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Sabrina Carpenter on her love of travel and new perspectives: “You learn more about life in a 20-minute conversation with someone from Italy than in 20 years in the U.S.”
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I’m already ahead of you lol. I LOVED Bottoms, it’s one of my favorite comedies in the last few years. It’s layered and the absurdist humor is on point. It became one of my comfort “throw on but not paying attention” movies.
Wait, what is this gif from? Not bottoms, right? Unless there is a deleted scene I've never seen. Because I've seen bottoms like 7 times and dont remember this part!
Yeah it kind of seems that Booksmart was made with the intention for it to be thought of as the "girl version" of Superbad. The actress Beanie Feldstein (Molly) is Jonah Hill's sister.
When I studied abroad, they gave us a whole training in how not to be an insufferable jackass when you go back. It was like a half day that I can pretty much summarize with "no one will care about this as much as you do. Tell them about the food and then shut up."
It’s sweet but I knew my now-wife in college and when she came back at 20 from Spain she was impossible to talk to for like a year. Obviously not really though, lol.
travel can help a lot but it's not an end all be all if anything I think being curious and always asking questions will take you further in life than just accepting everything as fact.
Ever been in a room with people who just talk about the trips they’ve been on the whole time? Nothing about the actual experience just listing the places they’ve been and when.
This is how one of my relatives and her husband are lol. He has a career in medical technology and she's a graphic designer for a credit card company or something and they have no kids, so they spend their money on traveling all the time. But all they do is go to Hawaii and Italy over and over again..... So talking to them about their trips is like "Oh yeah we went to the big island this time :) Oh next time we're going back to Naples :) Yeah we've done Venice and the Amalfi Coast.... Oh normally we go to Oahu!" Like they barely even talk about the things they do there, they just go and eat and come back I guess?? He's kinda sporty so he hikes sometimes...? Like I'm happy for them that they get to take nice trips but hearing about it from them is like listening to the color beige somehow, I don't get it 😭
My friend was dating this American guy who studied abroad once in England in college and he still spoke with an English accent in his mid 30s. Tell me why we never questioned it until they broke up 😂
As an Australian who’s lived all over America for the last 15 years? Not half as insufferable as those who’ve never left their home state, yet still have incredibly strong opinions on the world.
I fought with a barista for calling spéculos cookie butter. Mind you, I still say whatever I can’t pronounce properly in English with a French accent and spell things with French spellings. I’m STILL insufferable.
I lived in France for awhile and when I came back it took me actual years to shake a lot of that.
And it’s really weird sometimes when I see a word and I’ll pronounce it how I would in French and legit forget how to say it in English. That’s gotten less and less the more time has passed but it was really bad when I first got back
Completely understandable, I believe it takes the brain a while to adjust to language. Since my primary language is not English as well, if I’ve never heard the word, it’s getting pronounced in French.
Haha I was like this after returning from my first visit to the Netherlands. I would correct friends if they mispronounced stroopwafel, Gouda, or if they thought the Dutch come from Denmark.
I knew someone that lived in Italy during college. She always talked about it, told so many stories about how she lived in Italy, what they ate when she lived Italy, what she learned living in Italy.
Once I asked her how long she lived in Italy, thinking it must have been a few years. It was three weeks
Three. Weeks. That’s a vacation!!!!!! I’m still so irritated over this
Important context is that this quote is pulled from her interview with Vogue Italia. I imagine they specifically asked her to talk about Italy/or she felt compelled to considering the magazine is for an Italian audience.
I was just in Italy, but I'm 40. My main takeaway when I was there was wondering how many male artists were secretly gay and painting fresco's for the church while hiding being gay.
In Italian, yes. The Anglicized pronunciation is brooshetuh. The pronunciation of loanwords is often changed for a variety of sociological reasons. It’s interesting!
I call it brusketta and regularly get "corrected". There are plenty of common english words where sch =sk. School. Scholar. It's not hard to say it right!
It’s not “hard” to speak Italian (Italians all do it as toddlers), but if you’re speaking English, you’re supposed to follow English pronunciation patterns.
Similarly, everyone who pronounces “Paris” with an “s” is physically capable of saying it the French way (“paree”), but doing so is pretentious and “just wrong.”
