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WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 11: Richard Carlisle, a veteran of the Vietnam War, salutes during the playing of the national anthem with his dog Checkers during Veterans Day ceremonies at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial November 11, 2011 in Washington, DC. Veterans Day in the United States honors those who have served in the nation's military and also coincides with the anniversary of the conclusion of hostilities on the western front in World War I. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 08: U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) (L) and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard hold a joint news conference in the Russell Senate Building on Capitol Hill March 8, 2011 in Washington, DC. McCain and Gillard dedicated a photo exhibit, 'Enduring Bond: 60 Years of ANZUS,' to mark the 60th anniversary of the Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty (ANZUS). The exhibit features 60 images spanning the Great White Fleet, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

meaning the blending of many cultures, languages, and religions to form a single national identity. However, those cultures quickly spread to the whole world and everybody started to know almost everything about the culture of the “New world” as it was known before.

We can divide the American culture into three broad stages; the first stage starts from the colonial times until the civil war. In this period American art, architecture, music, literature, and fashion were strongly influenced by European ideas, traditions and trends. The second stage is from the civil war until around the First World War in which writers, architects, and painters of the 19^th century still considered themselves as part of the European tradition; yet by this second stage America had developed a cultural style of her own. The third stage is marked by an American creativity in all Areas by a growing international influence and by a steady self-confidence. In brief, America influences the world and is influenced by the world.

As history moves on, especially in “capitalist societies” in the United States cultural items became even more popularized. The resulting mass production and distribution are not just of art itself but of its creators and performers who are icons of culture. And when we talk about the popular culture in USA, we can state the music, films, media, theater, fashion and so on…

The music of the US reflects the culture’s ethnic population through diverse styles. Some of the country’s most international genres are: Hip hop, blues, country, jazz, pop, techno, and rock and roll. The US has the world’s largest music industry and its music is heard around the world.

Hollywood, the American film industry, dominates the world’s media market. It’s like an open door that when you get in to it, you start to know all about the American fashion, customs, traditions, and way of life. However, America is using the mass-media in order to spread its culture and dominate the world by what they call: Americanization or even globalization. This strategy is actually damaging other countries’ cultures and causing some of them to disappear. At the same time, Americans reject the idea that US popular culture is a threat to foreign cultures. In October 1999 PIPA asked, “How much of a threat, if at all, do you think American popular culture, such as music, television and films, is to the cultures of other countries in the world?” Just 24% of the people said American popular culture was a “very serious matter”, while 35% considered it only a minor threat and about (41%) said it was not a threat at all.