For the Non-Americans out there

brightobject

brightobject

there like moonlight
is a Top Artist Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
How do you view our country? / How do you feel your country's media/government portrays us?

Doesn't just apply to usa, tell me about how you think any country is characterized by yours(individual groups in your country)

I've always been interested by this sort of international communications type stuff, I think if we become more conscious of the reasons behind certain preconceptions we can approach situations with a more open mind
 
I am pretty sure most countries' media outlets are owned by the same handful of corps so the view that the media burns into the brains of people is pretty consistent throughout the world. There is a reason people think ALL Americans are fat and lazy, television shows teach this to them. The fact that a lot of Americans idolize and want to emulate ficticous tv personalities only compounds the issue.


Let's look at an example: The Simpsons is a hugely successful show airing throughout the world. It is supposed to depict an average American family, however this family is far from average. Watching this show you might get the impression that American fathers are fat, lazy, and abusive. I am not that way and know many more who are not. Don't let media control your thoughts people, use your experiences to form your own opinions.
 
My image of the typical american? More or less the same as where I live (Aus). I'm conscious of the fact that I don't deal with american people a lot, so there are a couple of stereotypes that I have where I'm aware that they're stereotypes and don't take them seriously, even if there's a grain of truth to them in that there are a minority of people who embody those caricatures. Sure there's the stupid, fat and lazy stereotype, and the caricature of US conservatives, which is a kind of a bible-beating and/or gun-toting xenophobic nutjob who blathers about freedom every other sentence, but I don't really take them seriously. Overall I don't see american people as being substantially different from those of other english-speaking western countries (such as Aus/NZ)

That said, there is one thing- is patriotism and nationalism in general a really prevalent ideology in the US? I feel like it is. The way american soldiers tend to be regarded extremely highly and with no knowledge of what they actually accomplished is a bit off-putting. There's also the fact that I get the impression that a lot of American debates tend to neglect the rest of the world- discussions occur without either side looking to other nations to see how they grappled with similar issues.

As for the US society and its systems? Not good. Everything I've heard about the place suggests that it's just the rich extorting everyone else. There's obviously the massively expensive uni and health systems. For jobs that are ideal for my stage of life (student), there are wages so low it's impossible to live off them (THAT'S ANOTHER THING- tipping in the US is so fucking stupid, idk any other place that treats it the same way). Then there's instances where companies use the legal system to extort consumers- an example being the Dallas Buyers Club movie, where people who got caught torrenting were getting sued for thousands of dollars for pirating a movie that probably cost $20 on DVD (idk, random guess). Then there's the cops and the way they treat people, although admittedly I have no clue what dealing with police is like in Australia since it's never been necessary for me.

Though it's a bit silly to try to separate one's perspective from one's biases, I'd tend to think I hold a pretty left-wing perspective regardless of the media I consume, one that's naturally critical of a lot of american systems. Then there's the fact that I get a lot of exposure to media content via biased sources. Seriously, I lurk reddit, that place is so horrifically biased my gut's microflora would probably vote for bernie sanders by now
 
Americans aren't portrayed as fat stupid lazy in Hong Kong. The "lazy" stereotype somehow doesn't exist here.
I think the only ones who are portrayed as lazy are the Greeks. (And the media does shape them to hate Greeks)

The Bad bits:

But Americans are portrayed heavily by the media to be bossy and think that every country's business is their business. This is due to the fact that whenever some countries are in war, USA seems to be involved. And the fact that Americans tend to sign petitions on just nearly anything. (especially animal rights) This includes butting their heads in for "feminist rights" for women wearing hijab.
Main stream Hong Kongers believe that whenever 2 or more countries fight, it's their own business, and it's none of anyone else's business.
Main stream Hong Kongers believe what Muslim women wear have nothing to do with people who aren't Muslims.