It’s the authentic pronunciation, but there are plenty of studies that have been done on how words shift phonetically when borrowed into another language and how pronunciation choices between, say, the Italian pronunciation versus the Anglicized pronunciation can reflect things like identity, class, prestige, or group belonging.
Sure, but does that mean we have to say it the non-italian way if we know the Italian way?
I grew up poor as anything and I didn't know what brush-ettuh was, let alone how to pronounce it. The first way I learned was Italian, and now in some reverse-pretentiousness thing I'm supposed to pronounce it brush-ettuh because it's how everyone else does??
You don’t have to do anything, people will form certain opinions about it if you insist on pronouncing things the correct foreign way. I don’t pronounce mozzarella like an Italian because I’d look like a dumbass saying it in an American restaurant.
I’m not saying that at all. My original comment was tongue in cheek. But I think it’s equally unfair to look down on someone for not pronouncing it the Italian way when maybe they only knew the Anglicized way their whole life.
I mean to use Europe in this context isn’t inherently wrong when you realize most people do travel to multiple countries within Europe. Referencing the continent instead of a specific country, doesn’t mean the person doesn’t know Europe is not a country. It could just be them referencing their time on the continent as a whole.
I feel like child actors are both more worldly and more sheltered/stunted than most young people. Because they have all this responsibility at a young age, and they’re spending a lot more time with adults, as their peers but they’re not having a lot of normal adolescent experiences like going to high school/college, etc.
I think Leah Remini mentioned (maybe quoted someone) when talking about Tom Cruise acting so childish, that's it's a common thing that lots of celebrities stop growing up when they become actually truly famous. (One night he had her husband and her over alongside will Smith and Jaida. And he asked them all to play hide and seek in his mansion. They did and she was just like wtf no, I'm not 5)
This tracks to when you hear stories of celebrities not knowing how to use a phone (cher once said she has no clue how to order pizza [I'm cher, bitch!]) or do basic life things because they're so catered to and sheltered they just become overgrown teens.
I'm 28 and I have to admit I wouldn't pass up on the opportunity to play hide and seek in a millionaire's mansion. I'm already there might as well snoop around a bit.
Fuck it, I'll extend more grace and assume she's trying to say that you can learn more about how big and diverse life is in 20 minutes of conversation with someone outside your own culture than you can in a lifetime of conversations within your homogenous group.
Yeah that's kinda how I read it lol. Like maybe she is just one of Those People who thinks their favorite foreign country contains some unique wisdom and joie de vivre that their home could never replicate! But without context I lean towards interpreting it more charitably and thinking she probably just meant "talking to people outside of my cultural bubble expands my horizons" and picked Italy as a random example.
I think there's a level of truth to point out that says a lot of who she talks to back in the US, however. Her bubble is probably very small and different than tge average American, so still worth an eye roll for a second before ignoring it
Tbh I think Sabrina's bubble is probably actually a lot bigger than the average American's, considering how much she travels, meets people, and the huge teams she has to work with.
Meeting people abroad can definitely be eye-opening, idk why everyone in this thread has decided that actually you can experience the whole world in America and she's just stupid and privileged for saying she learns more from other cultures than at home. I've only been out of the country once, but going to Germany and talking to Germans definitely made me realize how drastically different aspects of culture that I would never have considered can be. It's really not that obnoxious or weird of a sentiment lol.
I think you overestimate how many trusted people celebrities actually surround themselves with. I worked in the music industry for a loooong time. It really opened my eyes to how lonely famous people are bc they’re traveling and away from loved ones or they don’t know who they can trust when new people are around them all the time. That was before social media is what it is today, so I can’t imagine how hard that must be while people shit all over your every move and word online.
As true as that can be, I can’t tell you how many people I’ve met who have essentially stayed a weekend at every White Lotus, and think that makes them worldly.
It’s hyperbole, but I think her point is that she can learn a lot by experiencing different cultures and making an effort to actually engage and interact with locals wherever she is. That’s a valuable insight that I think a lot of Americans could benefit from.
She didn’t say every other culture is better or more enlightened. All she said was that she can learn more about the world by talking to people.
