effect of american culture on indians..

[threeonethree]

so like i took part in this debate thingy in my college. that beautiful booth babe told me that my topic will be about effect of american culture on indians. she asked me if i wanted to speak in favour of the american culture or against it.. i looked in her eyes and forgot to think, then nationalism crept in and i said i want to say against american culture.i was kinda pissed why we all wear shirts/pants , why we all starve to learn english .why most of us use pirated copies of MS windows..

she wrote it down and i turned back and walked a few steps..

suddenly a thought crept in my mind as i saw a visual image of myself.. how will a guy who is wearing lee jeans, converse shoes, shirt, creative zen stone + creative ep 635(with a playlist of 400+ songs, all non indian) going to speak against american culture in a debate? i knew i will look stupid..

i turned back and told her that.i asked her to make it a positive debate and went..

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now what i want to know is , was that a good decision ? and how will i be able to defend american culture in india in front of indians without saying things like

"hey american culture is better because

1) hollywood owns bollywood, bollywood even stole its name from hollywood.

2) the game cricket most indians love isnt indian at all .. but its infact an english game and is related to american baseball..

3) american tv shows and american actors are all way cooler than rajnikanth..

4) they do not have our politicians..

5)we have a lot of things to steal(learn ) from them so we cant stop youths from copying their culture.we dont even have proper broadband like them. etc etc i can go on and on ..

so they wont boo me out of the auditorium?

your ideas on the topic? how topics should i speak about in the debate? wont "hey if that other guy spoke against american culture then why did he speak it in ENGLISH and with american clothes on?" be a good weapon against other people debating AGAINST american culture..

i also want to make a point.. does the american people stop japanese culture or any other culture to spread in their country? arent we supposed to be a democracy? isnt everybody entited to do whatever he likes and follow any culture?

looking forward to your help to win the debate and also the heart of that booth babe ;)

[confused]

i would say, india's culture lies in the past. on Discovery they said only ppl in the state of TN, are living in the present, while practicing a culture 20 centuries old. (like going to the temple, observing rituals, on a daily basis)

[xbonez]

wont "hey if that other guy spoke against american culture then why did he speak it in ENGLISH and with american clothes on?" be a good weapon against other people debating AGAINST american culture..

not a very gud decision...doesn't go down well with judges. i was once in a debate about - are school teachers better or e-learning and one guy asked me a similar que, if u say e-learning is better, why do u come to school. i shut his mouth by saying that degrees earned by e-learning aren't officialy recognised yet. as soon as they are, u can be sure i'll stop coming to school....anyways, thats besides the point. i suggest u don't use the abovementioned tactic since it seems quite underhanded and doesn't go well with the judges

[threeonethree]

so what do you advice me on doing?

[ring_wraith]

Excellent topic, but you are completely screwed if your judge(s) is not the open-minded type.

Personally, I would have spoken against the topic purely because its a lot easier to make a solid point.

[confused]

why the hell do so many people have the same user title??
[/URL]
http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum/member.php?u=43610 (http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum/member.php?u=28726)
[URL]http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum/member.php?u=43287
http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum/member.php?u=26271
(http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum/member.php?u=26271)http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum/member.php?u=28726

[ring_wraith]

Coz its the new forum default.

[The Outsider]

i'd rather not take that topic, its something i can explain to myself but not to others.

[confused]

Coz its the new forum default.:D didnt know.

[dheeraj_kumar]

+1 to the OP for choosing the topic. Talk about why you wear lee jeans, creative zen stone, ep 635, converse shoes and shirt. Talk about why you DONT wear dhotis, wear bata chappals or hawaii thingys, and a cotton shirt. Westernization has brought prosperity to the country. People have to adapt to the future.

[threeonethree]

@ outsider

but but its already chosen! and i got a weeks time!

and and i got to impress the girl! you get to share her i promise! (crosses fingers behind back ) ;)

@dheeraj ..

yeah thats one point i will explain to them.. and how about women empowerment in america? we have some powerful women like sonia gandhi and mayawati etc but generally the common women in america got more rights than ours have

[dheeraj_kumar]

Here is a suggestion - This is what I would do if I were doing this debate - Talk about how that day would have been if American culture had not affected India. But dont confuse american culture with technological advances. Like, you cant say that without americanization, people would wake up in the morning to the sound of a rooster's crow. You can still use alarm clocks, cars, and all technological stuff. The affected areas include -

1. Lifestyle
2. Food - eating out instead of homemade etc. favoring pizza for pongal, etc :)
3. market, media and advertising - like valentines day etc, talk about how its good for the ppl, this can get that cutie pie impressed mate!!! ask her after the debate how the point abt V.Day was, and then "hey, how about we celebrate next valentines day, together?]
4. music - you see music directors copying from american albums :( lol
5. movies - no explanation needed. the whole entertainment sector improved, i guess.
6. jobs - call centres, they wouldnt have existed without americanization.
7. woman's rights - thats it, you have SOME powerful women like ... but in america, they make sure EVERY WOMAN is powerful. thats the difference between their rights and ours. however, point out that womens righs in india are being improved by the westernized lifestyle we lead.
8. computers and electronics and stuff - tell them that considering india's failure as a technological mini-giant, that is, foreign companies developing/manufacturing their products here is higher in number than indian companies doing themselves. electronics may be manufactured in taiwan, japan, or anywhere else, but they became popular here only because of westernization.

more points later, ive spent enought time for this already...

