Honestly I wouldn't be so annoyed about this whole "american song contest" thing if it were an isolated incident. In fact, if done right this could be a great way to uplift immigrants and indigenous peoples and celebrate cultural diversity in the US!
It's because this is yet another example of a general trend: things that are distinctly not us-american being adapted specifically for the US. Americans are constantly being catered to, and this is one of the few things that is a) wildly popular and b) not american and not for americans.
American song contest leaves a bad taste in my mouth because it reminds me of the eurovision movie, that barely included any europeans safe for a few cameos here and there. Watching a movie about a festival that is meant to celebrate european unity and diversity that was written, produced, and directed by americans, with american actors who don't understand the cultural significance of this event, felt like mockery, and not the fun kind.
It reminds me of Honig im Kopf and Intouchables and the office and the good doctor being remade for American audiences rather than synchronized, the way every other country does it.
It reminds me of how The Voice is actually a Dutch concept but the only ones who don't call it "The Voice of (Country's Name)" are the Americans because OBVIOUSLY it's about the US, and how they probably think they invented the format. And hey, did you know that American Idol is an adaptation of the British show pop idol?
It reminds me of Americans getting pissed that a white choir sang Vuelie in Frozen, because "this song was inspired by native americans!!" No it wasn't. Those are Saami people singing a Saami song, it's called a Joik. And how the Northuldra, while being inspired by the Saami, didn't look like the Saami at all but more like a phantasy version of the Inuit?
It reminds of how someone reposted a political cartoon about the issues aboriginies face (with the aboriginal flag on it!!) and tagged it "usa" and "native american".
It reminds of how anytime politcs are trending on here, it's always american politics, and the way I know more about us politics and american queer history and american black history than I know about my own country, because the information is so much harder to find.
It reminds me of how people tried to tell Chinese people that it's pronounced ShAng-Chi, not ShUng-Chi, because obviously the American Way to pronounce a non-english name is the right one.
It reminds me of American movies and shows trying to sell me a location as something it very clearly isn't (for example slapping a logo on the Elbphilharmonie and calling it an office building, or filming in one city and pretending it's another one when it's OBVIOUS that it's not), and how at times they will cast actors to who can't even properly speak the language of whatever foreign country they're supposed to be from.
It reminds me of when the Americans wanted to put a statue of Ronald Reagan in Berlin for his "tear down this wall!!" speech, even though it received little media attention at the time and the wall DIDN'T fall because he made some speech. And when Berlin said no, they put it on their embassy's ground because they just had to have their statue.
It reminds me of the countless times I've seen Americans on this website assume everyone else is also American, because "anyone with an Ćø in their name must be a white supremacist" and "why do you call yourself Indian and not indigenous".
This is why people say they wouldn't be making such a fuss about it if it were actually an American contest, meaning the US competing with Canada, Mexico, Brazil etc. Because then it WOULDN'T be yet another thing specifically for US americans.
And yes, I know that the American people aren't to blame for this. That the esc decided to export the format, and Americans didn't necessarily ask for an esc. But somehow that makes it worse? Because that makes it feel like it's pretty much just a cash grab.
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