What Pop Culture Makes You Proud to Be American?

[DarkAudit]

Can us internationals pitch in with our own sources of popular culture national pride?

What have you got besides sauna and Krisse?

 

[Shakey]

I need to get some blues albums. I don't have much exposure to them, but some of the stories of those artists are incredible. From Lead Belly's Wikipedia.

Lead Belly's volatile nature sometimes led him into trouble with the law. In 1915 he was convicted "of carrying a pistol" and sentenced to do time on the Harrison County chain gang, from which he miraculously escaped, finding work in nearby Bowie county under the assumed name of Walter Boyd. In January 1918 he was imprisoned a second time, this time after killing one of his relatives, Will Stafford, in a fight over a woman. In 1918 he was incarcerated in Sugar Land, Texas, where he probably learned the song "Midnight Special".[4] In 1925 he was pardoned and released, having served seven years, or virtually all of the minimum of his seven-to-35-year sentence, after writing a song appealing to Governor Pat Morris Neff for his freedom. Lead Belly had swayed Governor Neff by appealing to his strong religious values. That, in combination with good behavior (including entertaining by playing for the guards and fellow prisoners), was Lead Belly's ticket out of jail. It was quite a testament to his persuasive powers, as Neff had run for governor on a pledge not to issue pardons (pardon by the governor was at that time the only recourse for prisoners, since in most Southern prisons there was no provision for parole). According to Charles K. Wolf and Kip Lornell's book, The Life and Legend of Leadbelly (1999), Neff had regularly brought guests to the prison on Sunday picnics to hear Lead Belly perform.

In 1930, Lead Belly was back in prison, after a summary trial, this time in Louisiana, for attempted homicide — he had knifed a white man in a fight. It was there, three years later, that he was "discovered" by musicologists John Lomax and his eighteen-year-old son Alan Lomax during a visit to the Angola Prison Farm. They were enchanted by Lead Belly's talent, passion, and singularity as a performer and recorded hundreds of his songs on portable aluminum disc recording equipment for the Library of Congress. They returned to record in July of the following year (1934). On August 1, Lead Belly was released (again having served almost all of his minimum sentence), this time after the Lomaxes had taken a petition to Louisiana Governor O.K. Allen at Lead Belly's urgent request. The petition was on the other side of a recording of his signature song, "Goodnight Irene." A prison official later wrote to John Lomax denying that Lead Belly's singing had anything to do his release from Angola, and state prison records confirm that he was eligible for early release due to good behavior. A descendant of his has also confirmed this. For a time, however, both Lead Belly and the Lomaxes believed that the record they had taken to the governor had hastened his release from Angola.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh-hr2YxwoY:1u6udmhj][/youtube:1u6udmhj]

 

[Philosopher B.]

If one were to look over the list of my favorite authors, one would probably note that quite a few of them are British. Mark Twain, however, is one of the more glaring exceptions. He often wrote of a different time in America with wit, knowledge, and insight not found many other places. Perhaps the greatest accolade I can give to him is that of 'the classics' one invariably hears of, I instantly think of him as one of the true American authors who were ahead of their time, stood the test of time, and will continue to be very readable (or at the least, fascinating) far into the future. While I love his more acclaimed books about Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer, I am also a fan of his lesser-known works such as Pudd'nhead Wilson, on which I wrote an 'A' paper for a Lit II class on why it wasn't to be overlooked. Anyone who calls his books racist or demands access to them to be restricted is clearly an ignoramus and an unread schmuck.

Aside from the general awesomeness and authenticity of his writing, I also just plain like reading about the man's antics. I once read that, upon objecting to changes to one of his manuscripts, he stormed in upon the guilty parties and proclaimed something along the lines of, 'As the editor you can omit what might offend you ... but God himself does not have the right to put words in my mouth!'

 

That's awesome but I could have gone my whole life without seeing Mark Twain's nipples.

 

[Chazwozel]

Mother smurfing Rocky. American icon in the flesh!

Pssst... he's Italian. :slywink:

Yeah, heritage wise...

 

[ElJuski]

That's awesome but I could have gone my whole life without seeing Mark Twain's nipples.

God a million times this.

By the way, good additions, everyone. Yer doin it rite

 

[Allen who is Quiet]

aw shucks

 

[Cuyval Dar]

Richard Dean Anderson.
He has played two incredibly iconic roles, Macgyver and Colonel Jack O'Neill.

 

[JCM]

Michael Jackson fandom. 12 suicides, and this-

But jokes aside, pretty much every other great 20th-21st century scientific discovery, theory, technological advance or even books, movies and songs, even if not made by an american, had american influence, backing and technology behind it.

You guys deserve to be as proud of it as you like, your country influences the world (and helps/inspires advance) like no other has ever managed to do.

 

[Ravenpoe]

 

[Shegokigo]

 

[Philosopher B.]

That's awesome but I could have gone my whole life without seeing Mark Twain's nipples.

God a million times this.

Y'all are just jealous of his manly chest-rug. :smug:

Well, except for Zen ...

 

[ElJuski]

How...how did that picture even come up? Some sort of strange writer playboy magazine?


Also (I always forget to bring up the Cobain thing)-- as far as him not taking him as a source of American pride, that's looking at it in the jingoistic American pride worldview. The way Cobain makes me proud to be American is in the heart and mindset of American rock n' roll, not waving the flag and shoving a boot up Osama's ass. It's a pride for the ideals of American rock n' roll--and the gritty drunk, doped-out heart that drives it.

There's plenty of ways to have pride for America without sounding like Hank Hill. That's at least one awesome thing about this country--a million voices, a million cultures...oh and beer. God bless American watered down crispy goodness.