Cultura angloamericana

Culture and flags of USA and Canada

Flags, why?

• USA: 50 states (stars), 13 colonies obtained independence from Britain (1776). There are 27 different versions of the USA flag. The USA flag is sometimes referred to as Old Glory, Stars and Stripes.
• Canada: at the centre of the flag we have a red, 11-pointed, maple leaf. Maple as emblem of Canada because there are huge forests of maple. The Canada flag is sometimes referred to as L’Unifolié Maple Leaf Flag or in French. Canada consists of 3 territories and 10 provinces.

Anthems

• For the USA, the national anthem is “The Star-Spangled Banner” (la banidera adorna di stelle) poem “The Defence of Fort McHenry” by Francis Scott Key (1864). This anthem became official in 1911.
• “O Canada” is the title of the national anthem in Canada. It was originally written in French by Adolphe-Basile Routhier in 1880 and translated into English by Robert Stanley Weir in 1908. The 2 official languages in Canada are French and English, because colonizers were originally mainly English and French. This means that throughout history there had been contacts between English and French colonizers in order to obtain political, economical power in Canada.

Geographies

The United States is a very huge country with a very huge number of inhabitants, while Canada is a huge country, in which we have a small number of inhabitants: more than 37 million. Italy is much smaller in size but has more inhabitants. Are Canada and USA different in surface? Surfaces are more or less the same but the number of inhabitants is different: in fact, there are fewer inhabitants in Canada. It is really close to the North Pole and winters are very cold, so the climate is very hostile. The situation is different in the United States.

We have the Atlantic Ocean on the eastern side, and the Pacific Ocean on the western side. The colonizers, starting from the XV century, arrived from the eastern side from the Atlantic Ocean so that there are more people in this area. The capital of Canada is Ottawa, while the capital of USA is Washington D.C. Toronto and Vancouver are the most important cities in Canada, especially from an economical point of view. Nowadays, we can say that Toronto is the most important city in Canada, both from an economical and cultural point of view. On the other hand, in the USA the cultural centre is New York: it is the capital of theatre. When we talk about cinema we have to know that the capital is Los Angeles.

History and discoveries

Is it correct to say that America was discovered? The idea is that a European (a subject) discovered America (an object). This idea from a politically point of view is not correct because it gives us the idea that America didn’t have a right to exist before Europeans “discovered” it. America had a lot of cultures before the coming of colonizers, who destroyed them. America has been discovered by Europe, but it is not a univocal fact, because America had a variety of cultures living there. È una prospettiva eurocentrica. Il 12 ottobre 1492 è la data che segna l’inizio dell’età moderna, quindi questo ci fa capire quanto sia importante questo evento.

Ultimamente, però, è stato scoperto che Cristoforo Colombo non è stato il primo a sopraggiungere in America. Delle ricerche storiche hanno messo in evidenza come, già all’inizio del Quattrocento, delle persone dalla carnagione olivastra (forse indios) fossero state portate in Spagna dalle Americhe. Anche le presenza dei pomodori per noi importati dall’America – consumati prima del 1492 fa pensare che fossero già state condotte delle esplorazioni.

Torniamo indietro nel tempo fino al medioevo, ai vichinghi: popolazioni scandinave. Ci sono delle prove che ci furono delle esplorazioni vichinghe già dall’anno mille, perché furono scoperti insediamenti con delle pietre che richiamano creazioni dei vichinghi per monumenti funebri e religiosi. Quindi, sarebbero stati gli scandinavi i vichinghi ad arrivare per primi in America. There are evidence accerting that a boat arrived in America around the X century.

Conclusione: la popolazione americana, così come la conosciamo oggi, è una commistione tra l’elemento autoctono pre-esistente e una colonizzazione in gran parte proveniente dall’Europa, almeno in prima battuta. Quando la colonizzazione si è espansa, l’elemento autoctono è andato scomparendo: popolazioni decimate e la loro cultura soppressa. Ultimamente è invece stato riscoperto l’interesse per la cultura autoctona. There are also the “Japanese Canadian”, because the colonizers went from the Atlantic Ocean. È una popolazione molto vasta.

Dopo la colonizzazione, da 250/500 anni, sono state avviate delle politiche di immigrazione. Utilizziamo la metafora del “Melting pot” per parlare della politica d’immigrazione statunitense, perché è sempre stata quella di amalgamare le diversità, quindi portare il diverso in un unicum. Diversities are merged into a single melting pot. Il modello culturale americano è mainstream. Cosa intendiamo quando parliamo di globalizzazione? Globalization is a key word of the current life. La cultura degli stati uniti si è espansa nel mondo e ha portato con sé non solo aspetti culturali, ma anche commerciali.

