"We're the Kids in America"

The refrain “we’re the kids in America” echoed in the background of O.R. Tambo International Airport. During the past three weeks in South Africa I have taken note of the various cultural influences around me. In this moment I was in the International Airport watching Africans and Afrikaans walk by, accompanying my Indian host family, and listening to American pop music. My head was beginning to spin with cultural schizophrenia.

When I signed up for this internship I expected a diverse cultural experience, yet I had no way of anticipating its contours. For starters, I never expected an introduction to Indian culture. My hosts are a mixed Afrikaans and Indian family. Meals are often traditional Indian dishes, I get to interact with Indian college students, and I’ve met the extended Indian family. Immersion in the third largest Indian population outside of India has been a very welcome surprise.

The less welcome surprise has been American cultural hegemony. Popular music is American pop music. Two dominant “take aways” are McDonalds and KFC. Current headlining movies include Fast and Furious 6, Iron Man 3, Epic, and Star Trek 2, all American franchises. Within the church I see our members participating in Bible study series, reading Christian fiction, and using other religious resources from mega church pastors in the States. Most saddening of all is that even at Synod at least half of the music played was American Christian praise music.

While American cultural hegemony makes the immersion experience less traumatic, I didn’t come here to be in a mini-America. Yet what I see as troubling is a dissonance among the South African people as to whom they want to be. On the one hand there are incredibly bold statements as to South Africa’s present and future identity being guided by African heritage, such as the impressive Constitutional Court. On the other hand, I have heard and witnessed the South African mentality that they “are the America of Africa.” Among the suburbs in which I am residing it seems that affluence is defined by the American standard. Yet when catchy refrains such as “we’re the kids in America” get stuck in people’s heads, shaping the imagination, should I be surprised to see a clash between African pride and American mimesis?