AMERICAN CULTURE AND SOCIETY文档文档.ppt

American Recreation Recreational Sports: Tennis, Jogging and Running, Skiing, Swimming Fitness Centers, Gyms, Weight Lifting and Swimming Pools Special Marathons Cultural Activities: Films, concerts, theater, museums Hobbies: Do-it-Yourself (DIY), crafts, etc. Leisure Travel Camping and Hiking, Bicycling * Health and Fitness Americans increasingly overweight as a result of 1. Plentiful and Fattening Foods 2. Sedentary Lifestyle—Most work is on computers and meetings and not physical; most Americans have cars and walk little; Leisure time is dominated by Television”Couch Potatoes.” Americans increasingly turn to Diets and Exercise centers to fight the “Battle of the Bulge.” Many criticize Fast Food, such as McDonald’s and KFC for fattening contents. Fashion Ideals: As Americans have grown fatter the media ideals of women’s beauty have emphasized slimmer and slimmer body types. * Impact of Television 98% of homes have TV, with 60% with cable and satellite connections Many homes have 100-200 channels to select from, plus online video The average American family watches over 6 hours of television each day Many worry that “channel surfing” lessens attention spans Criticism is made of violence and sex on television, and domination by commercials and money culture Public/Non-commercial telvision is small-scale alternative “Dumbing-down” criticized as educated persons use alternative media * Chapter 11—The Changing American Family Modern Family Structure—Divergence from the Nuclear Family Ideal: 1950: 70% of American Families were traditionalmale breadwinner, wife at home and many children living at home. 2000: Only 8% of families are traditional, with, working husband, homemaker wife and children at home 18%--Both parents working with children at home 30%--Married couples without children at home 8%--Single Parents with Children at home 11%--Unmarried couples and others living together 25%Single persons living alone * Family Patterns 1940—Only 14% of wives work outsid