Um… well… actually, Elvis released several. And I don’t know if I’d say that McDonalds’ has really integrated into the cultures of other countries too well. Judging from the fact that whenever the locals get mad at America, they often storm down and trash the local McDonalds, I’d say they regard McDonalds the way we’d regard a Chinese food restaurant – maybe a good place to eat, but _foreign_ food… even if it’s owned and operated by local folks. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-pop-culture-has-become-world-culture/262004/23 "2004-08-29T14:28:26Z")
> [@Master Wang-Ka](#): > > Um… well… actually, Elvis released several. Whoopsie. Well, maybe not ALL new music, but … well… the eleven year old black urban kids I teach now? They look at me and go “Tupac who?” I’d never have dreamed that was possible ten years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-pop-culture-has-become-world-culture/262004/24 "2004-08-29T15:21:08Z")
> [@Master Wang-Ka](#): > > Not surprising. Both were fairly short-run, and Gilligan in particular was remarkably dumb. Leave it to Beaver ran six years and Gilligan’s Island ran three. Were you too lazy to look that up, or do you normally just post inaccurately while posing it as fact? Of course, that doesn’t change either show from being dreck. They just were bits of drack with enough episodes to create rerun packages. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-pop-culture-has-become-world-culture/262004/25 "2004-08-29T16:04:27Z")
The efforts Barbara Billingsley – dreck? Gee, Mockingbird, don’t you think you’re being a little hard on the ol’ beaver? (I know I’m gonna regret that.) ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-pop-culture-has-become-world-culture/262004/26 "2004-08-29T16:19:11Z")
> [@Peter Morris](#): > > Speaking as a Brit, I have heard constant references to _The Beaver_ and _gilligans Island_ but I’ve never seen a single episode of either one.I don’t think they’ve ever been shown over here. 13 episodes of _Gilligan’s Island_ were screened by London ITV and the show has not been seen in Britain since. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-pop-culture-has-become-world-culture/262004/27 "2004-08-29T16:25:40Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > Basketball. > > A US-invented sport, it is cheap & easy to learn, with simple rules. > It seems to have gone everywhere. > > [Doctor Naismith would be so proud! LINK.](http://www.ku.edu/heritage/graphics/people/naismith.html) > > 🙂 This is the classic contemporary answer. The advent of Michael Jordan and the Dream Teams meant that all over the world you could see 23s with a basketball in hand. A dozen or so years later the exported cultural form can dominate the homegrown product. No Athens gold for you. That’s pretty cool - you guys can be the next England…just invent 4 or 5 more sports you can’t win at. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-pop-culture-has-become-world-culture/262004/28 "2004-08-29T16:41:52Z")
> [@Rayne Man](#): > > Jesus was American ? 😕 And the bible was written in English, now be quiet. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-pop-culture-has-become-world-culture/262004/29 "2004-08-29T17:12:49Z")
I don’t have a cite but I’ve heard the the four most well known fictional characters are: Mickey Mouse Tarzan Superman Sherlock Holmes Notice that three of them are American inventions. I was watching Excel Saga and I was amazed by how many of the Japanese movie cliche parodies could have been taken straight from American movies. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-pop-culture-has-become-world-culture/262004/30 "2004-08-29T17:30:53Z")
> [@Rayne Man](#): > > Jesus was American ? 😕 It’s about as believable as him being a 6’0" blue eyed Caucasian with sandy brown hair and look at how many people have bought into that. ---
**Author:** ![dangergene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@dangergene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangergene)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2004, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-pop-culture-has-become-world-culture/262004/31 "2004-08-30T04:40:59Z")
urm… sorry to pop some bubbles, but from what I can see, Tupac is virtually unheard of here in Singapore (I’ll not speak for the rest of SEAsia) whereas Elvis lives on in the song-stylings of many an aging taxi-uncle. Spider-man is endlessly pirated here on cheap t-shirts (and licensed dealies too). I’m drinking a Coke as I type. The nearest foodstuffs are all local, I have to walk a good half hour or more to find a McDonalds, a (failing) KFC, Burger King, Edo Sushi, etc. There’s no Subway, Pizza hut or whatnot for quite a distance. What’s more, despite having outlets, the American chains don’t have much hold in this part of town, it’s the local hawker centres that are more popular (not an opinion, a fact). That said, all the American chains I named are present here in S’pore, so the OPs query is confirmed, the influence exists. Michael Jordan? Who? (I know who he is, but he’s not as influential as some might think) Basketball… meh. Try Badminton, try Thai kick-volleyball (I can’t recall the name, but it involves similar themes to Volleyball, except you can’t touch the ball with you head or hands). Soccer, yes. Cricket, yes. Baseball, no. Basketball… rare, but the courts are there just in case. Boybands, teen-pop sensations[sup]tm[/sup] and American teevee have more influence (although HK and Taiwanese celebs are more popular overall). Now one that you’ve all forgotten. Potatoes and Tobacco. Yup, that’s been global for more than a coupla centuries, and they come from America… 😃 And **Nendil** the Smurfs are European, Peyo, the guy who literally dreamt them up, was from… Belgium (?). I know the comics originally came out in French. The cartoon… I couldn’t say for certain (and I’m not digging for a cite right this nowsome). -Los Geneos. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2004, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-pop-culture-has-become-world-culture/262004/32 "2004-08-30T07:50:51Z")
> [@](#): > > The Matrix was shot in Sidney… Sydney, please. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-pop-culture-has-become-world-culture/262004.md?page=1)