They are perceived to be ethnocentric -- they think it's ok to eat pork/ beef, but invent a moral difference on dog meat or other meats that Americans somehow don't eat, and believe that they are more moral than Asians.
Despite the fact that dog meat is illegal in Hong Kong, and that most Hongkongers don't like the idea of eating dog meat, majority feels that Americans should not voice out for the dogs-- because American people are not dogs, it doesn't directly harm them. It's called having too much time concerning stuff that doesn't directly matter to you.
This is also worsened by the fact that a lot of American exchange students come to Hong Kong without thorough research on Hong Kong's culture. They come to Hong Kong and demand everything to be done in the American way.

They are perceived to be rude -- many don't say "please", "thanks", after ordering something, whilst Europeans would have said these words. Use of informal English when speaking. (Usage of slangs are perceived as lower class behaviour in Hong Kong)

They are perceived to have bad manners -- not dressing formally enough for posh areas that used to be white man's area. Not eating according to European's standards in posh places (also used to be white people's restricted areas).
(These areas still exist in Hong Kong. Apparently all current posh areas in Hong Kong used to be white people only areas.)


HOWEVER
The good bits:

They are perceived to be good Christians.

They are perceived to be helpful-- they would save a person's life even when they don't actually know him/ her. Some may even rescue their enemies. They are perceived to be willing to help a neighbor.

They are perceived to be very nice to animals. We often get news on how Americans help dogs or other wild life/ rescue them, etc. We also get news on how American traffic would stop if some animals are crossing. (Which doesn't happen here-- the trains will not stop and always kill the stray dogs or whatever animals they may be.)

Americans are perceived to be creative. Aside of most inventors we know are Americans, Disney is also American. Disney is big here. For small children, Disney can be bigger than Japanese anime.

Americans are perceived to be generous-- because of tipping!!

===============

Regarding to American systems.

American education is perceived to be very good. (Seriously!!) It is perceived to be very advanced with cutting edge technology. Parents spend millions of dollars to send their kids to American schools. They think so because most inventors of science/ tech stuff are from America.

America is perceived to have cutting edge technology. When people think of America, they think of science and technology.

They think that every American is good at science, despite not good at maths. Almost all scientists that an average Hongkonger knows of is an American.

They think that American cops are very nice people. We often get news stories about how a group of cops helped autistic boys to celebrate their birthdays, something like that.
 
Last edited:
In the UK there seems to be a lot of confusion about the presented stereotypes and the actual population. We seem to think that most Americans are how they're stereotypically sold and others are exceptions rather than the other way around. I know this not to be the case, but all the attention that gets shovelled onto us by Americans is negative by our standards or heavily satirised.

Take this video of a popular British comedian for example.
These types of videos heavily portrays American negatives and makes it seem that's how the majority of you guys are. I know you're not, but no Briton is going to care about specific. To summarise the video, a quote from it is 'put the gun down you redneck cousin fuckers'.

You guys are also portrayed as Christian to a fault. To the point on being unable to accept new advancements and move with the times culturally. Every country has racism and over religiosity but it seems more evident in the US.
 
I like creselia's style so I'll do the same

From Australia

THE BAD:
Americans are really fat
Americans are geographically uneducated
Americans are gun obsessed and enjoy killing things
Americans have shitty fashion sense
The South is really stupid and uneducated
Americans have disgusting food
American food portions are too big to eat
Americans are crazy about religion

THE GOOD:
Americans are really friendly and chatty
Americans are really thick skinned
Americans make a ton of a good media
Americans are very kind to tourists and visitors



We also think tipping is retarded
 
Rugi said:
Americans have disgusting food
Click to expand...

Woah, slow the fuck down Mr. Vegemite. This is just objectively untrue. Philadelphia Cheesesteaks, Buffalo Wings, Eggs Benedict, Nachos... not to mention the melting pot of foods invented by immigrants like General's Chicken, the New York Pizza, etc. You could live in any city in this massive country and have access to food from all over the world too.

How do you think we got so fat?
 
