>


My contention would be that you downplay the effect of elements like movies and music (throw in books too), as well as food. 

That is a good point. We do produce some incredible movies, music and books. Between Robert Jordan, GRRM, and Brandon Sanderson, Americans have a claim to the fantasy genre as much as the English. 
Same story in Sci-Fi. Isaac Asimov's influence on the Sci-Fi genre cannot be overstated. !delta
/u/SiliconValleyIdiot (OP) has awarded 6 delta(s) in this post.
All comments that earned deltas (from OP or other users) are listed here, in /r/DeltaLog.
Please note that a change of view doesn't necessarily mean a reversal, or that the conversation has ended.
^Delta System Explained ^| ^Deltaboards >

Two points
​
1) You're distinguishing culture from economics in a way I don't think is entirely accurate.
Consider the examples you thought of when you discussed South Asian and French culture - mostly culinary, right? But you can't extract the unique cuisine of those cultures from the geographical conditions that made certain ingredients more abundant, the trade networks that allowed many of those non-native spices to flourish in places like India or Sri Lanka, or the unique family/community compositions that made certain dishes more popular. 
As dated a stereotype as it is, the modern hamburger is American culture. It's a by-product of their tastes, their values, and the way they construct their daily lives. It's also a product of their pluralist cultural values, first brought over by German immigrants but quickly adapted to something uniquely American. There's also soul food, the unique foods that are associated with "fairs" in the US, or even the unique midwestern culture surrounding casseroles (which is deeply family-based). That is a reflection of deeper values than just consumerism. It's their culture. 
2) It's easier to overlook US culture because it's so globally ubiquitous
Because American culture is both a) pluralist, and b) hegemonic, it can be tough to see American culture as its own distinct thing. Because when you talk about those unique cultures, you're often comparing them to the global culture. Well, that global culture is probably America's most significant export.
The very concept of the "teenager" is a by-product of modern US culture, and it's derived from their education system, their purchasing decisions, and their family values. People didn't think of "teenagers" as this distinct group of people until the mid-20th century, when the idea of a "youth culture" emerged for the first time in the United States. Before that, there were children and there were young adults. This idea of a unique adolescent stage is largely an American phenomenon, that we've all come to accept because America has exported so much of their culture. 
3) There are massive American cultural achievements by any metric
You said it yourself, modern music and film are basically American culture. Rock-and-roll, hip-hop, R&B, EDM (yes, that's from Chicago and Detroit), are all US exports. Everything about the way we do cinema has been informed mostly by Hollywood. New artistic mediums in the form of video games emerged largely from the US. Most of the greatest theatrical performances of the day are in the US on Broadway. Any list of the greatest literary figures of the 20th century is bound to include Americans like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, or Maya Angelou. 
You mentioned the Superbowl - what about other cultural traditions surrounding sport in the US? Everything that goes into a baseball game, or a basketball game, or the way communities rally around their local high school football team. That's all unique culture that has emerged in the US. 
This is to say nothing of their very unique religious customs in many parts of the US, much as I might find many of them problematic. 
In general, I think the main problem here is that you're conflating US culture with the global culture, because the US is the preeminent cultural exporter. But that doesn't mean it isn't uniquely American culture, with deep ties to American values. >


the modern hamburger is American culture.

Kinda, but in Sri Lanka you can find a lot of ingredients that are specific to that part of the world and are usually healthy.
The American hamburger makes you fat, creates health problems and it name comes from a city in Germany. If their values are to be bush pigs then fine, and im not trying to bash anybody, everything is fine if not used frequently. But that is what consumerism is, using more then you need.
As you say there are a lot of specific subcultures but the big one that connects the US isn't somerthing OP wants to indulge in >