La politica d’immigrazione canadese è invece totalmente contraria, e descritta attraverso la metafora del “Mosaic”. Il mosaico è composto da diverse tessere, separate le une dalle altre, ma che insieme formano un disegno armonico. La politica canadese infatti non ha tentato di amalgamare, ma di preservare. Sono stati forniti ai canadesi i mezzi politici ed economici perché fosse così possibile preservare la loro cultura. A partire dagli anni ’70 il governo canadese ha permesso di avere delle “case della cultura”, ad esempio le case degli italo-candesi. Qui gli italiani hanno la possibilità di pubblicare, gratuitamente, e ricevere premi letterari. Il governo, utilizzando finanziamenti, ha quindi fatto sì che preservassero la loro cultura, ma garantendo comunque la convivenza con gli altri.

Politics: USA

Gli stati uniti dal punto di vista istituzionale sono una repubblica costituzionale, federale e presidenziale.

• Federale perché gli usa sono una federazione di stati: infatti, per riferirci a Colorado, Washington DC o Texas, non parliamo di regioni ma di Stati. Esiste un potere centralizzante, che è il potere federale, che è un potere centripeto: dà l’unità alla nazione federale. Poi ci sono quei poteri centripeti: come delegati ai vari stati.
• Presidenziale perché il presidente non è solo il capo dello stato, ma il capo del governo, cioè detiene il potere esecutivo.
• Costituzionale perché basata su una costituzione.
• Repubblica perché è una democrazia.

Il presidente attuale è Donald Trump, il vice-presidente è Mike Pence. The president is head of Federal State and Government. Passiamo alla divisione dei poteri. La tripartizione dei poteri è un prodotto della mentalità illuministica: durante l’illuminismo, i grandi pensatori francesi – Montesquieu, Voltaire, Rousseau ecc si sono occupati anche di politica. The division of power in branches comes from enlightenment intellectuals, such as Montesquieu, Voltaire, Rousseau ecc.

• Legislative power: in America è detenuto dalle due camere del congresso. 2 chambers of congress (senate and house of representatives).
• Executive power: headed by the president.
• Judicial branch: supreme court and lower federal courts.

Le maggiori divisioni territoriali in America sono: counties, municipalities and special districts. There are two parties in USA: democratic party, which is a more progressive party fighting for civil rights, and republican party, which is the more conservative. Obama tried to create a public health system, which is inexistent in the USA. Health system is only for rich people or for the ones that can afford it.

How were USA born?

On July 4th 1776 a number of politicians, scientists ecc created an univocal document: it is the declaration of independence. It is a univocal document, which means that the colonies declared themselves independent, clarifying that America kept exploiting them. It is the first manifesto known in Western world claiming for equality, freedom and right to pursue happiness. These 3 principles are very important because they’re gonna be the principle of the democratic system. L’illuminismo è il terreno fertile per le rivoluzioni del settecento, compresa la dichiarazione d’indipendenza Americana, che è un prodotto della mentalità illuminista. The war of independence is a product of enlightenment. Equality, freedom, and happiness are the three principles of America.

The first president of the US is Thomas Jefferson: he was a journalist, scientist, politician. Benjamin Franklin was a scientist, inventor and politician too. They were the authors of the first American manifesto. George III of Hanover was the British king during the war of independence. The context for the declaration, from a theoretical point of view, was enlightenment, but from a practical point of view it was the American revolution (or American war of independence 1765-1783). It is a very long process, it took 18 years to finalize, but it doesn’t mean that they were 18 years of war. There were conflicts between the colonies and Britain, there were also degrees, riots. The American revolution is more a process than a war. The final act was inaugurated by Boston Tea Party (16 December 1773). The full process ended up with a victory on the part of the colonies, which obtained independence. In 1789 George Washington became the first president of the USA.

Canadian bacon

It is a satirical comedy film. Canadian bacon made from pork loin is slightly different from US bacon, which is made from the pork belly. Canadian bacon has a more delicate taste, is lighter, but from an outer side maybe you cannot see the difference. In both cases, they are cured (stagionati). It is used as a metaphor to show the difference between the USA and Canada in the film directed by Michael Moore entitled “Canadian bacon”. The metaphor is used to make people understand that, though these two countries are very close (they speak the same language), if they are apparently the same, they’re not. The film satirizes the relationship between USA and Canada by telling a crazy story. The president of USA is going down in popularity, so he starts a war. The war is all based on a misunderstanding.

Politics: Canada

Canada is a constitutional monarchy, where the Queen of England, Elizabeth II, is the head of the State. Canada uses the federal system of parliamentary democracy, so the queen is represented by the Governor General: Julie Payette. Canada is a constitutional monarchy only from a formal point of view. The Canadian provinces have less local power than the American provinces. In Italia si ha la prefettura, parallelamente il rappresentante della regina Elisabetta (Governor General) può essere considerato come prefetto.

• Legislative power: bicameral Parliament of Canada (Senate and House of Commons).
• Executive power: Cabinet, committee of Ministers of the Crown, head by the Prime Minister (Justin Trudeau).
• Judicial power: Supreme Court of Canada.