Last edited:
Old_Gregg said:
I am pretty sure most countries' media outlets are owned by the same handful of corps so the view that the media burns into the brains of people is pretty consistent throughout the world. There is a reason people think ALL Americans are fat and lazy, television shows teach this to them. The fact that a lot of Americans idolize and want to emulate ficticous tv personalities only compounds the issue.


Let's look at an example: The Simpsons is a hugely successful show airing throughout the world. It is supposed to depict an average American family, however this family is far from average. Watching this show you might get the impression that American fathers are fat, lazy, and abusive. I am not that way and know many more who are not. Don't let media control your thoughts people, use your experiences to form your own opinions.
Click to expand...
how are people supposed to have experiences about a foreign country and those that live in it when they've never been? maybe they should just take a guess instead of trying to learn. maybe they can just research, but whose to say what source they read from doesn't have a secret evil agenda to make people think every american is fat, then the source would be ruined!!!


Idk man. maybe fat people are just funnier, and maybe a weirder family is just funnier. do u expect a show with stable and conformist characters to be entertaining enough for 25+ seasons? do you actually think the simpsons was created for this reason?
 
Anything bad I could say about America I'm confident I could say about at least 80% of western nations, honestly.

I don't think the problems surrounding bigotry, questionable leadership, shootings, religion, education, and health are exclusive to America at all.
 
i think a very important question is how do foreigners view Obama? Conservative politicians and the media portray that the whole world views Obama as an embarrassment to the United States and generally weak. Most foreigners that I know actually like Obama.
 
henry said:
how are people supposed to have experiences about a foreign country and those that live in it when they've never been? maybe they should just take a guess instead of trying to learn. maybe they can just research, but whose to say what source they read from doesn't have a secret evil agenda to make people think every american is fat, then the source would be ruined!!!


Idk man. maybe fat people are just funnier, and maybe a weirder family is just funnier. do u expect a show with stable and conformist characters to be entertaining enough for 25+ seasons? do you actually think the simpsons was created for this reason?
Click to expand...

Actually those characters ceased to entertain me after about 8+ years in. I'm not saying there is some conspiracy to diminish the critical thinking power of the masses, just saying that this is exactly what resulted regardless of the intent. Television does shape how we perceive things, regardless if it be for better or worse. With that being said, these types of media have great power to sway opinions. With that sort of power in your hands, why wouldn't you abuse it for personal gain when there's a good chance to get away with it?
 
what are you talking about man, pls get out of here with your conspiracy theories about the creators of the fkn simpsons

I agree with macle about obama, though, I wonder why that is :s hm

Also, are there any non-American right-wingers here who'd like to share their views of the US? I feel like most of the posters here have been liberal
 
brightobject said:
what are you talking about man, pls get out of here with your conspiracy theories about the creators of the fkn simpsons
Click to expand...

i said no such thing, but in the op you asked for opninions of how our media portrays other countries, vice verse, etc...

i was making a point that everything presented by the media should be taken with a grain of salt

ive never been out of the USA so I can't speak on how other countries are portrayed as compared to how they are, but it seems to me like the USA isn't portrayed positively very often in many countries

i think USA is on a lot of countries shit list and with good reason, but USA citizens are not to blame

id rather ask questions about how other countries really are as opposed to making assumptions


because we all know what happens when you ASSUME, or do you?
 
yeah we already know the media isn't perfect and no that's not what meant, I was asking directly about how the media is biased or unbiased or whatever, not your opinions on how the media should actually act. I.e., how is the media portraying America, not how is the media doing right/wrong in portraying America. Sorry if I was unclear.
 
henry said:
how are people supposed to have experiences about a foreign country and those that live in it when they've never been? maybe they should just take a guess instead of trying to learn. maybe they can just research, but whose to say what source they read from doesn't have a secret evil agenda to make people think every american is fat, then the source would be ruined!!!


Idk man. maybe fat people are just funnier, and maybe a weirder family is just funnier. do u expect a show with stable and conformist characters to be entertaining enough for 25+ seasons? do you actually think the simpsons was created for this reason?
Click to expand...