So your metric for whether a culture is “consumerist” is whether their food is fattening? 
If “using more than what you need” is consumerist than pretty much every European culture is just as guilty as the US, alongside much of Asia, most of Latin America, and chunks of Africa and the Middle East. We all use far more than we could every possibly need. That’s the beauty of agricultural surpluses and modern, specialized economies. 
Consumerism is a specific preoccupation with vapid material goods. Are you going to suggest that European football is not highly commercialized? That people in India aren’t motivated by the desire for nice cars or expensive clothes? 
I’m not American, but I have lived there and I don’t see it as being any more fixated on consumption than any other country I’ve visited. They have a unique cultural identity beyond the desire to purchase things, but they -like the rest of us- live in an economy that also encourages the production and consumption of material goods. That’s no different from pretty much every other modern culture. The only real discernible difference is that the US is still by far the richest country in the world, so they happen to be able to buy more of those things.
Suggesting that means there is no unique American culture beyond the desire to purchase material goods just betrays a shallow, one-dimensional idea of the US. >


When you picture the culture of France for example, the images that come to mind are a culture of artists, authors, chefs, and local artisans, bakers, cheesemongers, etc

Are you arguing that the dominant American culture is consumerism? Because every moderately sized American city also has all those things…
To me it sounds like the lack of homogeneity is part of the problem. Is Texas bbq included in the “food that America is known for”? Or New York Style pizza? Or New England lobster *rolls? Or does America only get to claim the foods you can find across the entire country?
Edit: forgot a word and now I’m hungry and thinking of more foods. Like poboys in New Orleans, Nashville hot chicken, Buffalo wings, Maryland crab cakes, soul food… (Also anyone in the midwest or west coast, feel free to chime in) >

TexMex, California Pizza Kitchen, Low Country Boil, Chicago Pizza, Detroit Pizza, Georgia Pecan Pie, Alabama White BBQ, Memphis BBQ, Cincinnati Chili ...
Great, now I'm hungry, too! >

I’m about to doordash all of the above, wish me luck in my bankruptcy hearings >

From your name I’m guessing your around San Jose area. If you really want to see American culture travel to the Northeast, travel to the South, and if you bored enough to the Midwest. You’ll be punched in the face with just how different these places are culturally, and when you return home you’ll realize San Francisco/ San Jose had a strong culture all along, you were just so used to it you called it normal. >

Oh no! I'm absolutely not from or around San Jose area. I grew up in Washington, and lived in San Francisco for a couple of years.
I currently live in the South, and have visited Michigan (Ann Arbor) and Illinois (Urbana Champagne, and Chicago) for conferences as a grad student. My name refers to my industry more than anything.
While I admit there are cultural differences between states in the US, it's not even in the same order of magnitude of difference you would find in other countries.
E.g. in India, if you travel 500 miles, you won't even understand the language that others are speaking. Every state has its own language, culture, and food. Most of them are mutually unintelligible. In Africa, even within the same country there are tribes that don't speak the same language. In America you could travel 2000 miles and still talk the same language, follow similar sports, and eat similar-ish foods for the most part.
I already gave a delta to someone who pointed out the existence of unique subcultures. But the difference between San Jose and Atlanta ain't it. >

Yes absolutely America is not as culturally diverse as India however I think it’s only fair to compare the culture of nations with similar infrastructure. The better the infrastructure of a country the less segregated populations are. >

Sounds like you need to get out more. 
The 4th of July, thanksgiving, and Halloween are all devoid of any consumerism influence. The 4th of July is probably our most exciting holiday second only to Christmas. All our holidays are excuses to spend time with family and friends and have fun.
We have a "holiday season" between roughly after Halloween to new years. People decorate with lights, there are winter events and winter themed festivals all over. We have entire sets of foods and drinks which are specific to every season. Hot apple cider, apple cider doughnuts in the fall. Eggnog and Christmas cookies in the winter. A whole cooked turkey specifically for Thanksgiving. 
Your problem is you see what we do from the outside, while we see it for what is really is. The superbowl is mostly commercials, true. But the whole point for us for the superbowl is not the commercials but the fun of yelling at the teams on the TV together and rooting for whichever team we want to win. Hanging out with friends and eating wings and drinking beer.
Black Friday is not thanksgiving, it just happens to be the day after thanksgiving. Don't combine them. Also no one gives a shit about celebrating the pilgrims. Its a holiday with the purpose of spending time with family and showing that you can host a large dinner and not fuck it up.
Christmas is VASTLY more than shopping. Food friends, family, traveling, lights, Christmas trees, the beautiful scenery in the colder climates at that time of year, sledding, snowball fights, snowmen, etc.
All the things we do are only as good as you make them. >


Sounds like you need to get out more.

