HM Movie and American culture

[pkh]

Before I begin, let me say that I'm not someone from The States and I'm not a teeny. Just that part of my interest is doing observation and behaviour research (well, judging by the way I spell 'behaviour', it's obvious that I'm not American). After watching the movie 3 times (yes, 3 times), certain ways of life puzzles me.

Scene:
Lilly's sweet 16 birthday bash
Question:
Is turning 16 an important phase? I also notice there are other shows about turning 16 like the ones in MTV where they have a huge party or something. My question is, does EVERY girl in America celebrates their 16th birthday like in the HM Movie or does this apply only to rich kids?

Scene:
Lilly leaving the party and Hannah yelling 'we have cake'.
Question:
Again, about parties? Is the cake the single most important thing in birthday parties?

Scene:
Grandma Ruby's house
Question:
Ruby is like raising chickens, harvesting watermelon and pumpkins. But her house is freakishly huge. My question is, is a simple lifestyle in Tennessee (hope I get the spelling correct) enough to make a living?

Ok, I'll just put a dot here. I have loads of other questions but not sure if anyone would even read this thingy.

[Ryanmo97]

Before I begin, let me say that I'm not someone from The States and I'm not a teeny. Just that part of my interest is doing observation and behaviour research (well, judging by the way I spell 'behaviour', it's obvious that I'm not American). After watching the movie 3 times (yes, 3 times), certain ways of life puzzles me.

I've seen the movie 8 times :) so I will take a stab at answering your questions


Scene:
Lilly's sweet 16 birthday bash
Question:
Is turning 16 an important phase? I also notice there are other shows about turning 16 like the ones in MTV where they have a huge party or something. My question is, does EVERY girl in America celebrates their 16th birthday like in the HM Movie or does this apply only to rich kids?

16 is a big deal for boys and girls in America because that is generaly the time when they can get there driver's licence or start driver's traning. Big Sweet 16 are NOT the norm in America. But, I'm sure just about every girl as a party for their 16th birthday.



Scene:
Lilly leaving the party and Hannah yelling 'we have cake'.
Question:
Again, about parties? Is the cake the single most important thing in birthday parties?

Not just birthday parties. We Americans LOVE Cake. There is an American comedian by the name of Jim Gaffigan who does a very funny piece about Americans and our love of Cake... If you'd like to find it on iTunes or something, the name of the piece is titled, "Cake."

Scene:
Grandma Ruby's house
Question:
Ruby is like raising chickens, harvesting watermelon and pumpkins. But her house is freakishly huge. My question is, is a simple lifestyle in Tennessee (hope I get the spelling correct) enough to make a living?

I'm not sure about this one maybe someone else can answer it...


Ok, I'll just put a dot here. I have loads of other questions but not sure if anyone would even read this thingy.
Feel free to ask more questions.

[pkh]

Whoa! Eight times!? That's like more than the producers themselves.

Anyway, here's more:

Scene:
Robbie Ray told Miley that it's her turn to do the dishes.
Question:
Does this apply to all families? This also occurs in the TV series where the dishes piled up like crazy. Do Americans take turns to wash the dishes?

Scene:
School volleyball
Question:
This is where I spot a potential error in the movie. There was a scene where Miley and Lilly are both in school and then she stays in her hometown for 2 weeks the following day. Guess it must be a summer holiday. Ok, back to the question. So both Miley and Lilly are in school. If you take a closer look, Lilly is like wearing heavy makeup. To be fair, her makeup is increasing season after season. Anyway, the thing is, are students allowed to wear heavy makeup in America? I know there's a culture in America where students were allowed to dress casually. But until what extent?

[Ryanmo97]

Whoa! Eight times!? That's like more than the producers themselves.

Anyway, here's more:

Scene:
Robbie Ray told Miley that it's her turn to do the dishes.
Question:
Does this apply to all families? This also occurs in the TV series where the dishes piled up like crazy. Do Americans take turns to wash the dishes?

Not to all families. Some families mom and dad do the dishes. Some families the kids help do the dishes.


Scene:
School volleyball
Question:
This is where I spot a potential error in the movie. There was a scene where Miley and Lilly are both in school and then she stays in her hometown for 2 weeks the following day. Guess it must be a summer holiday. Ok, back to the question. So both Miley and Lilly are in school. If you take a closer look, Lilly is like wearing heavy makeup. To be fair, her makeup is increasing season after season. Anyway, the thing is, are students allowed to wear heavy makeup in America? I know there's a culture in America where students were allowed to dress casually. But until what extent?

The school districts across America are allowed to set there own dress code. And some schools require uniforms so it really varies from school to school.