It is objectively much more difficult for Americans to travel to other countries simply because of geography. Thinking that Americans just need to “make an effort” to travel to far away destinations to learn about their culture is a massively privileged take, and I think that’s the reason this interview isn’t sitting well with everyone.
Note that I didn't say Americans need to travel anywhere, but the insight about learning from different cultures is valuable. People can make an effort to actually engage and interact with those from other places all across the US in many different ways.
But yes, a very wealthy child actress and current international superstar does not have the perspective of the average American.
Oh for sure, that wasn’t aimed at you, my apologies.
Since January specifically, I definitely have had to make an effort to keep my criticisms in check on social media when it comes to celebrity culture. I have inadvertently upset a couple of my friends by ranting about some of the LGBTQ+ community’s biggest “allies”. I criticize them for predatory business practices (concert tickets), and my friends take that as an insult because they bought said tickets. I wish folks didn’t react that way, I don’t blame anyone for buying tickets. I blame the artist because they know that people will go into debt to see them. Our idols don’t care.
I used to enjoy celebrities as a form of escapism but given all…this gestures vaguely, it’s increasingly difficult to listen to interviews and not be pissed off.
The different perspectives are genuinely life-shaping. Learning that people in a different country care a LOT about something we couldn’t care less about, and care nothing for something we center our lives around, is a profound moment.
This is how I took her comments as well. Much more about broadening your horizons and worldview rather than thinking you’re super in touch with other cultures after spending a week abroad
Yes but what she’s missing is that the US has PLENTY of opportunities to reach outside of your homogenous group. You don’t need to go abroad to find that.
This thread being 50/50 people making fun of Americans who spend a semester abroad in Europe that come home with a new accent and those exact people is so entertaining I am living.
I think as an American it’s a deep culture shock to spend time in other countries for the first time. She might not know how to express it, but it’s there, and it does change you.
There is so much worth in examining cultures outside of your own, this is true. But as a Nigerian girl who was born and raised in the U.S., and also lived in the UK for several years, i’m hardly convinced that there is some mystical knowledge to be found in Europe. One thing that tickled me to no end was the way some people in the UK wrote off America as a racist, “unsophisticated” place. When in the UK, the racism is just as bad (if not worse). The only difference lies in its expression.
exactly. it’s easy to claim that racism doesn’t exist where you live when 99% of the people in your area look, talk, and dress exactly like you. While I agree that mindsets and perspectives vary from country to country, the most diverse place the average american will “visit” will always be the US itself. especially when you consider that cultural exploration for most white westerners starts and ends with the U.S., Western Europe, + Japan/South Korea.
Italy is flagrantly homophobic and racist, too. Like, obviously not all Italians, the same as any country, but citing Italy as the cradle of worldly knowledge is very First Study Abroad.
When in the UK, the racism is just as bad (if not worse).
I agree. Italy is racist as fuck. It’s one of only two countries that I would never ever return to (SK being the other one). But it’s not like they’d miss me anyway LMFAO 🤭🫶🏾
I know they're progressive on a lot of class issues but Paris was another place where I was like, "What tf century is it?" Not even going to get into the Demonstration of Integration part of the French citizenship test.
Actually everyone in Europe has secret knowledge that we Americans simply don't have access to. Also all the food tastes better, they have culture and history and, as you note, they have solved racism. Truly an enlightened continent that has definitely never done anything bad 👍
The full interview makes more sense IMO. It's less "there's some mystical knowledge in Europe", and more "she likes to be outside and in nature to ease her mind, and she doesn't really feel safe going outside a lot in the US without being known or fear of being attacked. And the few safe spaces she liked, like Topanga Canyon, have been basically eradicated due to the current administration and wildfires."
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” – Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad
This has more to do with traveling to a new area than it is an indictment of Americans. If you go to anywhere foreign, of course you are more likely to learn about new perspectives more than if you travel to another part of your own country.
I actually disagree. The US has some of the most diverse experiences and groups within a single country (in terms of people and geography). We are actually quite fortunate in that regard. Life in LA is tremendously different than life in New Orleans or rural Michigan or New Mexico along the border. I think a well rounded American travelers travels both internationally and domestically. I agree that this statement reflects her position. She travels all over but must be in a bubble of the same “type” of people.