This is like the third time someone has said this. I don't know what from my post gives off the vibe that I'm socially isolated or not well travelled.

The 4th of July is probably our most exciting holiday second only to Christmas

I already gave a delta to the celebrations and traditions of 4th of july.

The superbowl is mostly commercials, true. But the whole point for us for the superbowl is not the commercials but the fun of yelling at the teams on the TV together and rooting for whichever team we want to win. Hanging out with friends and eating wings and drinking beer.

How is this different from any other game day? This is literally what we do on every single Sunday if you're an NFL fan (which I am). In my 20s, my friends and I used to go to the same sports bar week after week to watch the Seahawks. Every single Sunday. On Superbowl day, the bar just gets filled by 5x more people.

Black Friday is not thanksgiving, it just happens to be the day after thanksgiving. Don't combine them. 

Why should I not combine them? They've become so enmeshed that plenty of retailers start their Black Friday deals the evening of Thanksgiving, expecting their employees to show up to work to support the hundreds of people who show up there expecting deals. If it was such a sacred tradition of celebrating with family, retailers should shutter their doors and open only on the Friday after, which they explicitly do not do.

Christmas is VASTLY more than shopping. Food friends, family, traveling, lights, Christmas trees, the beautiful scenery in the colder climates at that time of year, sledding, snowball fights, snowmen, etc.

All very valid points, but the amount of stress families go through to participate in the gift exchange is ridiculous. Instead of focusing on spending time together as a family and enjoying a home cooked meal, the entire focus becomes about what gifts to give each other, regardless of whether they are able to afford it. >

As someone who is personally well traveled, I think I understand what you're trying to say, but might be unable to really see what "American" culture is. I'm currently living in SE Asia, from Philadelphia, lived in NYC & London previously.
Something I noticed about being white in America with no ties to ancestory was I felt there was no "culture". But I think in America, what we consider "normal" is our "culture" so anything different becomes exotic/cultural. It's hard to explain but sadly I think America sets a precedent that people assimilate to, which you can probably understand moving there as a teen. When you travel and start to have conversations with locals in other countries, you'll uncover differences you thought were "normal" which are actually American culture. Sometimes these things will spread to other western nations. Culture is about collective behavior and attitudes as well as traditions. 
Living in NYC is nothing like living in Philadelphia and they are only 2 hours apart. The art, the night life, the architecture, the fashion, the politics. On the west coast, I was I had culture shock at how infrequent j-walking was, and how slow everyone walked around. Each state has its own culture, not as unique as an entire country but thats because we're way more spread out but still under a large web of governance. >

I have traveled across the US, through 49/50 states. I can tell you the US is geographically huge, has many identities and cultures, and its renown as a "Cultural Melting Pot" is a culture in itself. 
Black American culture is distinct from that of black African immigrants, including music, food, dance, and language. African American Vernacular has grammatical rules distinct from American English and African languages.
Asian American culture is distinct from their respective Asian countries of origin.
Chicano (Americans of Mexican descent) culture in California is distinct from Mexican culture.
New Orleans, LA culture is distinct from African, French, and Spanish culture, though synthesized from a mix of those influences. Their holidays, music, dance, and attire is distinct from other countries and other US states.
Hawaii culture is a mix of Polynesian aboriginals of Taiwanese descent and Portuguese immigrants, and modern Japanese influence. Its culture is distinct from the Mainland (aka contiguous 48 states). Their food, music, dance, traditions, and folklore are distinct from other countries and US states.
The West has a distinct cultural identity from The East owing to the frontier and homesteader days and agricultural industry.
This is not an exhaustive list by any stretch, just the handful that are top of mind. >

Yes! I already gave a delta to a user who pointed out the existence of various subcultures that are unique to America (E.g. Cajun / Creole culture). You're extending that by pointing out other subcultures that are uniquely American, like Polynesian, Chicano, etc.
In the spirit of maintaining consistency, I'm offering you a Δ as well. >

