Five Symbols of American Culture(7页).doc

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1、-Five Symbols of American Culture-第 7 页Five Symbols of American CultureThere is a unique tradition in American culture，which is the great openness and diversity. This feature was decided by its historical conditions. America was developed by many European immigrants. After that, Asian immigrants als

2、o made a significant contribution to the construction. Immigrants with their own culture built a community in this new land, which formed the American cultural diversity. After the founding of the United States, it still insisted on the policy of opening up to the world-class talent, in order to pro

3、mote U.S. economic and cultural development. And today I want to talk something about five symbols of American culture, for understanding better what the core of its culture is.When it comes to America, what do you think about? Is iphone? White House? Or Spider Man? According to the public, Statue o

4、f Liberty, American Gothic, Buffalo nickels, Uncle Sam and Barbie doll compose of five American cultural symbols. They represent different aspect and are worthwhile to remember. Now let me introduce them one by one. Statue of LibertySince the Statue of Liberty stood in New York Bay in 1886, it has b

5、een the promise of the American dream for immigrants Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island is located in the vicinity of New York City, New York, is an American major tourist attractions. In 1876 France sent it to America as a gift for celebrating the 100th anniversary of American independence. The st

6、atue was designed by Frdric Auguste Bartholdi. The statue is of a robed female figure representing Liberas, the Roman goddess of freedom, who bears a torch and a tabula ansata (a tablet evoking the law) upon which is inscribed the date of the American Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. A bro

7、ken chain lies at her feet. The statue is an icon of freedom and of the United States: a welcoming signal to immigrants arriving from abroad. It is called the Statue of Liberty National Monument and the official name is Liberty Enlightening the World. The whole 120 steel skeleton bronze statue, 80 c

8、opper as skin, 300000 rivet assembly is fixed on the bracket, with a total weight of 225 tons. Steel supports inside the statue is built by architect and to the world-famous Eiffel Tower in Paris, the French engineer Eiffel designed and manufactured. It is said that the beautiful statues arm from th

9、e artists wife, and its vicissitudes resolute face is drawn from the artists mother.When it comes to the United States, people will naturally think of the Statue of Liberty. She is an American icon, the sign of American culture. Statue of Liberty reflects the highest level of American culture that p

10、eople are pursuing democratic and free society. Millions of Americans regard it as a holy heart, inspiring themselves to pursue democracy, freedom and other lofty ideals. In a word, the Statue of Liberty symbolizes the pursuit of democracy in American culture, the pursuit of spiritual freedom. Barbi

11、e Doll Barbie is the best-selling fashion doll toy since 1959 in the United States , becoming popular with a forever young appearance, changing self-story and professional experience. Barbie is not only the darling in fashion industry, but also the American culture indispensable element.The design i

12、nspiration for Barbie is from a German doll named Bild LIli . Barbies creator and toy company considered it more than just a beautiful modern girl , they had been trying to shape her into a smart, independent, aggressive era of women, hoping to reflect the social development and women status progres

13、s. 2To encourage women to work in the 1960s, Barbie put on administrative suit, taking a bag with business cards, credit cards, a newspaper and a calculator. When the first human landed on the moon, Barbie soon became an astronaut. Entering e-era, clever Barbie began to send her friend an e-mail . T

14、o promote national unity , toy company has launched the Black Barbie , Latin Barbie , Japanese Barbie, China Barbie , Barbie has the endorsement of the nation as many as 45 .Barbie dolls are almost all girls and even adult women favorite doll. Barbie has become a cultural icon and has been given hon

15、ors that are rare in the toy world. In 1974, a section of Times Square in New York City was renamed Barbie Boulevard for a week. In 1985, the artist Andy Warhol created a painting of Barbie.Barbie is not an ordinary girls toy doll. She taught the women to be independent , to do their own master. As

16、the American cultural critic M.G Rhodes (M.G.Lord) written in Forever Barbie, As long as she changes a dress of her own invention, the one minute before she was still in the spotlight solo, the next minute she may become the driving spaceship pilot. Barbie is the incarnation of late capitalism, and

17、she symbolizes the American pop culture. Her image, as well as her career and life, is the goal of American girls. Therefore, in the 2001 Best Global Brands the Business Week listed the Barbie brand and commented, She is not only a doll, she is also a symbol of American society and culture. American

18、 Gothic American Gothic is a painting by Grant Wood in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Woods inspiration came from what is now known as the American Gothic House, and a decision to paint the house along with the kind of people I fancied should live in that house. The painting shows a

19、 farmer standing beside his spinster daughter. The figures were modeled by the artists sister and their dentist. The woman is dressed in a colonial print apron evoking 19th-century Americana, and the couple are in the traditional roles of men and women, the mans pitchfork symbolizing hard labor, and

20、 the flowers over the womans right shoulder suggesting domesticity.Wood entered the painting in a competition at the Art Institute of Chicago. The judges deemed it a comic valentine, but a museum patron convinced them to award the painting the bronze medal and $300 cash prize. The patron also convin

