>ywn live in the greatest period of cultural growth, optimism,

>ywn live in the greatest period of cultural growth, optimism, wealth and progress in history
>optimism
>born in being humiliated by Prussia and the communists
>bonapartists vs radicals
>dreyfus affair
the fact that all the great french novels of the 19th century were tragic should also tell you something.

>>2497368
Better question would be when did Europe start to lost its cultural prominence over the world?

Answer is when the Americans started producing culture for themselves and the entire world. Unlike Europe, which would have two brutal wars, America prospered.

In recent years though, American culture is slowly falling in dominance as well. Which is inevitable as enormous countries such as India, China start to export their culture as well. Add to that list Turkey, Iran, Brazil and Europe is done.

>>2497497
>American culture is slowly falling in dominance as well
lol no its not. economically we might be challenged, but we've exported our culture to unprecedented levels.

>>2497544
You have exported your culture to levels not seen in history, I agree. But are you observing developments in Asia? Look at China or India, their leadership is aware that they need to export their cultures to world.

I understand that you are probably a American patriot and wish nothing but good for your country. As a European, I respect that, but have some geopolitical honesty to admit that you will not be top dog forever.

>>2497368
ww1 and ww2 pretty much rekt any national pride in france, and eventually led to american cultural and economic dominance worldwide

>be French in the late 19th century
>have to live every day knowing Alsace-Lorraine is under Prussian occupation

No thank you.

>>2497594
Worry not, in 40 years, Alsace-Lorraine will be legitimate Arab soil.

Around WW2.

Between the wars America was already clearly on the rise with Hollywood and Negro music, but still in the 20s all major artists and intellectuals including Americans were in Paris. But after WW2 the cultural heart of the West quickly shifted from France to America.

That isn't to say France became irrelevant overnight, it was still the home of all major philosophical movements like existentialism, then post-structuralism, well into the 70s. But popular culture had become American, just as English was replacing French as lingua franca.

>>2497594
They were actually German though.

>>2497630
Try telling them that.

>>2497622
Why did American culture become so successful in replacing French, though?
French had solidly been the basic reference for culture since the Middle Ages. How did the US overcome them so quickly and succesfuly?
Economic domination?

>>2497684

I think every possible factor pushed in that direction.

First hegemonical powers always become culturally influential. France's previous cultural domination wasn't only built on cultural genius, but largely on political power. France was never as influential as when it dominated Europe from Louis XIV to Napoleon. You could say French cultural hegemony was even stronger than American today, with even people from the same countries speaking and writing to each other in French rather than their own language. Although only among the upper and educated classes, but more on that later. So political power always leads to cultural power, and on top of that American leaders were very aware of the importance of the latter, more than any other power had ever been. America used its power in post-war Europe (and the rest of the Western world) to force countries to open their markets to all American products, but especially cultural products, as part of a conscious effort to promote the American way of life, even imposing minimal quotas for American movies and music.

Then there is economic dominance, or more precisely the fact that America is an enormous block compared to European countries, which each have their individual culture. So there's a proportionally enormous cultural output. On top of that, pop culture, especially popular movies, started becoming so expensive that it became impossible for any film industry other than Hollywood to produce them. Which brings us to another point.

(1/2)

>>2497684

At the same time as this happened, there was another transition from culture being rather elitist and, at least in its most celebrated forms, remaining mostly the purview of the educated, to becoming a mass consumer product. While French culture was always popular among Western elites, but had little effect on the lower classes, American culture on the other hand is the most influential among the lower classes. This exacerbates the American economic advantage since, like in any mass industry, success becomes mostly about how much money you have to spend. And I think it also fits better with the character of American culture than French, even with the structure of the English language, all of which are more accessible to average people.

To some extent the two actually coexisted for a time, with American being the culture of the masses and French that of the elites. But in a capitalist world where money is the measure of all things, there is no longer room for an international cultural elite to maintain a culture separate from that of the masses.

(2/2)

>>2497838
>>2497839
Good posts, anon, thanks.

>>2497568
Being top dog is overrated, sure we're a superpower, but we've got third world crime and imprisonment rates, and worse living standards than almost all of western europe.

>>2497622
Negermusik!

>>2497368
That smug bitch is surrepitiously giving us the finger isn't she.