Confirmed: 1 delta awarded to /u/femmestem (3∆).
^Delta System Explained ^| ^Deltaboards >

American culture is hugely rooted in individualism and, though we don't like to admit it, puritanical predestinationism.
We celebrate the individual over the community repeatedly.  In many ways, that leads to problems, but it also fosters immense creativity and innovation.  That's one of the reasons that most of the biggest innovations in the last 200 years have been created here, and thinkers, innovators, and builders want to come to the U.S.  (Of course there are other reasons, like better pay and better living conditions than in some countries, but you get it.)  
Puritanical predestinationism plays a bigger role in our culture than we admit.  The puritans ("pilgrims") believed that you were predetermined whether you'd go to heaven or hell, but your worldly success demonstrated your favor with God.  So, to show you're going to heaven, you'd try to be successful in the world. Of course, basically none of us believes in predestination now, but I think that that is a underlying basis that helped fuel consumerism.
Plus, we're a nation of immigrants (mostly).  Why did people want to come here? Because there were promises of wealth, land and success for hard work. The people who answered that call were less attached to their homeland, their extended families, etc.
So those things may drive our culture, but that's not all there is to it.  We are a country of inventors, who created things not just to make a buck but because we wanted to do things to help society.  
By the way, you have Thanksgiving wrong.  It's about family and tradition (and gluttony, but lots of societies have feast days).  And football. Yeah, people start spending money, originally on Christmas gifts but now mostly just for themselves, around the Thanksgiving holiday, but the holiday itself isn't about that.
The 4th of July is not commercial either (except that you have to pay for stuff like fireworks and hot dogs)-- it's about picnicking, enjoying fireworks, maybe getting out on a lake, parades, patriotic music, and honoring our military.
Our food history and culture is so diverse and unique, you can't pigeonhole that except with overbroad stereotypes. Yeah, we might be known for fast food but really what we're known for in that sphere is innovating food delivery processes -- making stuff available throughout the country all at the same standard of quality--and making it affordable.  Whether that's the creation of synthetic food additives, premade meals to alleviate housewives of the pains of cooking in the 1950s and 1960s, or fast food franchising after that. (P.S. Cheap beer came about because, after prohibition ended in the 1930s, people didn't have a taste for stronger beers, and American style lagers and pilsners took hold.  Again, innovation -- national brands could make a beer that tasted more or less the same and could sell it fresh across a country of thousands of miles.  And who's leading the microbrew revolution?  It ain't the British or Belgians.)
There's more to say, but I hope these examples show that while our "culture" may result in consumeristic tendencies, it's much more than consumerism. >

You've just now figured out holidays are about consumption?  That's why they are holidays.  You celebrate X with food and alcohol.  That's pretty much universal. >

Im sorry but it seems to me like your saying consumption came first and then holidays attached to it but in most places in the world we still value other things like religion >

Do you know the origin of holidays?  Religious feast days. >

Do people sell food in your culture? Do French people sell their art, their bread, their cheese?
You can criticise a lot of American culture for being consumerist, but I don't think fast food, soda, and cheap beer are any more or less consumerist than any other food someone sells. >


Do people sell food in your culture? Do French people sell their art, their bread, their cheese?

Yes. Just selling something doesn't make it consumerist. By that definition, every culture is consumerist because even before money or existed, people traded goods in a barter system.

You can criticise a lot of American culture for being consumerist, but I don't think fast food, soda, and cheap beer are any more or less consumerist than any other food someone sells.

Consumerism is basically consuming for the sake of consuming in ever increasing amounts. That's why the industrially produced fast food, soda and cheap beer feels different from a local artisan selling something. It's the scale of consumption it enables that is different. >


Consumerism is basically consuming for the sake of consuming in ever increasing amounts

That's not consumerism, that's gluttony. >


Consumerism: the theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically desirable
a preoccupation with and an inclination toward the buying of consumer goods

This is from the Merriam-Webster dictionary. There are other definitions that also point to ever increasing consumption, and that being seen as a good thing as a definition of consumerism. >


Every single one of these events revolve around consumption. E.g. Super Bowl is about 60 minutes of actual game with about 2.5 hours of commercials.

