---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The term [Americanization] invokes the…"
description: "\"“The term [Americanization] invokes the transformation of the landscape into unnatural mechanical shapes, of night into day, of speed for its own sake,..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/814/robert-stone-13495_american-culture_the-term-americanization-invokes-the-tra_2623573.png"
---

#  The term \[Americanization\] invokes the transformation of…

![“The term &#91;Americanization&#93; invokes the transformation of the landscape into unnatural mechanical shapes, of night into day, of speed for its own sake, an irrational passion for novelty at the expense of quality, a worship of gimmickry.” quote by Robert Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/814/robert-stone-13495_american-culture_the-term-americanization-invokes-the-tra_2623573.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/814/robert-stone-13495_american-culture_the-term-americanization-invokes-the-tra_2623573.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/814/robert-stone-13495_american-culture_the-term-americanization-invokes-the-tra_2623573.png)

> ““The term \[Americanization\] invokes the transformation of the landscape into unnatural mechanical shapes, of night into day, of speed for its own sake, an irrational passion for novelty at the expense of quality, a worship of gimmickry.””

[Robert Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stone/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Americanization reshapes landscapes into artificial, fast‑paced, low‑quality forms.

**In simple terms:** Cultural change creates shallow, rapid growth.

Key Takeaway

Seek depth over speed.

Themes

culture modernization quality

Mood

critical thoughtful

Type

analytical philosophical

When to use this quote

- city planning
- product design
- media consumption

Key Concepts

urbanization consumerism

Questions to Reflect On

- When is rapid change beneficial?
- How to preserve quality?

A Different Perspective

Speed can foster innovation.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[American culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-culture/) [Americanization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americanization-1891248/) [Americanization Invokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americanization-invokes-2129244/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Expenses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expenses/) [Gimmickry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gimmickry-602271/) [Invoke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invoke/) [Irrational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irrational/) [Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape/) [Landscape Unnatural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape-unnatural-2129245/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Novelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelty/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Sake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sake/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Speed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speed/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) [Term Americanization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term-americanization-2129243/) [Transformation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transformation/) [Unnatural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unnatural/) [Worship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worship/)

## Related quotes

> [“the gimmickry is simply a device, a defense, to obscure the black, blinding, murderous rage and sorrow at the core of this whole story,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/the-gimmickry-is-simply-a-device-a-defense-to-obscure-the-black/)

[Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/)

> [If you look at the early nineteenth century you see the idea that we educate children to be voters and to be participants in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goldstein/if-you-look-at-the-early-nineteenth-century-you-see-the-idea-that-we/)

[Dana Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goldstein/)

> [What is Americanization? It manifests itself, in a superficial way, when the immigrant adopts the clothes, the manners and the customs generally prevailing here.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-d-brandeis/what-is-americanization-it-manifests-itself-in-a-superficial-way-when/)

[Louis D. Brandeis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-d-brandeis/)

> [I have always been in favor of a healthy Americanization, but that does not mean a complete disavowal of our German heritage. It means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schurz/i-have-always-been-in-favor-of-a-healthy-americanization-but-that/)

[Carl Schurz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schurz/)

> [Americanization means the process of becoming an American. It means civic incorporation, becoming a part of the polity - becoming one of us. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/americanization-means-the-process-of-becoming-an-american-it-means/)

[Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/)

> [I know many people on the left are suspicious of words like Americanization. To them, it can sound like a cover for white privilege…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/i-know-many-people-on-the-left-are-suspicious-of-words-like/)

[Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/)

> [In the end, a new Americanization movement can't just be about listing our privileges and immunities, which we catalog in our laws. It also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/in-the-end-a-new-americanization-movement-can-t-just-be-about-listing/)

[Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/)

> [When religious believers invoke miracles and acts of creation ex nihilo, that is the end of the search for them, whereas for scientists, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/when-religious-believers-invoke-miracles-and-acts-of-creation-ex/)

[Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/)

> [It's a weird state to be in to go to the Bible and try to invoke science, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/it-s-a-weird-state-to-be-in-to-go-to-the-bible-and-try-to-invoke/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [Not only do they offend thee, O Lady, who outrage thee, but thou art also offended by those who neglect to ask thy favors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonaventure/not-only-do-they-offend-thee-o-lady-who-outrage-thee-but-thou-art/)

