The idea of "cultural appropriation" has recently entered mainstream debates about the ways in which African cultural creations are used, borrowed and imitated by others. In the writing of Calvin Trillin, John McPhee, Neil Sheehan, and Truman Capote, all among Lieblings and Mitchells successors at The New Yorker, this new form continued to seek a tone of subdued and even amused understatement. Each group had a sense of uncertainty, mixed emotions, and stifled aspirations that lent a questioning counterpoint to the general chorus of affirmation in American life. Most of these customs stem from Europe. But in fact cultures have borrowed from other cultures throughout history. They'll be very aware if there's no shade. : New York, 1992. Many people thought that the control of culture had passed into the hands of advertisers, people who used the means of a common culture just to make a buck. In more traditional ceremonies, the bride's father walks her down the aisle, while in modern ceremonies, both parents do the honors. The Shifting Cultural Role of Clothes - New Lines Magazine If American religious and ethical traditions come almost wholly from Christian and Jewish sources (combining, of course, those classical ideas which were incorporated into Christian and Western civilization), American social traditions are derived chiefly from British tradition. The Shifting Cultural Role of Clothes. Harping on the obvious, Pells falls victim to intellectual misdirections that dont persuade the reader, for several reasons. American culture: Traditions and customs of the United States There is no official language of the United States, according to the U.S. government (opens in new tab). Western culture does not describe any specific group or belief, but instead it describes tendencies within cultural thought and practices, tendencies which favor the plight of the individual rather than the collective. In fact, the concept was lifted wholesale from the British. Just as cultures from around the world have influenced American culture, today American culture influences the world.