It is a very strange thing to see the “we are as we tell you” and not “we are as you see us” outreach to communicate culture. American culture, above most other

It is a very strange thing to see the “we are as we tell you” and not “we are as you see us” outreach to communicate culture. American culture, above most others, is very wide spread in its reach. Whether it is movies from Hollywood, TV shows and reality show formats, music, food in the form of burger and pizza chains, the jeans and sneaker attire, language (including Americanized pronunciation), gadgets (iPhone and the like), online services (with China being a slight outlier – just slight, as many local services are heavily influenced by the American ones) like facebook, twitter or even GPS and Google Maps there are very few aspects untouched by American culture. Deliberate attempts to communicate culture from any country tend to, in my view, focus on the high-brow interpretation of culture. This is true of other countries when they try to portray their culture too – easily visible in opening ceremonies of major sporting events. I imagine that such portrayals are important but do they move the needle in how a country is perceived or how others understand its culture? Hardly.