Why we Love America, but do we?

When I think of America there are two moments in my life that come to mind. One is when I was in high school in Sardinia, and after my mate had spent a whole year of cultural exchange in the US, she used to tell us about her school and her life in America. But one thing that I really remember is that one day she said to me “The President of the United States is for Americans like a father. They blindly trust him, and they believe he would not, ever betray them.” I was still very young and maybe only studying modern history at school, but I could tell already that as a nation, Italy could not share that feeling. I felt envious of this faith. I wanted to think I was looked after and I was not going to worry about my future. This experience showed me for the first time the beauty of patriotism: a feeling that makes you love your home country, which unfortunately is felt in some nations only for the Football World Cup.

The other moment, much more recent, was when a very dear cousin came back from a trip to New York and said to me that “New York is a perfect city for women. You should see the look in women’s eyes when they are showing off their best dress, during an evening out with their friends.” He was not talking about clothes or make up or distinctive cocktail bars. He was talking about a feeling, the feeling of freedom. So it is not a Sex & the City invention: the city really does make you feel like you’re in a paradise for women. Cheap designer clothes, mundane activity, busy lives and gorgeous wardrobes. Who would not be part of it? Post feminism women are all about amazing careers and taking a huge bite out of that Big Apple.

And talking about women and their standards, American fashion can enlighten us even more. There are names that keep up with the European talents: Oscar de la Renta and his fairy tale-like evening dresses, Vera Wang and her luxurious wedding dresses, Marc Jacobs and his sleek simplicity. But it is freedom and a sense of comfort that we perceive in most collections of designers such as Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Donna Karan. They are clothes that represent a sporty, well off life-style. They represent a dynamic woman, who looks good even when she’s in her comfortable clothes; they dress women who mean business. And that’s why we love them!

American fashion is especially in the spot light since the American Vogue became the most influential fashion magazine in the world, and its editor in chief Anna Wintour - who is said to control many of the fashion moves all over the world - became a legend.

But America has also brought us several essentials we cannot do without. First and foremost comes Hollywood, the Oscars, and the whole amount of gossip and envy that comes from that. Even if you have a membership in your local independent cinema and you love Almodovar, you know how good it feels when you watch an American movie stuffing your face with American size popcorn. There were times when Europe produced incredible cinema stars, but America gave us Marilyn, Grace Kelly and Rita Hayworth. The gloss and the glamour generated by Hollywood fascinate everyone undeniably.

I remember my grandma talking about the legendary chewing gum that American soldiers brought to Italy during the Second War; my friend Rebecca, who absolutely loves all things Americana, also helps me to recall the great variety of sweets that they brought to us: “Laffy Taffy, Hersheys Kisses, Wonka Nerds, Mr Goodbar, Charleston Chews, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, the millions of flavours of M&Ms and Skittles, Tootsie Rolls, Jolly Ranchers, Mikeikes and so many others.” Sweets are not their only specialty, in America there are some of the greatest chefs in the world: Wolfgang Puck for instance inspired the celebrity chef movement all over the world; Thomas Keller has been winning awards for over ten years and is believed to be one of the top chefs in the world; and Antoine Bourdaine’s TV series No Reservation is the American version of the Ramsey and Oliver TV programmes, highly followed by British public.

However, as we all know, our far away American friends are not very famous for following a healthy diet. Food is possibly one of the most controversial subjects for America causing record numbers of obesity. They brought us fast-food culture and the idea that the package can be more attractive than the food itself. However, they have also brought us the size zero, an excessive consciousness of the feminine body form, and icons to look at as role models. The same excessiveness and overindulgence that we love about America also makes us victim of a way of thinking that before was not so common in Europe, when older generations could still remember times of struggle, and dieting was only for the poor.

Nevertheless, there are many other controversial subjects that make America not so loved, and often they come from the same conceptions we love it for. The size brings together different races and cultures, as well as all sceneries and natural environments. This astonishes visitors that can see it all in one place. But it also reveals those cases when differences are not accepted. In many states, homosexuality is not accepted in society, religions other than Christianity are not tolerated, abortion is still fught against and the death penalty is still in use. Size can also make American oblivious to the rest of the world. Many travellers come back with stories about Americans’ ignorance about general culture. Claudia, for example, tells me of her trip to Indianapolis: “The friend I visited was an au pair in 1997, and back then everyone in the household had a mobile! I was amazed.  But one day when a teenage girl asked me whether we had microwaves in Germany, I could not believe it! She also hadn’t heard of the Berlin wall, not that it had come down, or that it used to exist at all!”

Their abundance and indulgence sometimes exposes their greed. And the same kitsch culture that amuses us in movies and TV series becomes less entertaining in real life. Claudia says: “I found people quite superficial and fake, and this attitude clashed with my German/European straightforwardness. You meet someone and they are all over you, very friendly and sweet, and the European thinks ‘Oh great, I just made a new friend!’ only to never hear from them again.”

Eventually, that enviable patriotism becomes often lust for war and arrogance towards others. The US have great influence on the political decisions made by the great states of the world. And Britain in particular is often viewed as Big Brother’s little brother, following decisions that do not always depend on the willingness of people. This creates a huge dislike from the British public towards America. Sometimes we feel the paradox between the ideals of freedom and the action of conquering, the generosity of the image and the greed of the substance, and the lives of women who cannot marry men from different religions confronted constantly by the image of four glamorously dressed women who walk together, independently, on a New York pavement.