The fact that's what you think the Superbowl about is kinda weird or it means you don't celebrate the tradition?  It'd be like describing Christmas as "A day where people exchange items".  
The Superbowl is an annual tradition. It's a day of friend and family togetherness.  At my house we eat spicy queso, we cook on the grill, we pick teams and root for them.  We laugh at absurd commercials, we laugh together and most of all we spend time with one another around a sport that is quintessentially American.  When it's a team we support it gets even more wild.  We wear jerseys, we dress up, we play football outside.    It's easy enough to say, "2.5 hours of commercials" but you don't even acknowledge THEY ARE SPECIAL COMMERCIALS.  Top Tier Actors, millions spent, the controversy's (thank Cryptobros from last year, or the original GoDaddy promotions).  The half-time event is a MUSICAL FEAT of LIVE music choreography usually combining several different artists.
​
I don't even follow football during the season, but I'll be there for the Super Bowl.  It's a fun day. >


The fact that's what you think the Superbowl about is kinda weird or it means you don't celebrate the tradition? It'd be like describing Christmas as "A day where people exchange items".

LOL! It's funny because that is exactly how I described it.

The Superbowl is an annual tradition. It's a day of friend and family togetherness. At my house we eat spicy queso, we cook on the grill, we pick teams and root for them. We laugh at absurd commercials, we laugh together and most of all we spend time with one another around a sport that is quintessentially American. When it's a team we support it gets even more wild. We wear jerseys, we dress up, we play football outside. It's easy enough to say, "2.5 hours of commercials" but you don't even acknowledge THEY ARE SPECIAL COMMERCIALS. Top Tier Actors, millions spent, the controversy's (thank Cryptobros from last year, or the original GoDaddy promotions). The half-time event is a MUSICAL FEAT of LIVE music choreography usually combining several different artists.

I grew up supporting the Seahawks. I still follow NFL and watch the Seahawks play every week.

I don't even follow football during the season, but I'll be there for the Super Bowl. It's a fun day.

It definitely is. >

<3 GL out there :) >


When someone asks about South Asian culture, I talk about the colorful religious festivals, South Asian food like Biryani, curry, chutneys, etc., and strong familial ties - which is not all universally positive given just how involved parents, and extended family tends to be in each others' lives, but it's definitely a cultural theme.

I am immediately under the assumption that you don’t really know a lot about American culture if you were very seriously ignorant to the existence of stuff like this in the United States.

When you picture the culture of France for example, the images that come to mind are a culture of artists, authors, chefs, and local artisans, bakers, cheesemongers, etc. The quintessential French festival is Bastille Day, which celebrates the famous French revolution. To this day, the French labor movement is so strong that the nation pretty much grinds to a halt when they tried to raise the retirement age.

This is a broad generalization. You can also picture some of the more shittier things France does such as the treatment of specific African nations.

However, when someone asks me what American culture is, I can't think of anything that is not based in consumerism. 

The historic evolution of many sub groups that immigrated to the United States. The creation of music genres such as jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, hip-hop, rock, etc. Technological advancement. 

The food that America is known for internationally is just mass produced fast food, soda, and cheap beer. The cultural events of prominence are Super Bowl, July 4th, Thanksgiving + Black Friday, and Christmas.

America is known for an overwhelming variety of foods depending on what you’re actually talking about. Main stream American food culture is not the only food they are known for. For the holidays listed, it doesn’t really make any sense considering America is not the only country that is known for producing fast food, soda, and beer and also may how cultural events that are tied to consumerism.

Every single one of these events revolve around consumption. E.g. Super Bowl is about 60 minutes of actual game with about 2.5 hours of commercials. Thanksgiving and Black Friday are about just as known for being retail holidays as they are for the purported celebration of the pilgrims being welcomed by the natives (which is already a significant amount of whitewashing to begin with).

The United States has 11 national holidays. You chose to only recognize three and included two other culturally prominent activities and then kind of assumed the entire country is rooted in consumerism. Cool.