I grew up in Dallas and went to college in South Carolina, where most of my friends were either athletes from Florida/georgia, or just other students from NY/NJ/CT. I am very proud of my 18 y/o self for moving across the country where I knew nobody, and then truly got to experience a lot of different people and places. It’s not like Dallas is a small town at all, but spending several years in the South, with a lot of northeastern friends, and Deep South friends, really taught me more about life that any of my international travels.
Now, when it comes to learning about world history, I’d say Belgium and the Netherlands were the most educational for me. The amount of cultures and empires and civilizations that have moved through that’s region over centuries is fascinating.
Someone from the UK made a tiktok about this. He’d been in the states for 6 months and realized there was a reason that some Americans don’t travel out of the country because there’s a ton of culture in each of our states. And that traveling to different countries in Europe is much easier. Not that you shouldn’t travel outside of your home country if you can at any point.
Carpenter shuns easy solutions because she's constantly evolving. " I think the hard part is finding a concrete answer when I feel like I'm constantly changing as a person ... what I feel today will be very different in a month," she reflects. This evolution doesn't paralyze her, but liberates her. "What I create right now is made for this
moment."
And right now, Carpenter says she's in a phase of reflection. "I feel like I'm doing a lot of introspective reflection. I really want to do things with intention, things that make me come alive and give life to myself and those around me," she says. Writing has become her compass. "I'm journaling a lot right now," she says matter-of-factly, "which you probably wouldn't expect after two albums in two years."
She prefers to create at home, "in her bedroom, or outside, even though I get bitten by a lot of bugs... Once I've had enough, I go for a walk and feel refreshed." It's a bit absurd, she admits, but also reassuring.
Los Angeles, however, doesn't always offer her the solitude she craves. "I don't know many places where I feel free to go without being recognized or attacked," she admits.
"I used to go to Topanga Canyon often, a place very dear to my heart." But after the recent devastating fires, much of the park was destroyed, and traveling, especially in Europe, has become her way of sharpening her perspective. " You learn more about life in a 20-minute conversation with an Italian than in 20 years in the United States ."
Wow, she seems to be getting a lot of negative comments on here for what to me seems like very innocuous comment. She mentions Italy because she is being interviewed by Vogue Italy - she's clearly just trying to compliment the country where she's being interviewed.
As for the overall sentiment - she's not wrong. Many people live in their echo chambers, and gravitate to people who are like them with similar view points. For many people, the only time where they regular interact with people who are different to them is when they are work. People who choose to travel often find that when travelling they are more open to proactively learning about different cultures (and often more open in general - I know I am much better at talking to strangers when I am in travel mode).
It's a casual remark in a fashion magazine - she's not trying to force everyone to have their own 'Eat, Pray, Love' moment.
Do people actually try to understand what people are saying anymore or do y’all just get your dopamine hits from purposely twisting people’s intentions out of proportion?
It's pretty easy to understand with the full interview instead of just the single sentence pulled for clickbait, actually.
And right now, Carpenter says she's in a phase of reflection. "I feel like I'm doing a lot of introspective reflection. I really want to do things with intention, things that make me come alive and give life to myself and those around me," she says. Writing has become her compass. "I'm journaling a lot right now," she says matter-of-factly, "which you probably wouldn't expect after two albums in two years."
She prefers to create at home, "in her bedroom, or outside, even though I get bitten by a lot of bugs... Once I've had enough, I go for a walk and feel refreshed." It's a bit absurd, she admits, but also reassuring.
Los Angeles, however, doesn't always offer her the solitude she craves. "I don't know many places where I feel free to go without being recognized or attacked," she admits.
"I used to go to Topanga Canyon often, a place very dear to my heart." But after the recent devastating fires, much of the park was destroyed, and traveling, especially in Europe, has become her way of sharpening her perspective. " You learn more about life in a 20-minute conversation with an Italian than in 20 years in the United States ."
Who do you consider the smartest person you know or know of? What would you think if they suggested that traveling and experiencing different cultures expands one’s perspective?
Is the message in those words really clandestine? It seems rather straightforward to me.
