The video is from YouTube: http://youtu.be/ybDKfGEw4aU
This video from Saturday Night Live is about Americans who complain about the privileges of technology we have and compare them to Chinese who live in third world China and have less privileges. The video shows how Americans are view as selfish, materialistic, naive, wealthy, diabetic, lazy, and other negative connotations. At the end of the video, the Chinese could not think of any products made in America and ask if diabetes count as a product made by Americans.
We see American Exceptionalism, apolitical ecology ideology, and hegemony playing in the image of America. We see how Americans think we are the best of all countries with a lot of privileges to everything and have easy access to everything.We see how Americans do not care or think about the third world countries who are making products for us and living so poor, so that we can afford stuff at a cheaper cost. We see how America is influencing China to become like us through these big corporations expansion to third world countries. All of this play into our minds when the three Chinese laborers commented on the Americans complaints. The video critiques American Exceptionalism, apolitical ecology ideology and hegemony. It could also critiques about other American concepts such as the self-made man.
The video also demonstrates a sort of "side effect" of material culture. In the 19th century, pulvermacher belts gave an "answer" to the problem of neurastenia, by apparently treating the bad side effect, and not what caused the problem. today, we have fuel efficient cars, and even the once man-powered vehicles, now motorized. this laziness rooted from the same things as the belt; they provided relief to the bad side effects, whilst letting the problem persist.
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