Christmas too is primarily about gift giving and opening the said gifts.

Which is also a holiday celebrated in other countries. >


I am immediately under the assumption that you don’t really know a lot about American culture if you were very seriously ignorant to the existence of stuff like this in the United States.

I spent 20+ years living in America. I've lived here since I was 12. It's possible that I'm ignorant to the existence of stuff like this in the United States, but I'm not sure how. I already pointed to some cultural festivals like Thanksgiving and Christmas, but pointed out why they are primarily about consumption.

This is a broad generalization. You can also picture some of the more shittier things France does such as the treatment of specific African nations.

Sure. You could picture that, but I don't think anyone is going to call that culture. It'll be like saying American culture is Slavery and erasure of Native cultures. You could argue that, but it's not what people think of when you say the phrase I want to experience the culture of X.

The historic evolution of many sub groups that immigrated to the United States. The creation of music genres such as jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, hip-hop, rock, etc. Technological advancement.

Already conceded that America's influence in pop culture is massive (e.g. Hollywood and Music, which includes Jazz, Rock-n-roll, hip-hop).

The United States has 11 national holidays. You chose to only recognize three and included two other culturally prominent activities and then kind of assumed the entire country is rooted in consumerism. Cool.

I just picked the example of two biggest holidays and how they are now mostly about consumption than celebrating something. How many people you know are using thanksgiving to celebrate Native cultures? But how many people are using that as a shopping holiday? 
Though there are many christian families celebrating Christmas as the birth of Jesus, there are just as many families who treat it primarily as a way to exchange gifts (consumerism). >


I spent 20+ years living in America. I've lived here since I was 12. It's possible that I'm ignorant to the existence of stuff like this in the United States, but I'm not sure how. I already pointed to some cultural festivals like Thanksgiving and Christmas, but pointed out why they are primarily about consumption.

I am someone who also moved around a lot as a child. If you live in a country for 20+ years and fail to really grasp what is American culture outside of what is the general stereotype. Then what were you doing while living there?

Sure. You could picture that, but I don't think anyone is going to call that culture. It'll be like saying American culture is Slavery and erasure of Native cultures. You could argue that, but it's not what people think of when you say the word I want to experience the culture of X.

Why not? Based off of you saying this and your initial description of France. It seems you’re basing culture off of what people generally assume when they think about the country. This is an extremely poor definition of culture.

Already conceded that America's influence in pop culture is massive (e.g. Hollywood and Music, which includes Jazz, Rock-n-roll, hip-hop).

Ok… then you were recognizing certain cultural phenomenons that are not rooted consumerism.

I just picked the example of two biggest holidays and how they are now mostly about consumption than celebrating something. How many people you know are using thanksgiving to celebrate Native cultures? But how many people are using that as a shopping holiday?

For Thanksgiving specifically, it’s not a shopping holiday. People go out enmass to buy stuff, yeah, but that’s because it is culturally significant to sit down around a large meal. They are buying food to participate in the cultural practice of eating with your family.
This same cultural practice is repeated and observed in pretty much every country on planet earth. So, when other countries go out enmass and buy food to sit down with their family do you also called that consumerist or is it only consumerist when Americans do it?
It really seems like you are blatantly ignoring the fact that buying stuff does not automatically or inherently relate to consumerism. Same shit for Christmas. It’s a cultural holiday where you buy stuff to celebrate time with your family. Other countries do stuff like this. But it’s only consumerist when Americans do it? 
Christmas is celebrated in China, it’s more of a commercial holiday over there. However I don’t really see you pointing out how this is an example of Chinese culture largely being consumerist. >