[Bonaventure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonaventure/)

> [If you see your nature, you don't need to read sutras or invoke buddhas. Erudition and knowledge are not only useless but also cloud…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bodhidharma/if-you-see-your-nature-you-don-t-need-to-read-sutras-or-invoke/)

[Bodhidharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bodhidharma/)

> [Our Guardian Angels are our most faithful friends, because they are with us day and night, always and everywhere. We ought often to invoke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vianney/our-guardian-angels-are-our-most-faithful-friends-because-they-are/)

[John Vianney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vianney/)

> [Your perception of the world is ... really a fabrication of your model of the world. You don't really see light or sound. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hawkins/your-perception-of-the-world-is-really-a-fabrication-of-your-model-of/)

[Jeff Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hawkins/)

> [As the Constitution endures, persons in every generation can invoke its principles in their own search for greater freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-kennedy/as-the-constitution-endures-persons-in-every-generation-can-invoke/)

[Anthony Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-kennedy/)

> [And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salmon-p-chase/and-upon-this-act-sincerely-believed-to-be-an-act-of-justice/)

[Salmon P. Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salmon-p-chase/)

## More by Robert Stone

> [I was under the influence of the early modern masters, Fitzgerald and Steinbeck and Hemingway, especially, when I was a kid. I reacted against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/i-was-under-the-influence-of-the-early-modern-masters-fitzgerald-and/)

[Robert Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stone/)

> [Life is a means of extracting fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/life-is-a-means-of-extracting-fiction/)

[Robert Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stone/)

> [The desires of the heart...are as crooked as a corkscrew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/the-desires-of-the-heart-are-as-crooked-as-a-corkscrew/)

[Robert Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stone/)

> [“He had undertaken a little assay at the good fight and found that neither the good nor the fight was left to him .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/he-had-undertaken-a-little-assay-at-the-good-fight-and-found-that/)

[Robert Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stone/)

> [“How learned and fine we believed ourselves to be! How shitty of the world to deal with us this way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/how-learned-and-fine-we-believed-ourselves-to-be-how-shitty-of-the/)

[Robert Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stone/)

> [“There were icons of the Magdalen on the walls and paintings in the Western manner, all kitsch, trash. Mary M., Lucas thought, half hypnotized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/there-were-icons-of-the-magdalen-on-the-walls-and-paintings-in-the/)

[Robert Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stone/)

> [I write a very rough first draft of every chapter, then I rewrite every chapter. I try to get it down in the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/i-write-a-very-rough-first-draft-of-every-chapter-then-i-rewrite/)

[Robert Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stone/)

> [I think everybody must be aware that this society is a whole lot shakier now than it was before the war. I was trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/i-think-everybody-must-be-aware-that-this-society-is-a-whole-lot/)

[Robert Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stone/)

> [“Sleeping and waking, the notion of being lost, of having wandered out of the right life, kept turning up in different guises. She imagined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/sleeping-and-waking-the-notion-of-being-lost-of-having-wandered-out/)

[Robert Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stone/)

> [I think there's a necessity for some attachment to the spiritual world and, in a way, people really have to have it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/i-think-there-s-a-necessity-for-some-attachment-to-the-spiritual/)

[Robert Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stone/)

> [“Like many visitors, they had been unnerved by the inimitable creepiness of the Holy Sepulchre, a grimly gaudy, theopathical Turkish bathhouse where their childhood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/like-many-visitors-they-had-been-unnerved-by-the-inimitable/)

[Robert Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stone/)

> [“He sat desiring the girl - a speed-hardened straw-colored junkie stewardess, a spoiled Augustana Lutheran, compounded of airport Muzak and beauty parlor school. Her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/he-sat-desiring-the-girl-a-speed-hardened-straw-colored-junkie/)

[Robert Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stone/)

> [One does not consider style, because style is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/one-does-not-consider-style-because-style-is/)

[Robert Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stone/)

> [If you couldn't tell the difference between what hurt and what didn't, you had no business being alive. You can't have any good times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/if-you-couldn-t-tell-the-difference-between-what-hurt-and-what-didn-t/)