That goes back to my point of media satire. If all we hear about Americans is that they're fat or stupid or whatever, that's what we'll believe. The rare instances of people that support the stereotypes just bolster our beliefs even more. There's an irony about us assuming Americans are stupid without really even knowing anything about them past what we see on TV.
 
brightobject said:
yeah we already know the media isn't perfect and no that's not what meant, I was asking directly about how the media is biased or unbiased or whatever, not your opinions on how the media should actually act. I.e., how is the media portraying America, not how is the media doing right/wrong in portraying America. Sorry if I was unclear.
Click to expand...
but yeah idk, if that's the direction you/other peeps want to take this discussion I can't really stop you; but that's what I meant with the OP anyways
 
macle said:
i think a very important question is how do foreigners view Obama? Conservative politicians and the media portray that the whole world views Obama as an embarrassment to the United States and generally weak. Most foreigners that I know actually like Obama.
Click to expand...

The UK media doesn't seem to have any bias agenda towards US politics. As long as the crazy guys don't get in coverage rarely goes past who's winning the recently election or a serious new law or regime. Our media has no interest in keeping up with US affairs unless they realise it directly affects them (not our country but the media). From what I understand US media seems to either demonise or with obvious bias support certain party members/positions. As far as I can work out it's usually for financial gain via ratings. Not that I'm questioning the ethics, I don't care about that, but since the UK media doesn't particularly benefit from supporting/degrading candidates or presidents we don't hear much, good or bad. On Obama personally, the UK really likes his views and what he stands for, he seems much more sensible and reasonable. We find the conservative bias extremely strange and Obama gave us a good break from that.
 
macle said:
i think a very important question is how do foreigners view Obama? Conservative politicians and the media portray that the whole world views Obama as an embarrassment to the United States and generally weak. Most foreigners that I know actually like Obama.
Click to expand...
We love Obama!
He's like a celebrity over here.

We love his speeches, most importantly, and how he maintains peaceful relationships to most countries.

People here hate Republicans though.
 
Being Italian, I probably come from the most stereotyped nation in the whole world. This caused me to hate all kind of stereotypes with a passion; however, when talking about the US, it is hard to see some truth behind the curtain of hamburger-eating, gun-wielding, truck-driving, war-loving, self-made-man-ish images we get daily about the US. As such, I find it hard to get a clear opinion of what the US really are.
 
Billy the Uncle said:
Being Italian, I probably come from the most stereotyped nation in the whole world. This caused me to hate all kind of stereotypes with a passion; however, when talking about the US, it is hard to see some truth behind the curtain of hamburger-eating, gun-wielding, truck-driving, war-loving, self-made-man-ish images we get daily about the US. As such, I find it hard to get a clear opinion of what the US really are.
Click to expand...
Pretty sure the war-loving, gun-wielding bits are very Republican.
 
Billy the Uncle said:
That's true, yeah. But again, how much of this is the truth and how much is stereotype again? That the democrats are the nice friendly guys and the republicans are the rich, arrogant, ignorant racists? I've always found this kind of distinctions to be simplistic at best.
Click to expand...

Stereotypes are formed from base truths, if outdated ones that aren't really applicable. Even if a truth is wildly exaggerated is still somewhat truthful. It doesn't matter if the majority or even a small portion actually enforce stereotypes, if there's enough to shove down our throat we'll believe it.
 
TheBritishMafia said:
Stereotypes are formed from base truths, if outdated ones that aren't really applicable. Even if a truth is wildly exaggerated is still somewhat truthful. It doesn't matter if the majority or even a small portion actually enforce stereotypes, if there's enough to shove down our throat we'll believe it.
Click to expand...

I never said stereotypes are completely wrong, just that they aren't accurate, and that's often hard to see the truth behind them. I am sure that some republicans are as Donald Trump-like as we imagine them, but the majority of them are ordinar-ish people. Or at least that's what I think. And hope.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top