Art and Culture in AmericaThe Art and Culture today in America can compare to the art and culture in China in the novel, Snow Falling in the Spring. For example, plastic surgery compares to footbinding, matchmaking compares to dating shows, their popular music compares to popular music in America today, and their New Years that they still celebrate today compares to the New Years that America celebrates. A big part of culture in America that compares to footbinding, is plasic surgery. Plastic surgery takes the bones, muscles, and fat of humans and either removes them, replaces them, or puts them at a different part of the body. The article "The Plastic Surgery of a Model Needs to Look Like a Barbie" states that "every day a new plastic surgery promise emerges: scooped-out backs, rear-end lifts, sculpted kneecaps. If it's possible, it's suddenly necessary." This article also says that getting the body of a barbie is "anatomically impossible. So why are we still trying for it?" It doesn't make sense that people believe they need to be twenty pounds lighter or their cheek bones have to be an inch higher in order for them to be pretty. In these ways, Americans are destroying their bodies just as badly as Chinese people are when they bind their feet. Maybe Americans are still able to walk briskly after plastic surgeries, however plastic surgeries alter the way people look so greatly that some people are unrecognizable after plastic surgeries. The Article, "Celebrities Before and After Plastic Surgery," has more pictures of celbrities who have had plactic surgery. Picture on the left: Joan Rivers before and after she got a a botox, or got her cheek bones lifted. She is one of the celebrities in the website above.Picture on the right: Model, Katie Halchishick poses with a barbie doll and has lines drawn on her to show all the work that would have to be done to her body to make her proportionate with the barbie. To read more about this picture, click on the article above.
Another part of today's culture in America is reality TV shows based on helping people find their future spouses. These shows compare to matchmaking in some ways because the end result of both processes are supposed to be a man and a woman getting married. Two of these shows are Dating in the Dark and The Bachelor. Dating in the Dark is where couples meet each other and talk to each other all in the dark, according to IMDb, "the reality show asks the question, 'Is love blind?'" The Bachelor is a show where one man meets multiple women and he gets to narrow the girls down one by one until he narrows it down to one girl that he proposes to. The process that the man uses to narrow the girls down is a rose ceremony. This is a ceremony where he gives girls roses one by one to the girls until he didn't give one girl a rose. The girl he did not give a rose is eliminated. These shows work like matchmakers because without these shows, there is a good chance that these men and women in these two shows would have never met each other. These shows help people meet and set them up.
A rose ceremony that took place during the last season of The Bachelor.
Popular music that wealthy people listened to in China during the Cultural Revolution may have been classical music, but today in America, people, wealthy or poor, listen to songs by big, modern stars, such as Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Demi Lavato, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Lil Wayne, Ke$ha and many other stars. We listen to songs that are popular at the moment and are currently on the radio, so often popular songs change quickly. Popular genres at the moment include pop, rap, and counrty. This article titled "Famous Singers" lists several famous singers of today, including the ones I listed above.
A picture of many famous stars, including four of the singers listed above.
The music video for "Edge of Glory," a famous song by Lady Gaga.
Lastly, New Year in America can compare to Chinese New Year. There are big celebrations all across the United States for New Year's Eve. Wherever a person goes in America on New Year's Eve at midnight, they will see lots of brilliant fireworks and lots of loud noises and people running around, especially in Time Square. The article "New Year's Eve," states that "Every year as the clock nears midnight on December 31st, the eyes of the world turn once more to the dazzling lights and bustling energy of Times Square." Time Square in New York City has live music and entertainment, huge fireworks, and lots of yelling and noise as the large, bright ball drop signaling the beginning of a new year.
A big part of culture in America that compares to footbinding, is plasic surgery. Plastic surgery takes the bones, muscles, and fat of humans and either removes them, replaces them, or puts them at a different part of the body. The article "The Plastic Surgery of a Model Needs to Look Like a Barbie" states that "every day a new plastic surgery promise emerges: scooped-out backs, rear-end lifts, sculpted kneecaps. If it's possible, it's suddenly necessary." This article also says that getting the body of a barbie is "anatomically impossible. So why are we still trying for it?" It doesn't make sense that people believe they need to be twenty pounds lighter or their cheek bones have to be an inch higher in order for them to be pretty. In these ways, Americans are destroying their bodies just as badly as Chinese people are when they bind their feet. Maybe Americans are still able to walk briskly after plastic surgeries, however plastic surgeries alter the way people look so greatly that some people are unrecognizable after plastic surgeries. The Article, "Celebrities Before and After Plastic Surgery," has more pictures of celbrities who have had plactic surgery.
Another part of today's culture in America is reality TV shows based on helping people find their future spouses. These shows compare to matchmaking in some ways because the end result of both processes are supposed to be a man and a woman getting married. Two of these shows are Dating in the Dark and The Bachelor. Dating in the Dark is where couples meet each other and talk to each other all in the dark, according to IMDb, "the reality show asks the question, 'Is love blind?'" The Bachelor is a show where one man meets multiple women and he gets to narrow the girls down one by one until he narrows it down to one girl that he proposes to. The process that the man uses to narrow the girls down is a rose ceremony. This is a ceremony where he gives girls roses one by one to the girls until he didn't give one girl a rose. The girl he did not give a rose is eliminated. These shows work like matchmakers because without these shows, there is a good chance that these men and women in these two shows would have never met each other. These shows help people meet and set them up.
A rose ceremony that took place during the last season of The Bachelor.
Popular music that wealthy people listened to in China during the Cultural Revolution may have been classical music, but today in America, people, wealthy or poor, listen to songs by big, modern stars, such as Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Demi Lavato, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Lil Wayne, Ke$ha and many other stars. We listen to songs that are popular at the moment and are currently on the radio, so often popular songs change quickly. Popular genres at the moment include pop, rap, and counrty. This article titled "Famous Singers" lists several famous singers of today, including the ones I listed above.
The music video for "Edge of Glory," a famous song by Lady Gaga.
Lastly, New Year in America can compare to Chinese New Year. There are big celebrations all across the United States for New Year's Eve. Wherever a person goes in America on New Year's Eve at midnight, they will see lots of brilliant fireworks and lots of loud noises and people running around, especially in Time Square. The article "New Year's Eve," states that "Every year as the clock nears midnight on December 31st, the eyes of the world turn once more to the dazzling lights and bustling energy of Times Square." Time Square in New York City has live music and entertainment, huge fireworks, and lots of yelling and noise as the large, bright ball drop signaling the beginning of a new year.
2011 New Year's Eve in Time Square.