» These groups leave a great deal of room for ambiguity, as, for example, Middle Easterners are made to choose between Europe and Asia, neither of which do they belong to; the category Asian is popularly identified with East Asia , rather than Southwest Asia ; Pacific Islander/Hawaiian natives, technically Native Americans, may be assigned to Asian-American because of their geographic origins in Oceania ; the term African-American is associated with centuries-long residents, and does not make distinctions between them and, say, recent Afro-Caribbean immigrants from Jamaica  or refugees from Somalia . Furthermore, the categories disregard the multi-ethnic heritage of many Americans.


» U.S. culture has a large influence on the rest of the world, especially the Western world . This influence is sometimes criticized as cultural imperialism . U.S. music  is heard all over the world, and it is the sire of such forms as blues  and jazz  and had a primary hand in the shaping of modern rock and roll  and popular music  culture. Many great Western classical musicians  and forums find their home in the U.S. New York City  is a hub for international operatic  and instrumental  music as well as the world-famed Broadway  plays and musicals. New York and San Francisco  are world-wide leaders in graphic design  and New York and Los Angeles  compete with major European cities in the fashion industry. U.S. movies  (primarily embodied in Hollywood ) and television shows can be seen almost anywhere. This is in stark contrast to the early days of the republic, when the country was viewed by Europeans as an agricultural backwater with little to offer the culturally "advanced" world centers of Asia and Europe.