The Bleeding Edge of Culture

Plummeting Prestige - Greg Djerejian

I think Djerejian is right to point out that the U.S.'s hegemonic power is not completely gone, but I do have to agree that culturally, the U.S. has become something of a backwater. When I think of the tech world I look to Tokyo or London, likewise with street fashion. Culturally, we have lost out to culturally aligned places like England and Japan since the end of the last century. I don't think it necessarily has to do with our foreign policy actions however. It's possible that our global cultural centers have shifted, splintered and dispersed to reform in places where newness is championed, particularly in the realm of ideas and style. And once others have recognized this shift then it becomes self-generating. They travel to the cultural centers to add to the world of representation these centers exist in. Cultural centers move at a different speed than everywhere else, by their very nature they must. It's not so much about being six months ahead of the curve but being years ahead. But cultural centers also wan, as one can see in New York. Once people see a center slowing down then it becomes an exodus to other, newer places. U.S. culture is going to remain behind for quite some time, and it may even herald the end of U.S. dominance in the world. Still, it will take another decade for this to become apparent.