Carrie Underwood's Influence On America

Carrie Underwood is one of America’s most prominent sweethearts. Raised from humble roots on her family’s farm in Checotah, Oklahoma, the country singer and star is an extraordinary model of American society’s most valued qualities. Quarterback of a girls’ football team and an honest competitor on the stage, it is no surprise that Underwood’s loveable qualities captured the attention and affection of the country’s population when she auditioned and later won American Idol in 2005 at the age of 21 (Whitaker). Two years later, Underwood released her second album which features one track titled “All-American Girl,” dedicated to the life of a daughter who grows up to be a “beautiful, wonderful, perfect all-American girl.” Considering how truly

At the time, the show was the first significant storyline that focused on an Asian family, and its influence of American audiences would be expansive. Cho, an American woman of Korean descent, is a prominent figure in Asian American culture. Her work brings awareness to popular issues such as ethnicity and beauty standards, while her wit and ferociously honest humor have given her a significant place of influence in the comedic world. Yet, Margaret Cho’s 1994 debut in All-American Girl is very significant, as the show itself reveals some older truths about America’s perception of Asian American culture in its attempt to answer the question: What is Asian American Identity? In its first pilot episode, the series suggests that a strong binary between purely American and Asian identity exists. Using the characterization of Cho’s character in contrast to her family, the show attempts to define Asian American identity as an extreme personality that is free of all influence from any old cultural or ethnic roots that are not traditionally American. By making distinctions between generations, the show places emphasis on rejecting cultural traditions and family in order to gain complete American Identity, which is the role that Asian Americans supposedly strive to achieve. The show’s

To be accepted by friends and an American boyfriend, Margaret acts in direct opposition to her family. It is expected of her and even her younger brother to be repelled by their family’s uptight traditions, as it does not place either member in good light with a more popular American society. Margaret’s identity as a modernized Korean girl in America is Asian American, while her family’s is purely Korean or Asian. These conflicting definitions in the episode represent a “loss or transmission of original culture” which occurs as a generational issue and disconnect between family members of more traditional descent with westernized younger members, who have “exchanged” one culture for another (Lowe 425). When Stuart begins to speak to his mother in Korean, this is meant to be a comedic point of irony. He cannot truly represent American identity if he prefers to speak in a non-American language, because that must mean he is only perpetuating traditional culture given to him by past