Everything and Nothing: the Meaning of American Popular Culture in France

Abstract

As one drives westward toward Geneva from the small city of Thonon-les-bains, with its stately perch on the Southern shore of Lac Leman, its fading Victorian-era hotel spas and 17th century château, and its remarkable views of the French Alps, one comes upon a stretch of road that, to an American, appears perfectly familiar and thus seems completely "foreign" in its French context. Quite suddenly, from both sides of the road, one's view is seized by the intrusion of brightly-colored placards, dazzling neon signs and coarse structures that signal a steady string of auto dealerships, gas stations, furniture outlets, garden supply stores, a kitchen appliance store, a bowling alley and a sprawling supermarket complex.