Last weekend, when I was visiting Budapest with my study abroad program, I was reunited with one of my favorite snacks in the U.S.: the Burger King fish fillet sandwich, known as the Fish King in Hungary. It occurred to me, however, that it was a bit odd that I still can find such delicacies so far away from home. Although I hadn’t seen this specific sandwich available anywhere else in Europe I’ve traveled this semester, I had still seen plenty of different American brands both while traveling and in Prague, where I’ve lived.
Everywhere I have traveled this semester, there has never been a McDonald’s, KFC or Subway too far away. There’s even a TGI Friday’s in the middle of Prague, right off one of the two main squares in the city. Now, I love pieces of flair just as much as anyone, but it is a little ridiculous that such a kitschy, American establishment should take root in the Czech Republic.
Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised by all of this. It is true that now, more than ever, the world is shrinking in size every day, thanks to international travel and communications. I found out here that my house won the Burmeister in St. Louis only hours after it actually happened, information that would have taken weeks here to get a few decades ago. But it’s more than just the development of global economics and communications. There’s a strong American feel to a lot of this expansion, from politics to business, and especially in culture.
This flood of American brand names everywhere isn’t just globalization; it’s “Coca-colonization,” as my one of my professors this semester put it. America is leading this capitalist wave full force, and exports both its products and entertainment with an energy and efficiency that no other country comes close to rivaling. Britney Spears and Eminem are known pop culture commodities here in Europe; the day I arrived in Prague, the main news story was that Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston were splitting up. In contrast, Americans are pretty much clueless about any actors, musicians or celebrities that aren’t from the U.S. This doesn’t necessarily exclusively suggest American international ignorance, but speaks to the prevalence of American pop culture around the world.
It’s particularly interesting to see how this flood of action movies and Happy Meals affects the Czech Republic and its citizens. Czechs are a unique people. According to another professor of mine, they have the highest divorce rate in the EU, they’re the fattest nation in the EU, they’re the most cynical nation in the EU (based on the percentage of the population who thinks things will be better in 10 years), and, just for good measure, they’re also the most atheistic country in the EU. All of this combined means that interacting with Czechs isn’t exactly an easy thing. Czechs generally just want to be left alone to mind their own business, and any intrusions are unwanted, especially in the form of American students or tourists. The truth of the matter is if I were under this sort of cultural invasion, I would be a little resentful as well.
I also can’t help being curious what it was like here fifteen years ago, before the sweeping arrival of capitalism shook up the former Czechoslovakia. I understand that the Communist system wasn’t functioning, and that changes were needed for the general welfare of the country. But it would have been interesting to see something so different, rather than a place that’s still very different but also still has a lot of what I would have liked to have left behind for a semester. It’s not as if there are people (or countries) to blame for this trend; all of it has occurred fairly organically, and part of capitalism involves this sort of marketing and expansion. It is, however, worth being aware that this sort of inadvertent cultural clash is going on. That being said, I am looking forward to coming home next month and being able to have those delicious BK fish fillets whenever I want.
I’m also looking forward to next year in St. Louis, partly because I’ll still have a regular column in this section and will also be serving on Forum’s editorial board. If there are any comments or suggestions that you have regarding either this column or section, I’d love to hear from you; you can reach me at [email protected]. Thanks for reading, and see you all next year.