21、ced the Art Institute to buy the painting, which remains there today.3 The image soon began to be reproduced in newspapers, first by the Chicago Evening Post and then in New York, Boston, Kansas City, and Indianapolis. However, Wood received a backlash when the image finally appeared in the Cedar Ra

22、pids Gazette. Iowans were furious at their depiction as pinched, grim-faced, puritanical Bible-thumpers.9 Wood protested that he had not painted a caricature of Iowans but a depiction of his appreciation, stating I had to go to France to appreciate Iowa. Nan, apparently embarrassed at being depicted

23、 as the wife of someone twice her age, began telling people that the painting was of a man and his daughter, which Grant seems to confirm in his letter to a Mrs. Nellie Sudith in 1941.This painting maybe not so famous, but Gothic windows portrait on the old house, especially the farmer solemn expres

24、sion, as well as the long neck so that the painters wife in 1930 overnight. The painting shows the American farmers solemn pride.It is one of the most familiar images in 20th-century American art, and has been widely parodied within American popular culture. Buffalo NickelBuffalo nickel was a copper

25、-nickel five-cent piece struck by the United States Mint from 1913 to 1938. Buffalo nickel was designed in 1911 by the famous American artist James Earle Fraser. The artist also wanted to commemorate the American Bison and the Indians memorial. Buffalo nickels and Indian are on to the real prototype

26、 creation. 4The coin was designed by James Earle Fraser, a noted artist with a keen interest in native culture. His initial F appears below the date on the coin.The design depicts a realistic portrait of an American Indian on the obverse of the coin along with the word Liberty along the rim. The rev

27、erse of the coin features a magnificent buffalo and the words FIVE CENTS on a raised mound on which the buffalo stands. The coin is unique inasmuch as no other regular issue U.S. coin has ever featured an animal (other than the eagle) as a part of its main design.Buffalo nickels coin is one of many

28、of todays fans most want to collect coins.If the American Gothic vividly depicts the initial image of tan ordinary farmer in the United States, the two buffalo nickels screen reflects the well-known history of the Westward Movement in the United States ,which showed a national character. Both of the

29、m symbolize the courage of exploring and creation in the development process. Uncle SamFourteen-year-old Sam Wilson ran away from home to join his father and older brothers in the fight to liberate the American colonies from the British during the American Revolution. At age 23, he started a meatpac

30、king business and earned a reputation for being honest and hard working. During a later war in 1812, Wilson gained a position inspecting meat for US Army forces, working with a man who had signed a contract with the government to provide meat to the army. Barrels of meat supplied to the army were st

31、amped EA-US, identifying the company (EA) and country of origin (US). According to one story, when a government official visited the plant and asked about the letters, a creative employee told him US was short for Uncle Sam Wilson. Soon soldiers were saying all Army supplies were from Uncle Sam. 5Af

32、ter the war, a character called Uncle Sam began appearing in political cartoons, his form evolving from an earlier cartoon character called Brother Jonathan that was popular during the American Revolution. Uncle Sam soon replaced Brother Jonathan as Americans most popular symbol. The most enduring p

33、ortrait of Uncle Sam was created by artist James Montgomery Flag in his famous army recruiting posters of World Wars I and II. That version a tall man with white hair and a small white beard on his chin, a dark blue coat and a tall hat with stars on it was a self-portrait of flag. Americans also con

34、sidered Uncle Sam honest, hard-working spirit and patriotism as their national pride and total quality. In 1961, the U.S. Congress officially recognized Uncle Sam for America s national symbol. Conclusion American culture is unique because it is nurtured, formed and developed under certain condition

35、s, which are characteristically American. The major factors contributing to the making of this new nation and the forming of a new culture are the hard environment, ethnic diversity and plural religion, which is quite different from other nations in the world. What is more, these elements are still

36、influencing the American culture. Individualism is the core of American culture. So complex cultural backgrounds and diverse geographical conditions prerequisite core of public culture to a U.S. national solidarity culture, based on freedom, democracy, equality and political philosophy,.Therefore, t

37、he symbol of American culture, basically related to the theme of freedom, democracy, and equality. So you can see that these symbols all have their own characteristics. Through the above analysis, we can see symbols of different ethnic languages, their specific formation conditions are often not the

38、 same, and each nation has a its own unique cultural history, cultural identity, customs, mental set, ways of thinking, viewing angle, etc., getting special heritage in the specific historical background and social systems. When we study and research symbols in different culture, we can not leave it

39、s geographical, economic life, social and psychological characteristics of national history and culture. Only to seize the national characteristics, properly understanding the meaning of a national language and achieving the correct the purpose of understanding and application of them.References1. B

40、ell, James B. Statue of Liberty National Monument. Washington: National Park Service, 2007-12-31. 2. . BBC News. September 22, 2006. 3. Fineman, Mia, Slate. The Most Famous Farm Couple in the World: Why American Gothic Still Fascinates. New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, June 8, 20054. Atlanta. A Guide Book of Buffalo and Jefferson Nickels. New York City: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 20075. Morgan. An American icon: Brother Jonathan and American identity. Newark, Delaware: Winifred University of Delaware Press, 1988