|
I'll take the example of Texas, where I lived in the early 80s and again for most of this decade. It's got its own symbolism (yes, you can even buy tortilla chips in the shape of Texas), and it's own history. 1821 replaces 1620, Austin replaces John Smith, Houston replaces Washington. Archetecture is very regional, with very distinctive limestone and tin roof looks that even integrate themselves into the skylines of the cities. The art is completely different, with a very Texan landscape painting style as unique as the old western artists or the Hudson River School. They even have chains of jewelry stores unique to the region.
Texans talk differently too. Sure, there's dialects, sayings, and mannerisms, but deeper than that is the way Texans relate opinions and emotions. It's very much like the episode of Star Trek where some planet's people talked in mythical phrases and alliterations. Texans really do talk like John Wayne, many of them (I'm not kidding) have his picture on the wall, like my grandfather had a picture of the pope. They convey meaning in vague posturing phrases. That's what drove a lot of Northerners nuts about Bush. I, Carpetbagger, saw through the guy, having as the name implies a long history of feeling like a sojourner in the South, but at least I understood what he was saying, even when he and I knew it to be bluster with a hidden meaning. It's odd, but it's at least as effective as other regional means of communication.
I thought Texas to be as unique a North American culture as Canada. I explained it to people when I moved there this way: once you understand you're living in a foreign country, the resemblences to the U.S. is remarkable, about half of the chain stores are the same, the form of government is somewhat familiar, and 3/4 of the people speak English as a first language. (The last point brings up a more complex topic of why nobody understood Bush's "softness" on immigration. Texas has a different attitude towards this).
And the music's different, too. I'm not talking about regional music as sources of similarly influenced bands, I'm saying there's whole genres of music, Western, Tejano, Rockabilly, that exist nowhere else. Listen to alternative in Seattle, Chicago, Jacksonville, and Baltimore, it's the same. Listen to alternative in Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas, it's completely different.
Viva Terlingua
|