I'm American born and raised and I think the OP is spot on. We don't have any real unique holidays other than 4th of July and Thanksgiving. Presidents day, Labor day, MLK day, Memorial day, etc aren't really celebrated they're just an extra day off work.
4th of July is completely centered on consumerism. We blow up over $1,000,000,000 a year. Grill cheap hotdogs and burgers, and drink shitty beer. Though, the beer scene has really changed in the last 20 years or so, so we're moving away from bud light being the staple.
Christmas celebrations in other countries are wildly different. Here, for the vast majority, it really is just about buying crap to give to people. Other places give very few gifts, and it's centered far more around the religious aspect.
They tried to commercialize Thanksgiving itself, but turkeys make crappy mascots and the whole pilgrim Indian thing got canceled, so they just made up black Friday instead.
Halloween used to be great, back when people would make their own candy and treats, but in the early 80s there was a bunch of bullshit propaganda about people poisoning and putting razorblades in candy and the news encouraged parents to throw out anything that wasn't sealed and prepackaged and the packaging didn't have any damage to it. So people stopped making caramel apples, popcorn balls, cookies, and chocolates and the like and just started buying shitty mass produced mini candy bars. Costumes went from being homemade to just buying crappy plastic masks and fake outfits for $10.
We are "the great melting pot" so we have foods and customs from all over, but we take those things and bastardize them in the name of profit. Look what Taco Bell and Chipotle have done to Mexican food. Dominos and Pizza Hut to pizza. McDonalds, and Burger King to burgers.
We also took soda and loaded it with HFCS because it's cheaper and sweeter to get more people hooked on it. Even out bread is loaded with sugar. It used to just be Wonderbread and the like, but now even our whole wheat breads are so sweet people from other countries can't stand them.
You also call out the OP for not understanding the US and then give vague, all encompassing stateme to like, "there are plenty of American foods that aren't fast food," but don't name a single one. What are we known for? Apple pie? That came to the US from Europe. Maybe fried chicken? If we didn't invent it we definitely popularized it. Then we turned it into cheap, easily mass produced nuggets that, when eaten alone are so disgusting they realized they had to hide the flavor with sauces to make them palatable. 
It's also very clear that you are completely ignorant of what any culture but ours is like and have never spent any considerable time outside the US or been immersed in a foreign culture in any way, but are calling the OP ignorant of "our custums."
Well, I'm a natural US citizen, and I don't know what our customs are other than consumerism, either.
We invented planned obscelesence and took solid designs that would last 100 years and turned them into cheap, disposable pieces of crap that are designed to fail after a couple years and made them so difficult to repair that it's cheaper to throw them out and buy a new one.
When we find something that makes money we start mass producing it until it becomes so derivative and ubiquitous that people get sick of it. Like the zombie movie/TV show craze, or the Fast and the Furious franchise. Or all the fighter pilot movies and TV shows sparked by Top Gun. 
Our culture is one of locusts, picking over the bones of quality for any scraps until nothing remains but dust. >

First of all, one could easily argue that all culture under global capitalism now takes the form of consumerism.  If consumerism is involved in Americans celebrating Independence Day then it is probably equally involved in the French celebrating Bastille Day.  All cultural products such as food or clothing are always equally commodities that people buy and consume.
Setting aside the idea that all culture is expressed through commodities, America has still made a lot of incredible contributions to human culture.  Music is probably the biggest, we gave the world blues, jazz, rock and hip-hop.  We also gave the world baseball, which has become one of the most internationally appreciated sports.  We revolutionized film and television, and we have our own literary traditions which have been highly influential.  None of these contributions are inherently more consumerist than anything else you'd find in the world. >

"When someone asks me what American culture is, I can't think of anything that is not based in consumerism.
This sounds like an issue of lack of exposure and understanding of America.  America is a vast place and is better understood regionally, if you are looking at cultural aspects.  There's a massive fishing heritage and culture that defines New England, for instance.  The food, festivals, and people are all steeped in this.  If you spent time there, you'd walk away thinking, "wow, that's an amazing cultural heritage they have".
But then, if you went to the South, you'd experience Mardi Gras, which has deep roots in pre-christian era celebrations, and any Cajun would be delighted to share the history of their people who endured the forced march from Canada to the swamps of Louisiana.   You'd learn about strange things like zydeco music, boiled peanuts, and eating "mud bugs" which was first out of desperation and survival, but is now a delicacy unlike any in the world.  (crawfish)
What about American national parks?  My friends who visit from abroad concur that those experiences are unlike anything in the old world of Europe.  We did that one right.
So, those  are just a few, of dozens that I can pull up in my own head, that rival my experiences around the world (like you, I've lived in europe for a few years).
Perhaps it's just a perspective thing, you've yet to experience true aspects of american culture that exist.  Sure you can cherry pick very shallow things like hamburgers and soda to say they represent american culture.   But I could do the same thing about any country.  "France?  Ah man they just have that tower, cheese, and cafes.  Cool, but so cliche. "   "Germany?  It's just beer and castles"   You have to dig deeper do give any country or region justice.
If you focus on the cliches, you aren't really talking about the diverse and amazing culture you can find here. >