[iMav]

no matter what u say in favor, but something you will need to drive across pretty clearly is that the pros outweigh the cons. Be prepared for some real bashing & dheeraj has covered up almost all that is there to it

[karmanya]

I would suggest being careful with your 5 points as a lot of holes can be poked by the opposition.In these sort of debates its very to sound un-patriotic. If i would make a couple of solid points i would make a. globalization and how modern society is an amalgamation of all cultures b. that american "culture" does not mean binge drinking and partying, and the real american culture is pretty similiar in some respects to indian culture.
d. avoid pointing out that we don't wear dhotis and stuff as it's stuff that gets repeated and judges find that boring. and be snappy with your interjection.(a teacher once told me that the point of replying to interjection is to make you sound good and make ure interjector sound like a moron for asking that question)
I wouldnt go with any of dheeraj's points except number 7. no offence dheeraj but most of them sound cliche-ey.
impress the girl by winning and by your interjection replies.

[kumarmohit]

BTW, you doing this to win the debate or impress the girl?

[confused]

AFAIK the "beautiful booth babe" played a major role in him signing up.

[threeonethree]

not really ... i went their to sign up and found the booth girl talking to me the next instant ..

and give me a few more ideas about..

1) if my opponent is speaking should i listen to him closely and let him end his point before speaking or if he is speaking something really absurd should i cut his talk short and tell him hes really wrong?

2) what should be the tone of my voice? should i be ridiculing him ? and is it a bad idea to snap if he is getting too aggressive?

3) if he has a really good point and i dont have a better point to counter it.. should i just say "i agree with your point but .. bla bla " or make up some irrevelent stuff?(that will make me look like an idiot but is it better to accept defeat?)

can you give me some tips and tactics for debates?


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also couple of points in favour of americanization that dont have any loop holes and the opponent has no answer for ? these will be my main strong points..


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what will be the most common tricks my opponents will be using against me? and most efficient way of tackling them?

(like they may say that american girls/women wear skimpy clothes and they have xxx pornography business which spoils the youth(which we dont have legally in india) etc)

[iMav]

(like they may say that american girls/women wear skimpy clothes and they have xxx pornography business which spoils the youth(which we dont have legally in india) etc)kama sutra ;) 12 year old kids know abt it :oops: INdians are scared to admit what they do behind close doors, they do it but don't want to admit it, they feel sex is taboo, Indians aren't mature enough

and for tips, see how the other person is talking, it is always better to talk less and simple in the beginning to gauge the opponent, if he is very provoking, then ridicule him by using subtle sarcasm, sarcasm works in debates. if he has a good point ignore it, no need to answer it, if he keeps on pressing on it and you have nothing good then well u will have to come up with something stupid or take up a point of yours which is related but not answered no matter how minuscule it is make it as big as possible

in the beginning let him have his say, listen closely to him, more often than not, it is the point from the opposition that you can use as leverage.

if he is getting too aggressive and is making sh!t points in aggression, go all out

Note: ur chances of winning are slim because you are gonna be talking about open mindedness in front of elders (judges i assume) which does not usually go well, but in a debate it is not what the judges think it is what the public thinks ;) u just might win a good date rather than a certi

edit: it just struck me, indians consider sex a taboo but still have the 2nd highest population, pretty indicative of the fact that we enjoy doing it but don't wanna talk about it :oops:

[karnivore]

^^ Not sure if population explosion can be linked to fondness for sex. Probably it has more to do with awareness, or rather, the lack of it.

I would suggest, that whatever points you are planning to argue on, think of the possible counterpoints as well. That will keep you a step ahead. For example, the points given by @dheeraj can be countered thus:

1. Lifestyle: Very money oriented, live-and-let-die attitude, insecurity, loneliness, etc.

2. Food: Nutrition wise better than us, probably, but taste doesn't even come close to ours. Pizza is not so much American as burger is.

3. Marketing: (Not a culture issue) Over emphasis on trivialities, extremely pushy, not always honest information.

4. Music: Does not even come close to our classical music. None of the western classical maestros are American.

5. Movies: Hollywood's greatest contribution is technology in movies but not content. French, Italian, German, Russian, Japanese and British movies are way richer in content.

6. Jobs: (Not a culture issue) If America hits recession, all call centres will go up in smoke.

7. Women's Right: Water tight argument. Don't mix it up with "Human Rights". You will be beaten to pulp on the Red Indian and Black rights issue.

8. Technology: (Not culture issue) Water tight.

Some other points can be:
Freedom of speech, respect for individual space, hard working, competitiveness etc.

