The Culture Code

The author promises new lenses for the reader and I think he delivers. There are a lot of critics, but it's still interesting how he boils down his qualitative findings to something almost actionable. His central thesis is that America's culture has an inherently adolescent quality and that the code for America is 'Dream'. All attitudes and views on life and the world revolve around these ideas. Here's a summary of his codes, they probably don't make sense unless you've read the book.

• Jeep is the American's horse but the Frenchman's liberator
• Fat - checking out of life
• Food - safe sex, fuel
• Health - motion, movement
• Money - proof of goodness, keeping score
• Luxury - military stripes
• President - moses
• America - dream, to France: space travelers, to Germany: john wayne, to England: abundance
• Love - false expectation
• Hopital - human processing plant
• Doctor - hero
• Nurse - mother
• Sex - violence
• Alcohol - gun
• Home - "Re-", return, rejunvenate, reconnect
• Cars (in germany) - enginering
• Beauty - man's salvation, france: balancing act, and a noble pursuit
• Secuction - manipulation
• Quality - it works, good enough
• Perfection - only achievable through death. Before that, there's still work to do
• Youth - mask
• Toilet paper - independence
• Dinner - essential circle of people
• Work - who you are, what you contribute
• France (to the french): idea
• England (to the english) - class
• Germany (to germans) - order
• Canada (to the canadians) - to keep

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