[Robert Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stone/)

> [At the time, acid made me consider questions of reality, the difference, as someone said, between words and silence. It also brought back a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/at-the-time-acid-made-me-consider-questions-of-reality-the-difference/)

[Robert Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stone/)

[Explore all 50 Robert Stone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stone/)

## More American culture quotes

> [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/)

[Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/)

> [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/)

[Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/)

> [“Every twenty minutes on the Appalachian Trail, Katz and I walked farther than the average American walks in a week. For 93 percent of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/every-twenty-minutes-on-the-appalachian-trail-katz-and-i-walked/)

[Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/)

> [The Soviet Union is like the Cross without Christ, while American culture is like Christ without the Cross.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-soviet-union-is-like-the-cross-without-christ-while-american/)

[Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/)

> [“information, in a stream-of-consciousness soliloquy that revealed the extent to which he had internalised the adversarial fragmentation of American culture and made it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/information-in-a-stream-of-consciousness-soliloquy-that-revealed-the/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [ \[If\] we can celebrate that in a way that celebrates our love for New England as well as our love for the Italian culture… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-batali/if-we-can-celebrate-that-in-a-way-that-celebrates-our-love-for-new/)

[Mario Batali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-batali/)

> [I think in American culture, we put value on economic success but tell people you don't have to be economically successful to be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/i-think-in-american-culture-we-put-value-on-economic-success-but-tell/)

[John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/)

> [The most important thing about Jazz at Lincoln Center is the fact that it's the first time that perhaps the most important art form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-vinoly/the-most-important-thing-about-jazz-at-lincoln-center-is-the-fact/)

[Rafael Vinoly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-vinoly/)

> [And certainly in British culture, as I'm sure it's the same with American culture, we warm to cultures where people can make fun of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omid-djalili/and-certainly-in-british-culture-as-i-m-sure-it-s-the-same-with/)

[Omid Djalili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omid-djalili/)

> [Canada could have enjoyed: English government, French culture, and American know-how. Instead it ended up with: English know-how, French government, and American culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/canada-could-have-enjoyed-english-government-french-culture-and/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [In contemporary American culture, the religions are more and more treated as just passing beliefs - almost as fads - rather than as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-l-carter/in-contemporary-american-culture-the-religions-are-more-and-more/)

[Stephen L. Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-l-carter/)

> [Being educated in the United States gave me a good understanding of American culture. I think I got a lot of influence from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masayoshi-son/being-educated-in-the-united-states-gave-me-a-good-understanding-of/)

[Masayoshi Son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masayoshi-son/)

> [“From the isolated, individualistic perspective of most white evangelicals and many other Americans, there really is no race problem other than bad interpersonal relationships.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-smith/from-the-isolated-individualistic-perspective-of-most-white/)

[Christian Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-smith/)

> [I got interested in the American culture war back in 2004, and it's one of the only growth stocks I've ever invested in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/i-got-interested-in-the-american-culture-war-back-in-2004-and-it-s/)

[Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/)

> [In American culture at large, but especially in African American culture, it's a sign of weakness to ask for help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/in-american-culture-at-large-but-especially-in-african-american/)

[Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/)

[Browse all 437 American culture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-culture/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“The term [Americanization] invokes the transformation of the landscape into unnatural mechanical shapes, of night into day, of speed for its own sake, an irrational passion for novelty at the expense of quality, a worship of gimmickry.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Robert Stone"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/the-term-americanization-invokes-the-transformation-of-the-landscape/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "American culture"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/the-term-americanization-invokes-the-transformation-of-the-landscape/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/814/robert-stone-13495_american-culture_the-term-americanization-invokes-the-tra_2623573.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/814/robert-stone-13495_american-culture_the-term-americanization-invokes-the-tra_2623573.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/814/robert-stone-13495_american-culture_the-term-americanization-invokes-the-tra_2623573.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The term [Americanization] invokes the transformation of the landscape into unnatural mechanical shapes, of…” — Robert Stone",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Robert Stone",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stone/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“The term [Americanization] invokes the transformation...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/the-term-americanization-invokes-the-transformation-of-the-landscape/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/the-term-americanization-invokes-the-transformation-of-the-landscape/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