But remember, no matter what you say, your opponent will have something better to say. "Better" not necessarily in the sense "right", but in the sense that they will appeal to the judges and the audience. We Indians are hypocritical lot - we love to hear about our goody-good culture.

[confused]

edit: it just struck me, indians consider sex a taboo but still have the 2nd highest population, pretty indicative of the fact that we enjoy doing it but don't wanna talk about it :oops:dont blame indians in general. we have just about average population density. look at this map (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:India_population_density_map_en.svg), you'll know who is to blame for our population. (if u dont get it, i mean the states of UP, Bihar & WB) (no offence, its a fact)

[iMav]

@ confused: i was talking in context to his debate

@karnivore: true but well wen it comes to debates, facts are meant to be twisted to suit our needs :)

@threeonethree: i would suggest you also get in touch with mediator (http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum/member.php?u=4583), he will give you some really helpful points to discuss, he is a very pro-indian person with morales, so whatever he says are the possible things that will be said by your opponent, think on them and prepare ;)

[manishjha18]

hey i think population is much more in india because of lack of electricity-
see you dont get any stuff to do after evening-u cant go out and have fun-so have sex-
only government should be blamed-
i think this applies more to villages-i am from bihar and the place where my home is life as if ceases after 7 pm.no electricity,no tv,no internet,no games,no pub--nothing at all.
so poor countries have more population-
but then this is how i feel and so u cant blame a state

[karmanya]

^^Wow, thats the stupidest thing i've read today.(keep in mind its almost 5 am and i just woke up)
@three- I would suggest you try to keep calm, keep your points concise and speak them calmly. If your opponent gets aggressive, stay calm and answer politely, though sarcasm *SUBTLY* used can get a smile or two. be careful, because too much sarcasm makes you come across as arrogant. Don't ever cut him off even if he starts same the lame **** over and over again. If he comes up with a killer point act like a defense lawyer with a client on death row- attack the nitty gritties, make the point sound stupid. stick to a few base points, listen to what your opponent says-- unfortunately you would be speaking first, so you don't really have the option to sit and counter all of your opponents points.
Just freak them out and make a great first impression on the judges, they'll score you high for that especially if you're the third or second speaker of the day (which is ideal btw)

[confused]

hey i think population is much more in india because of lack of electricity-
see you dont get any stuff to do after evening-u cant go out and have fun-so have sex-
only government should be blamed-
i think this applies more to villages-i am from bihar and the place where my home is life as if ceases after 7 pm.no electricity,no tv,no internet,no games,no pub--nothing at all.
so poor countries have more population-
but then this is how i feel and so u cant blame a statei dont know why ur saying its because of "lack of electricity".

i am of the opinion that it is due the river ganga, and the extremely abundant water supply it provides.......
(eg, look at bangladesh, another place, with infact two rivers flowing though their land, and look at their unbelievablely high pop density)

[desiibond]

hmm. I would say "It's not the american culture that we are now in, it's the american habits and way of life that is changed".

We still think like Indians, act like Indians, eat like Indians. But we only dress like Americans and we only use their stuff (which actually is Japanese/Chinese that gets into America).

The core of American culture will never ever hit Indians coz we love to be like the way we are.

[karnivore]

@karnivore: true but well wen it comes to debates, facts are meant to be twisted to suit our needs :)

@threeonethree: i would suggest you also get in touch with mediator (http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum/member.php?u=4583), ...

+1 :smile:

iMav's idea is brilliant. :D If you really want a net practice before your debate, @mediator is the way to go. Just start a thread in the Fight Club, titled, "American culture rox, our culture sux". You will find @mediator beating the crap right out of you. But more he beats the crap, more you win.:cool:

However i would suggest the following:

1. Use sarcasm in a humorous way not as ad hominem attack. :(

2. Try to separate points that are not relevant to the topic. Anytime you see your opponent is using points that are not relevant to the topic, do not try to rebut. Simply reject the points. Since this is a culture debate, invariably your opponent will bring in economic and social issues. Just reject those points. But mind you, when in tight corner, you may have to resort to making irrelevant points as well :)

3. Try to back up your points with facts and statistics. Internet is your best friend. Google around. :cool:

4. Leave room for escape. Instead of committing to all your points, leave some gray area, so that when you are bombarded, you can say, "Hey, i didn't imply only that, i also meant this" :D

Anyway, best of luck and give iMav's idea a thought. It will be like a match practice before the original match.

[gx_saurav]

Q: What is the example of effect of American Culture on indians?
A: My Ex-GF used to go for her swimming classes in a full body 1 piece suit. Now she goes in 2 piece bikinis :D

[dheeraj_kumar]

gx_saurav's willpower is directly proportional to the amount of clothes his ex-gf wears.

Ontopic, I agree that my ideas were rather cliche, after I read them once now :) I think its best to pm mediator to participate in the discussion. If anyone can argue for or against any topic, its him. :)

[praka123]

effect of american culture-it is everywhere in the world from Mongolia to the hating islamists in palestine or saudi or iraq. :-|