CrackedCrystal
Where am I?
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I am begining to agree. I think it may be a troll.Originally posted by floppa21
This thread is lame. Some mod close it please.
Why Americans don't have good taste.
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wildWolverine
L'Etat, c'est moi
How could this bother you? I think that the decline of reading citizens, both children and adults is very saddening. Anything that makes people read is a good thing, at least in my book <couldn't resist pun>.
floppa21
Crusty Manhole
wildWolverine, don't misunderstand me. It IS good they are reading. Harry Potter is entertaining and well written, but if the last time you read a book was in high school, there are SO MANY better choices out there. Imagine if instead of Rowling selling these millions of copies of books, these sales were instead going to the authors I mentioned above. If all the people who read Rowling had instead read Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Marleau, Vonnegut... <sigh> PEOPLE MAGAZINE sells better than these authors probably.
As for the decline of reading citizens, ignorance and stupidity are two different things. Schools turn plenty of people off of reading unfortunately. Like the song says, "Nothing's gonna change the world"...
As for the decline of reading citizens, ignorance and stupidity are two different things. Schools turn plenty of people off of reading unfortunately. Like the song says, "Nothing's gonna change the world"...
smalltalk
monkey business
Theodore Sturgeon, an american science fiction writer (oops, pop culture warning!) once said in an interview, that 90% of all science fiction was garbage.
He was asked by the interviewer: How come?
He replied: Oh very simple 90% of everything is garbage.
Now I'm not really sure about that 90% figure, but basically he's right. It all depends on what you demand from literature, film or music. If your expectations are high, and if you have a lot references to compare your reading or listening pleasure to, you are not to be satisfied easily. Regardless where your stuff comes from.
He was asked by the interviewer: How come?
He replied: Oh very simple 90% of everything is garbage.
Now I'm not really sure about that 90% figure, but basically he's right. It all depends on what you demand from literature, film or music. If your expectations are high, and if you have a lot references to compare your reading or listening pleasure to, you are not to be satisfied easily. Regardless where your stuff comes from.
Richard III
Duke of Gloucester
Not closed yet?
I don't mind the discussion, but I'm appalled that we can discuss America's lack of taste and not, say, France's lack of perspective.
I don't mind the discussion, but I'm appalled that we can discuss America's lack of taste and not, say, France's lack of perspective.
jack merchant
Internationalist
Amen
And someone who bashes Harry Potter ought to have their own taste examined anyway I can safely say that the Dutch taste is equally bad as the American
wildWolverine
L'Etat, c'est moi
floppa -- your points are very valid, expespecially the part about people being turned off reading in school. My (perhaps naive) outlook is that Harry Potter will interest people in reading again. perhaps after finishing Potter, they will move on to something written by Clive Cussler, maybe then Tom Clany or Dan Brown. The next step, hopefully, would be Herman Wouk, Anton Myrer, Kurt Vonnegut or David Brin. It just takes time...
And it doesn't hurt that I'm a Potter-phile!
And it doesn't hurt that I'm a Potter-phile!
American quality is less than that of Europe, eh? Well, let's see. When I was in France, 90% of the wine was crap. When I was in Venice, 90% of the canal 'water' was crap. When I was in Germany, 90% of the beer was crap. When I got home to the States, I realized that 90% of my life was crap.
Lack of quality isn't an American problem, it's a fundamental cornerstone of the human race in it's entirety. Besides, if you're really that unsatisfied with being an American, you have the right to report to an American embassy on foreign soil and revoke your own citizenship...
Lack of quality isn't an American problem, it's a fundamental cornerstone of the human race in it's entirety. Besides, if you're really that unsatisfied with being an American, you have the right to report to an American embassy on foreign soil and revoke your own citizenship...
Cecasander
King
Ofcourse, everything is better in the United States, according to most Americans.
Aphex_Twin
Evergreen
- Joined
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Why americans don't have good taste? Then you obvioustly haven't been using enough ketchup ! A sprinkle of garlic would make them taste even better
Sims2789
Fool me once...
Americans like Harry Potter. i agree that the book you read sounds stupid, but that doesn't mean all or even most Americans have bad taste. i could say that Muslims are evil(which isn't true) just because a few Muslims are crazy and blow up the World trade Center. i could say that Christian are evil just because of hitler. yeah, 1 Christian was evil, but all aren't. the same is true for books. 1 American book is bad, but all of them aren't.
Benderino
Loyal American Democrat
This is OT, but I wouldn't really call Hitler a Christian.
Sims2789
Fool me once...
not our government. we have Imperialists in power and the corprations control the government. Socialism would be better than that, and i'm not a Socialist. i'd rather just have us ban Corprations, Companies and Organiztions from donating money to political partys/politicians.
just so non_Americans know, the Democrats are the non-Imperialist political party, and the Republicans are the Imperialist ones.
"The stupid masses he is seemingly referring to are the teenage hordes that camp in front of MTV after coming home from a hard day of flunking classes. They don't read, period."
I nearly pi**ed myself I was laughing so hard! Just graduating from high school, I agree with you totally.
"i could say that Muslims are evil(which isn't true) just because a few Muslims are crazy and blow up the World trade Center. i could say that Christian are evil just because of hitler. yeah, 1 Christian was evil, but all aren't. the same is true for books. 1 American book is bad, but all of them aren't."
Chaulk those up for the worst politcally motivated analogies I've ever heard.
Bad taste is just bad taste. Period. End of discussion (an thread)
I nearly pi**ed myself I was laughing so hard! Just graduating from high school, I agree with you totally.
"i could say that Muslims are evil(which isn't true) just because a few Muslims are crazy and blow up the World trade Center. i could say that Christian are evil just because of hitler. yeah, 1 Christian was evil, but all aren't. the same is true for books. 1 American book is bad, but all of them aren't."
Chaulk those up for the worst politcally motivated analogies I've ever heard.
Bad taste is just bad taste. Period. End of discussion (an thread)
wildWolverine
L'Etat, c'est moi
Speaking of ignorance... This is simply incorrect. While I believe we should follow Washington's parting advice (avoid partisan politics at all costs), such action is infeasible at the moment. Perhaps you should retake your high school civics class...Absolutely hilarious.......
Ancient Grudge
Its all in this life
Originally posted by CivCube
Well, yeah. Everything is a money-making industry. And Harry Potter is a British series.
Yep it is. That woman should really be shot for writing those 'books' she really should.
jack merchant
Internationalist
Heresy 
!
Ancient Grudge, I'm afraid I am going to have to shoot you instead
!Ancient Grudge, I'm afraid I am going to have to shoot you instead
Ohwell
Deity
Harry Potter is an excellent book for kids, however I agree with the fact that most of these chain-books are just marketing tools, not genuine work done for the sake of literature.
Shadylookin
master debater
I think my books are American because of circumstance. I read a lot of somewhat older books where the USA is always attacked by russia with a nuke. the other 2 i have read recently one was about a kid growing up and had his life from his teens to his fortys, and the other was about a kid that was captured in japan and became a samurai.
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