16 July, 2015

That 'Soft Power' Bullshit

Can't even remember now where I was hearing it discussed, whether it was R4/X or some podcast...



Then, I come across this chart, and, hang on a minute, Austria ?  The country that should be, were it not for the historical existence of a certain empire, and the later genocide at the hands of one of its own sons, part of Deutschland ?  A country routinely confused by the world at large with a continent in the South Pacific ?  What cultural or other 'soft power' does the Österreich possess ?  I'll give you Wolfgang & Falco, granted, but then ?

And Singapore ?  Singapore has a culture ?  Of its own ?

And the UK at number one ?  What, because of the popularity of British themes in Japanese manga ? The UK is viewed by the majority of the world as some sort of heritage-themed resort for tourists.

And Canada, shit !  What, other than a handful of slang-words, traditional spellings, the Queen on plastic currency, and poutine, really defines Canadians as separate from Americans, eh ?

I just don't understand anything any more.*


* I just liked the way that sentence sounded in my head.

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