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I have read a lot of posts here on C-D over the years. One of the main things I see in some people's post is that some cities have "no culture." It's mainly said about the South and Midwest outside of Chicago and Minneapolis while a lot of people praise the Coasts as beacon of culture. I take that back Southern culture does get some praise. So, what does it mean when people that certain cities have no culture? Arts, beaches, nightlife, politics, economy, entertainment? Let me know.
I’ve never heard of anyone saying that Detroit has no culture. If anything, it has strong cultural institutions and a very strong brand, definitely more so than Minneapolis.
Why does the question of what you think illicit responses about how other people are wrong in their opinion. Why do people need to prove that only their opinion is valid?
I can understand if some places are not tooting their horns the loudest (looking at you Houston) but it's just weird to me that people go somewhere else and because it does things differently they label the place cultureless.
Everywhere has their own style, it's just that some places Market that better than elsewhere. I mean, Vegas doesn't own a copyright on sin, they just do it better than most
When someone says a city has "no culture" they generally actually mean one of the items below:
1) they've never been to the city
2) they've been to the city, but spent most of their time visiting Target/Starbucks/Olive Garden and not really anything that would hint at the city's culture
3) they were in the city for a day or two, not really enough time to really discover the culture
4) they have an agenda to pump up their own city, need another city to serve as a punching bag to make themselves feel better
5) they claim they've spent a lot of time in the city, but 1, 2, 3, or 4 are true
I’ve never heard of anyone saying that Detroit has no culture. If anything, it has strong cultural institutions and a very strong brand, definitely more so than Minneapolis.
Seriously. Ive heard people (incorrectly) say MSP has no culture but Ive never heard that about Detroit.
No culture means a lack of localism sometimes for a certain city or metro area.
I wouldn't necessarily think it would mean a lack of cultural amenities.
No culture would also mean no notable/recognizable cultural institutions, no unique ways of doing things compared to other regions, cities, or states, lack of individualism/more generic group think and subdued or even lack passion (good or bad) for one's hometown or state. Maybe even lack of lingual quirks or no discernable accents could also count as no culture. I've also noted that an overdependence on chains and less so on smaller localized businesses could also count as no culture to some people. Lack of a good exportable brand via big media (movies, tv shows, etc) sometimes gives people the perception that a certain city or region might not have a culture. Other times, it's usually the celebrities from these areas who are poor at exporting that local culture and make little to no mention of where they came from.
Finally, I think an overflow of transplants (especially for cities, regions, or states who didn't have that much of a strong local/regional culture as a base in the first place) ultimately counts as having no culture to some people.
It simply means that they do not appreciate or recognize the culture that they encountered at the particular city. Every place of any size or age has its own culture. Perhaps new suburban communities have not developed anything distinct or have ownership of their own culture (yet) but over time it will likely develop.
I’ve never heard of anyone saying that Detroit has no culture. If anything, it has strong cultural institutions and a very strong brand, definitely more so than Minneapolis.
The culture in Detroit to me consists of the beautiful Art Deco architecture like the Fisher building. Also, the urban exploration opportunities attribute to Detroit's culture to me.
But in general, a lack of culture in a city usually means: a lack of a historic downtown, a lack of museums and theaters, a lack of an educated population, a strong level of sub-urbanization with McMansions, sprawl in general, highways all through the city, a lack of manners, a lack of healthy, well dressed citizens, a lack of a food culture, the pickup truck culture or even a car oriented way of life in general, many strip malls with nail saloons and fast food chains, many big box stores, many streets full of (used) car dealers, there being many hoods, high crime levels, etc.
It all depends on the person. If it's someone from NYC for instance who isn't cultured themselves, that I might dismiss it as arrogance.
If it's a statement made from someone I trust/has traveled a lot, or a statement that I keep seeing over and over, it's starts to hold more weight.
Let's face it, we can't pretend that all cities have an equal amount of culture. In general when I hear that statement, it inferrs the city lacks an identity separate from other cities, and lacks unique things to do/nature.
Some cities, while very liveable, lack discernable attributes from other cities.
I also think to myself, if I hosted out of town visitors, what would I show them about my city?
It's not a matter of a city lacking a distinct personality, it is a matter of you not perceiving it.
Which goes back to marketing.
Someone may visit the sunbelt and say most of the cities are all the same, while others may have a completely different view.
I like visiting small towns when I travel abroad. Most of them don't stand out as having unique culture, but I can steal detect culture even though it is the same as the 10 other small cities I visited.
Some places just Pre-package the culture for you, in others you need to be proactive and find out for yourself.
Yes, some places have more culture than others, but there are no cities with no culture. That just stupid
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