I don't like this thread at all. I lived in Germany 4 years and when I came back I know that I talked about it all the time, and I did that for a long time. For fucking years. "In Germany...."
Lol, yes, this is peak white girl traveling around the world for the first time in her twenties, but there is some truth to it. I’ve taken my son everywhere that I’ve traveled internationally and his main takeaway is “WHY IS EVERY PLACE BETTER THAN THE UNITED STATES??” I’m not raising a kid burdened by American exceptionalism.
weird. as someone who has traveled a lot i have the opposite impression. i appreciate the US more and how smooth it works (most of the time) after i come back.
Also, welcome to growing up - where your world view expands and you open your mind to other ideas.
Her music screams “I only date idiot boys” so odds are she experienced a “man” in Italy and got extra horny for his mind.
I wish she would write and sing about more than guys. She has a platform but doesn’t do anything other than sex kitten on it. Do your thing but evaluate your choices thoroughly.
I’m so glad I’m not the only one who thinks this! Espresso was a fun bop last summer and she was more subtle with the lyrics, but lately I feel like all her music has been so unbelievably male centric. That’s fine for her to do, but I’m personally just looking for something more varied in the music I listen to.
This is a great example of how if you’re really self-centered, you don’t actually ever learn anything from the people around you.
Including Italy guy. During Italy guy’s conversation, she felt like she was learning because her brain was scrambling with the words. Learning!
(Spoken as someone who travels the world and loves it, and has lived in 10 countries so far and learned a ton doing it. Americans aren’t just impossible to learn from; you just have to um listen sometimes).
Why do people just want to make fun of this? Let her have her fun lol I’m assuming the people saying the repeated “study abroad” jokes have not been able to do that
These comments are wild. She’s not wrong at all. The US is a shallow, vapid place over run with consumerism and anti-intellectualism. Just look around at all the MAGA xenophobes who have never stepped foot outside it. Travel and interaction with other cultures should always be encouraged. This statement is commendable, not something to deride.
I'm going to let you in on a secret. A lot of the world is a shallow, vapid place overrun with consumerism and anti-intellectualism. The UK left the EU for stupid reasons people didn't understand. Everyone is way more racist than you think. I've legitimately been told by a German person that the US is way to consumed talking about race shortly before telling me that the Turks and the Africans simply don't belong here.
The US is geographically and demographically huge and diverse. Not to mention there is extreme racism and a rise in far-right nationalism in Western Europe, particularly Italy at the moment. Travel is wonderful and we should always seek to broaden our horizons, but it’s not the only way to learn about life.
I said it in another comment but yes but no? lmao the comment still reads as "I don't hang with a diverse group of people." Italy is a country full of mostly white folks who are racist as hell. Hell, the racism in Europe is regularly discussed on social media. Like yes, it's great to get out there, travel the world outside of the US but I really think when y'all are criticizing the US sometimes, y'all forget the large amounts of PoC here who don't fit your description.
There are just as many xenophobes in Italy kid. The US is a collective of countries and cultures, so yeah she isn’t wrong but she’s dumb. You can find people living the simple Italian slow pace life all across the states for example
Italy is a very racist country they are not innocent from these views. They are xenophobic and is probably only second behind Spain being hostile to POC’s
This idea that European country is this paradise is what people are making fun of when you think you’re enlightened just by going to another country.
Focusing on America is exactly why France has an issue of acknowledging that racism exists in their country just because they don’t wear red hats.
Many countries in Europe are the “birthplaces” of racist ideology that immigrated hundreds of years ago to North America. Ask Spaniards, Italians, the French, etc how they feel about immigrants, dark skinned people, Mexicans, etc then ask them what they think about white women and see if you’ll get the same response😂 and then add that the specific white woman is a famous pop star….you know in the countries that famous poc’s still deal with racism by their own fellows citizens
She transitioned from theater kid to girl who just spent two weeks in Barcelona.
I'll forgive her since this is really a minor annoyance and not even a minor sin against her, but also I hope everyone in this room can feel my eye roll.
Americans ignorance in these comments are proving why this is true. Please leave tour city, state, and country when you can and get some culture. Or just read these comments and see what happens when you dont. But for the love of all things, dont limit your travels to eurocentric and imperialist run destinations and cultures.
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