American Culture versus Muslims (followers, POV, sex)

[Djamila]

I want you all to feel free to discuss this from whatever angle you like. Me, I'm going to share a couple of examples of American influences. I don't think they're good or bad, I just think it's interesting that they exist in Bosnia.

Firstly, Bosnia's gossip magazines follow Americans quite a lot. AZRA (Bosnian Muslim women's name) follows them more than do Bosnian artists. You look here and two of the biggest female celebrities in Bosnia is little blurbs on the side.



This issue of Glamur & Stil (Glamour and Style) features Beyonce Knowles, an American singer, and Emina Jahovic, a Bosnian singer. The headline below them reads: "Beyonce versus Emina. Who is better, and why"



And this is the oddest of all. A Bosnian Muslim rap video.

Edo Maajka - Znas Me

So odd. It has dancing bimbos, a male trying to belly dance, sheep for the Bajram slaughter, and even a picture of Yugoslavia's president grabbing Miss Sarajevo's boobs in the 1970s. Yeehaw.

[Sunstone]

America has it's flaws, like every country, but I think one of our strengths is that American ethnic groups tend to get along here much better than ethnic groups in many countries do. If we could export the knack we have for getting along, I'd be all for it. It would be a better export than, say, our lousy mass market beer.

[Hacker]

Hi Djmalia,
I'd like to address the flaws about our American Popular culture and one of them is Rap in our society especially the lyrics and music videos being portrayed. Today, rap continues to be a prominent and important aspect of our culure. It origionally emerged as a way for inner city youth to express their every day life and struggles. Rap lyrics are mostly about poverty, crime, violence, racism, poor living conditions, drugs and corruption. However, there ARE some performers who set a positive example for their followers like Kurtis Blow rapped in a video for the March of dimes. Hoever, there are serious problems that many within the rap subculture believe are being ignored by mainstream america. I think that many of these lyrics and vidoes are detrimental to our youth because they think it's cool, and the beats of these rap songs are "catchy" but the message that is being conveyed (I believe) is setting the wrong example of how teenagers should spend their time having fun, like drinking, sex, partying, etc..It's not ALL rap, it's also in some of our music.

Mainstream media in my opinion is another problem, there is too much emphasis on what's being presented on television and the message is not always positive. A lot of women have a distorted view of what beauty is and become obssessed with "thiness." I believe that many of the actresses are "too thin" and it's a shame that many of the youth of America today are brainwashed into feeling obligated or the desire to look that way, because after all, everywhere you look(even in supermarkets) there are magazines everywhere of stick thin women looking beautiful etc etc. I may update this post but this is a start.

GOod topic Djmalia, and I will post later of the positive aspects of America too, but I felt the need to vent about that, LOL.

[Djamila]

Positive aspects of America, well I can name a few.

American television programs, such as The Simpsons and other sitcoms, are popular around the world and they do, subconsciously, present a different dynamic of male-female relations and these sorts of things. So that's always positive.

The only real cultural influences that come from America that I don't appreciate is the complete focus on individualism at the expense of everyone else, and the lack of respect for sex.

[Sunstone]

I think I understand what you mean by individualism, but I'm curious what you mean by a lack of respect for sex, Djamila.

[Djamila]

Well, you've read my Women's Rights thread, and you know how it is in Bosnia in terms of using women and women's sex appeal to sell products.

But you watch a Bosnian soap opera, or a Bosnian movie, or anything of this nature - and firstly, the scenarios in which sex takes place are completely different. Secondly, what is actually shown on screen is even more different.

Sex is never presented as just... something to do, or as something that just happens when people are dating.

The most explicit depiction of sex I've ever seen in movies are those dealing with war rapes. The most explicit I've ever seen in a normal, peace-time movie was from Gori Vatra. There is a scene where the little, blonde Muslim girl is making out with her boyfriend on a park bench.

And she's on her back, legs wrapped around him, and they're both still dressed, and he says: "Oh please, just a little bit."

And she hestitates, and says, "Oh, no... I don't think..."

He says: "Oh, come on. Just a little, my darling."

And she says: "If I get pregnant, you'll have to marry me!"

He says, "Of course!"

She says, "No, really. If not, my father would kill you!"

And he says, "If I had the chance to marry you and didn't, I'd kill myself."

And then the scenes over. That's as explicit as I've EVER seen. lol

[Djamila]

And, by the way, a few scenes later they're in her house. She's fully dressed, he's in his t-shirt and underwear, and she's washing his feet in a tub of warm water (It's a thing here like... taking ginseng in your tea in the west or something, it's just a habit people think is good for health). At this moment, her father walks in - doesn't say a word.

The two of them stand up, silence. The boyfriend says, "I love Elsa, Sir. I want to marry her."

And he walks over to him and says, "Give me the jacket" (His jacket was on the chair, and the boyfriend picked it up in nervousness)

The boyfriend gives the jacket, and the father doesn't even blink and says, "Take her away, and tell her never to come back here again."

[Sunstone]

I fear for the rest of the world if it ever adopts the American attitude that open sexuality combined with a shoddy sexuality education is the best way to go.

[kateyes]

I think it is important to remember that explicit sex scenes haven't always been the norm in the US--well into the mid 1960s TV and Movies didn't even show married people sharing a bed much less having sex. It would be interesting to revisit this issue in Bosnia 15 or 20 years from now. As the country becomes more (I am not sure of the word I want here) urbanized/industrialized/capitalist--you may experience a shift in those trends. I actually think the US is becoming more conservative on these types of issues--and you are seeing far less that you did in the 1980's and 1990's. Certainly the most successful movies and TV shows of the last decade have been about less sex and gratuitous violence.