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Panamanians and American Culture

I don’t know what it is about Panamanians and our obsession with American culture but it’s so embedded in our society that at this point in time there is no way to escape it: a very good friend of mine who had been away for 3 years and recently came back just a few days ago is a testament to this. He said that in the few days he’s been here he’s managed to come to the conclusion that Panama is slowly but surely making its way into becoming a little U.S. I’m inclined to believe him… in many ways our geographical position lends itself to be the hub of commerce and business that we are and to make the place attractive to tourists is not a bad thing but if we’re going to become a viable tourist alternative to the bigger, more-modernized countries (or should I say country) up north I don’t think we should lose our identity in the process. This is a small country and on top of that we’re obsessed with American culture, so much that we’ve gone to emulate them in many respects. That’s all fine and dandy I suppose, but the problem begins when we as Panamanians begin to forget what’s so great about Panama in the first place…

Panamanians do not consume much of what’s made nationally and I mean that on all fronts: foods, music, art, literature and the list goes on and on. The only reason why people consume national food is because it’s the cheapest… not to take away the credit from Panamanian cuisine because our food is great. High on oils and grease though: we eat a lot of friend dishes so get used to it if you come down. Anyway, things from Panama, specially when it comes to art are rarely supported because the notion exists that anything American made is better. I’ll give you an example of this: I’m an Asian film buff. I buy import DVDs all the time and have recently tried to make my friends watch some of them to “broaden their horizons:” this time around I started with Stephen Chow’s “God of Cookery,” which is the movie legend’s most on-point, crazy and funny flick on his entire body of work, and this other one called “Versus” which I had head good things. Before we put “God of Cookery” on, someone was surfing the channels when they ran into Jet Li’s “Romeo Must Die” on one of the channels and Bounceddog made a comment about who would win a fight between Jackie Chan and Jet Li… the people there were making their arguments and the conversation was good until I decided to put in my two cents and say that Tony Jaa would beat both their asses to the ground. Bounceddog asked me who the hell Tony Jaa was and I reminded him that we saw both of his movies: “Ong Bak” and “Tom Yum Goong.” He referred to them as those “crazy chinese movies” and dismissed Tony Jaa, saying he didn’t think he would beat Jet Li in a fight. He’s wrong about that but that’s besides the point: I think that Jet Li and Jackie Chan are both given more credibility since they’ve made American movies (which, in both cases, are turds compared to their bodies of work done in Asia) and since they’re in a familiar language and have hip-hop on it or whatever they’re considered awesome. Now, both of these martial artists have exceptional skill and prowess, but most of their american films are crap compared to what they do on the other side of the globe! But why does it happen? Since America has accepted both Jet Li and Jackie Chan, their movies are regarded as amazing. Do yourself a favor: go to your favorite video rental store and rent “ONG BAK: Muay Thai Warrior” and after it tell me Tony Jaa wouldn’t hand the other two their asses. The did all of his own stunts without the help of wires or other enhancements. Remember that as you see the first action sequence.

Not enough people support the local art scene (by that I mean books, film, music and the like) because they’d rather listen to the latest track hitting up the Billboard charts or the latest New York Times Bestseller and that’s a damn shame because we’ve got some awesome talent brewing on all fronts but Panamanians are quick to dismiss local talent just because they don’t come from the outside. That mentality of “It’s better because it wasn’t made here” is ridiculous and mean-spirited, and rather moronic. Sure, I cringe whenever I see a girl singing frantically to Os Almarantes but that’s not because the band is Panamanian; I cringe because the band sucks dingleberries. I’m a Señor Loop whore; I love the band and would like to know who I’d have to kill for them play live someplace. You’re either good or bad and nationalism has nothing to do with it. Now most new places have bilingual menus and people that tend to the customer and whatever else is necessary in order for the tourist to have a good and pleasant stay, but the prejudice and misconception are rampant. We’re losing our identity because we’re not content with our customs or talent and therefore do not support it. We sure love the gringos though!

I think it’s because of the military rule we’ve enjoyed for most of our first 100 years as a “sovereign” country that we want to be a copy of them for our future. The United States has always been a part of our history and it’s a very emotional subject for people, polarizing the crew into 2 sides with radically different opinions about Americans. Popular culture, which is already powerful by itself, is followed closely by Panamanians since they’ve always wanted to look better than what they do now in many aspects, they emulate American culture (or at least try to by taking what they can and applying it to themselves with lukewarm results) in order to feel hipper and cooler. We’re adopting the American taxi cab system, everyone outside of the formerly BLOCKED Canal Zone wants to live there because the Americans used to live in here and it was cleaner and what not. Whenever there’s an event announced on the radio I always hear the bilingual speak there’s just so much more to it that I won’t get into because It’ll just get a rise out of me and I’m very sleepy.

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