Hollywood? Broadway? Satirical cartoons like Homer Simpson and such?
What about jeans, and affordable brands like Old Navy, etc.? What about discount shoppers like WalMart, Dollarama, McDonalds, etc.? 
It's not as traditional, but it is culture nonetheless. We're just so used to it we don't really see it as such anymore. >

I already called out Hollywood and Pop Music. They are global influences. That's an area I'm willing to concede.
Broadway is just theatre, which has existed for about 2 millenia before Broadway even existed.

What about jeans, and affordable brands like Old Navy, etc.? What about discount shoppers like WalMart, Dollarama, McDonalds, etc.?

This is what I mean by consumerism. You basically just named 5 corporations. Corporations != culture. No matter how much we would like for it to be. >

Broadway is not “just theatre.” Broadway created the American Musical which has been exported to almost every country around the world. Broadway and the rest of US theatre is unique and undoubtedly one of the US’ biggest cultural exports. >


American Musical

TIL about Broadway and its influence on creating American Musical. Δ >

Confirmed: 1 delta awarded to /u/Imaginary-Diamond-26 (1∆).
^Delta System Explained ^| ^Deltaboards >

There are certainly consumerist elements to American culture, just like all cultures. But to say it's all essentially consumerism is unfounded. You've already acknowledged the various subcultures, but that's not a small thing. America is massive. It'd be silly to say Europe doesn't have culture. It's comprised of thousands of cultures varying from country to country and region to region. Just like America and it's states and regions. 
I think it's easy to not see it if you aren't looking though, so I understand where you're coming from. I think it's very similar to thinking "I don't have an accent, but those people do!" You're used to it, you're completely immersed in it. What you see in other cultures is the contrast to your own. 
America is where cultures from all over the world combined and evolved into their own unique cultures. There's so much culture that it's been overflowing into the rest of the world. Every country is influenced by American culture. China for example, actively controls and censors the internet in order to resist the American influence on its citizens. >

You’re comparing smaller countries where the entire country fits into one region of the U.S.. During my military days, I moved all over the US., and each place I loved had a different culture to it. In the south, southern food is huge… though the specific food changes based on where you live. It could be Cajun food, southern fried food, crawdad boils etc…. But what centralizes them all is they bring people together. Weekly family dinners, neighborhood cookouts, church brunches, whatever it is the food brings these people together in love and peace. In the north east, sports is huge with groups of people getting together to celebrate their favorite teams… and it doesn’t always require buying things, just getting together at 1 persons house and putting the game on. In the west there is a huge culture of inclusion and acceptance, Pride week festival and all sorts of events that are meant to celebrate the differences of humans (something most countries around the world, not all but most) still do not do even in this day and age. 
These are all parts of American culture, but are not something that covers the whole country because thd country itself is just to large for that. >

Edit.. sorry I did not read through all the comments and after posting see that you have already delta’d some people who have pointed out similar things to my post. >

I agree with some of what you've said.
My contention would be that you downplay the effect of elements like movies and music (throw in books too), as well as food. American movies are everywhere. American music is everywhere. You can be anywhere in world and get a hamburger and fries.
I spent two weeks in Santorini - a lot of the music that played was American music; I once went to a KFC in La Puerta del Sol in Madrid. Now, you could say that's consumerism, and to some degree it is - that I went to recognizable brand. But you talk about what you picture when you think of America - a burger or fried chicken might be more likely to come to mind than McDonald's or KFC, as big of brands as those two are. There's much more to the culture than just the consumerism, is really what my point is.