[tanningbry]

Scene:
Lilly's sweet 16 birthday bash
Question:
Is turning 16 an important phase? I also notice there are other shows about turning 16 like the ones in MTV where they have a huge party or something. My question is, does EVERY girl in America celebrates their 16th birthday like in the HM Movie or does this apply only to rich kids?

In America, most people would say it is. That's where most people are able to drive and maybe get jobs and stuff. So, yeah, 16 is like the most important birthday in a teen's life. But I don't believe in that since I don't celebrate birthdays.

And to the other question, most girls (and boys) who celebrate birthdays will have 16th birthday parties that are expensive and beyond their parents' budget. But it all depends on the parents and what they feel, I guess. I mean, I'm just telling you what I've observed from people who had celebrated 16th birthdays.
__________________________________________________

Scene:
Lilly leaving the party and Hannah yelling 'we have cake'.
Question:
Again, about parties? Is the cake the single most important thing in birthday parties?

Most people love cake and in most parties, cake is important. It's not just birthday parties, it can be going away parties or graduation parties, etc.. But there's other parts of a party that are important. It all depends on what kind of party and the persons' traditions, I guess.
__________________________________________________ ___


Scene:
Grandma Ruby's house
Question:
Ruby is like raising chickens, harvesting watermelon and pumpkins. But her house is freakishly huge. My question is, is a simple lifestyle in Tennessee (hope I get the spelling correct) enough to make a living?

Not likely. Most people in the south who farm are not rich. Sure, it could be enough to make a living, but I would think that they would need a second job. Not only that, but remember that Hannah Montana is famous in the movie, so most likely, some of the money she "gets" goes to her family.



Ok, I'll just put a dot here. I have loads of other questions but not sure if anyone would even read this thingy.


Feel free to ask more questions.
Sorry for answering them after someone else did.

[mileycyrus#1fan14]

Before I begin, let me say that I'm not someone from The States and I'm not a teeny. Just that part of my interest is doing observation and behaviour research (well, judging by the way I spell 'behaviour', it's obvious that I'm not American). After watching the movie 3 times (yes, 3 times), certain ways of life puzzles me.

Scene:
Lilly's sweet 16 birthday bash
Question:
Is turning 16 an important phase? I also notice there are other shows about turning 16 like the ones in MTV where they have a huge party or something. My question is, does EVERY girl in America celebrates their 16th birthday like in the HM Movie or does this apply only to rich kids?

in america, turning 16 is almost like a turning point. its a major mile marker. you get to drive, and thats a huge thing. alot of kids have a sweet 16, but only the richer ones have more elaborate (sp?) ones like lilly had and those kids on MTV had.

Scene:
Lilly leaving the party and Hannah yelling 'we have cake'.
Question:
Again, about parties? Is the cake the single most important thing in birthday parties?

its not the single most important thing, but its something thats most likely at every party and i mean..c'mon! who doesnt like cake? :P

Scene:
Grandma Ruby's house
Question:
Ruby is like raising chickens, harvesting watermelon and pumpkins. But her house is freakishly huge. My question is, is a simple lifestyle in Tennessee (hope I get the spelling correct) enough to make a living?

well, alot of people live on a farm to make a living. with the crops and eggs and stuff like that that they sell, they can make a pretty good living off of.

Ok, I'll just put a dot here. I have loads of other questions but not sure if anyone would even read this thingy.

Whoa! Eight times!? That's like more than the producers themselves.

Anyway, here's more:

Scene:
Robbie Ray told Miley that it's her turn to do the dishes.
Question:
Does this apply to all families? This also occurs in the TV series where the dishes piled up like crazy. Do Americans take turns to wash the dishes?

sometimes. i mean, at my house i usually do the dishes, but yeah, some famlies do take turns doing the dishes. its just eaiser then having one person do them all the time.

Scene:
School volleyball
Question:
This is where I spot a potential error in the movie. There was a scene where Miley and Lilly are both in school and then she stays in her hometown for 2 weeks the following day. Guess it must be a summer holiday. Ok, back to the question. So both Miley and Lilly are in school. If you take a closer look, Lilly is like wearing heavy makeup. To be fair, her makeup is increasing season after season. Anyway, the thing is, are students allowed to wear heavy makeup in America? I know there's a culture in America where students were allowed to dress casually. But until what extent?

here, in america its like dress anyway you want. some people where zero makeup, while others pile it on. but some schools have dress codes, which require you to dress the way they tell you do. so they might not be able to wear makeup, or they can, but cant wear it as heavy.

i just wanted to answer questions, sorry :P