We have 2 main parties in Canada: the liberal party and the conservative party. There are no big differences between the two. In additional some new parties (small) were born recently: the New Democratic Party, the Quebec National Party and the Green Party. Anyway, the two main parties are still the liberal and the conservative party.

How was Canada born?

1st July 1867: the British Nord America Act became law and the Dominion of Canada (provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec) was born. The confederation is a name given to a process which brought about the creation of the Dominion. Canadian history has always been characterized by contrast between French-speaking and English-speaking colonizers. Culturally speaking, the process of creation of a nation started with the confederation, but continued for about 10 years to culminate in the so-called Canadian Renaissance (19870s). What about American Renaissance? It is a really golden period in America.

Keywords and stereotypes

They are a starting point to talk about the US and Canada. A stereotype is a cliché, which means a sort of simplified version of reality, which might or might not be true. Truism = (luogo commune) a generalization of what is true. We create stereotypes to simplify reality, but also in order to respond to the situation. Stereotypes can be useful because can protect us from dangerous situations, but can be also a simplified generalization. Stereotypes are often racial discriminations. In many cases they are negative, but they can be useful, because they give us an easy way to understand reality. We need to use critical thought in order to not create truism.

• Peacekeeping: peace enforcement when an army goes to a nation/state where there’s a conflict, sometimes it might be necessary to use weapons to obtain a situation of peace. Peacekeeping, on the other hand, is the act of maintaining peace. Peacekeeping applies more to Canada, because it has a tradition in this field and Canadian policy is peace-oriented (it is a principle declared in the constitution). Canada has a long tradition of peacekeeping.
• Going West: the slow process of discovery of American territories, starting from Eastern States, the states closer to the Atlantic Ocean. But when I say “going west” in America, another thing comes to my mind too: the miners looking for gold. In particular, in the second half of the 19th century, when many gold miners were moving west-forward to find gold.
• Gold rush: gold miners were looking for gold, and this is called gold rush.
• American dream: the going-west is not caused by the economical necessity, but it’s a movement caused by ideal reasons. The American dream is a positive tension to the discovery: L’idea è quella di uscire dal proprio territorio, scoprire terre diverse per migliorarsi.
• Mosaic: Canadian cultural policy, to value the differences to create a national unity.
• Melting pot: American cultural policy, to eliminate the differences to create national unity.
• City upon a hill: is linked to first colonizers. They were mainly puritans, because of political reasons decided to emigrate to America to obtain freedom and especially religious freedom. So when they emigrated to America the idea was to create a new sacred city, just alike a new Jerusalem (like Jewish people), which would be a city upon a hill. This is the idea of puritanical immigration in the US. Puritan tension to create the city upon a hill is a vertical tension. This imagery is reflected in the idea of a vertical city (ex. New York is opposite to Los Angeles, which is a horizontal city).
• Garrison mentality: it’s related to Canadian literature. It’s basically a keyword of Canadian culture. It’s a military term that has to do with a military legion or group, living in a hostile land, maybe a colonized land and they build up a sort of citadel. They stay here, they’re self-sufficient, they have all that is needed to survive. So garrison mentality means to survive against the outer reality. È una mentalità da guarnigione, dei primi colonizzatori, che dovevano sopravvivere in Canada (clima avverso, nuovo mondo). This military concept is taken in literature.
• Stage yankee: it’s the pragmatic, common/ordinary, self-made (find his own way in every situation) man. But he’s not educated, he lives in reality and praticità. In American theatre we have the figure of stage yankee man. There are literacy examples in which the stage yankee man (Americans, because stage yankee is associated with US imagery) is compared with the European man. He is the true American man, who is not very leaned but has a lot of practical knowledge. He is innocent because he hasn’t been spoiled by culture, so he can see the truthfulness of things before other people. This kind of character is present both in theatre and in literature.
• Tall tales: it literally means “storie alte” (high stories), which means exaggerated stories. Prendevano spunto da eventi reali, ma venivano esagerate per creare l’attenzione dello spettatore. They are the starting point for American way to write and tell stories, in particular short stories and novels: the starting point for a very important literacy genre. When we talk about tall tales we are mainly talking about American culture. Yankees or common people, in particular gold miners, were accustomed to meeting in saloons in small groups. In these circumstances they would tell each other stories, in the sense of episodes, which happened to them during the day. In these circumstances, these people would exaggerate situations just to impress the listeners or to make them laugh because these were moments of rest and distraction. Why are tall tales so important in US culture? Because the US has a long tradition of short stories. Short stories also exist in European and Canadian literature, but they have a particular importance in America: why? Because it stands from tall tales, so from this habit to tell each other stories, which couldn’t be very long.
• Royal Mounted Police: it is police connected to Canada, and they are what we call “giubbe rosse”. Polizia a cavallo con un’uniforme caratteristica la cui parte superiore è di colore rosso. It is called “royal mounted police” because it used to depend directly.