There is a land, far away, called America. In this country where the population is all white, a McDonalds can be found on every road. Car's are everywhere, people wear cowboy hats in Texas, the government are power-crazed. There is pollution in the huge cities and every man, woman and child are obese. A gun is in every household. Everyone is Christian. There are high schools with young adults who play basketball and American football. This is stereotyped America.
Why is America thought of this way? As a cocky country with a thirst for more power? There are many reasons. The President's decisions are 1 of the reasons, the start of the war could cause other countries to think of the whole population the same way. There are many other reasons, but the main one is the media. The classic example is The Simpsons, which shows the main character, Homer Simpson, as fat, lazy, and not very polite.
This is only one example however, there have been at least 100 shows showing America this way. Can the world ever get along without one country being thought of worse? Does there always have to be an evil side? And maybe a bad opinion of America might be that slight bit exaggerated?
For more American stereotypes, look on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotype#White_American_stereotypes
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
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2 comments:
Many stereotypes are true...to a degree. Not all of them are bad. African-Americans love Cadillacs, for instance. I think they've got good taste!
Based on my experience living and traveling outside the United States, I found that people know less about America and American people than they think know. The nearest McDonald's is 7 miles from my house in New York. So, I crushed that stereotype. Public transport is not available. A car is the only thing we have to get around in. My brother hops into his Pontiac and drives to McDonald's nearly every single day. But are is not a luxury in America. Owning a car is a necessity, unless you happen to live in Manhattan. In nearly every town in America, you will find an Italian pizzeria restaurant and a Chinese restaurant/takeaway. They outnumber the McDonald's restaurants. In my high school years, I had to drive to the school. Bus service wasn't available. The trip was 17 miles each way (20 miles when I had to pick up other kids). My brother did the same thing at 16 when he was in high school. And yeah, we eat a lot, too. That's what I miss about diners. You can go to a diner at 2:00 in the morning and order any kind of food you want. Yeah, I go at that hour. You get a mountain of food for a reasonable price. I normally have a hot pastrami on rye, with a bit of mustard. And I usually have that with a knish on the side and a glass of seltzer. -- another stereotypical New York Jewish thing.
All major cities have dirty air. I think cities in Switzerland are the exception. They use electric buses and the streets are clean. I would say the Swiss are the closest to perfection - a multicultural entity that actually works (people living in harmony)...and direct democracy! It's also impossible to get a bad meal there.
Another sterotype crushed -- Christianity has been in decline for nearly 5 decades there. It's just not declining as quickly as it is in Britain. And Britain actually has a national church -- how ironic! Americans are often surprised at how embarrassed the British are of their culture and history. Anglicanism's 'Thirty-nine Articles of Religion' is one of the great literary works of the western world! Christianity is growing in Asia and Africa, where more churches are being built than McDonalds and Burger Kings!
European governments are more power-crazed than the US government. They are much more intrusive.
As for Homer Simpson -- Yes, that is a stereotype. He is Generation X's perception of the typical Baby Boomer father.
It's not all bad. It's just that people pick and choose the negative ones about a people they don't like, and those are the ones that stick in their minds. Like obese Americans, for instance.
Interesting post Ryan. Do you think someone can make stereotypes or generalizations if they are positive? For example, is it OK to say I like the Middle East because the people are hospitable? Can you ever stereotype a nation?
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