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1 year ago
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I recently asked the non-American members of the BuzzFeed Community to share which stereotypes and tropes they're tired of seeing in American movies.
Here's what they had to say:
1. "I'm from the UK: We don't all care about the monarchy, we're not all patriotic, and there's more than just three accents here (posh, pirate, and northern)."
2. "Slavic countries do not look like communist apocalyptic wastelands — they have normal cities and villages just like other European countries. No, not everything is super cheap, far from it. Honestly? It's all normal cities and normal people, just like everywhere else. (And no, we who live in the Balkan area are not obsessed with wars from 1990s, we live our lives and try not to think about it at all. It was long time ago.)"
3. "From France: No, we don't say 'Rohonhonhon' when we laugh. We also don't walk around with a whole fresh baguette everywhere. We actually walk around with a half-eaten baguette, because those delicious end pieces never make it home!"
4. "As a Jamaican, I hate when American movies do that awful accent, or act like weed is all there is to us. Yes, smoking weed and Reggae music are a big part of our culture, but Jamaica is so diverse and such a big mixing pot of culture. Our food is amazing, the people are kind, and yes, the beaches are awesome — but that doesn’t mean we’re just hanging around getting high and listening to Bob Marley!"
5. "That Australians don’t all live on the beach and talk like Steve Irwin. I’ve never actually heard anyone here say 'crikey.'"
6. "Tango in Argentina is mostly for tourists. We don’t dance the Tango in our free time!"
—Anonymous
7. "The whole Irish 'diddly dee' leprechaun doing a jig thing is OLD. Also, we aren't all unemployed, violent, Catholic alcoholics. Most of these stereotypes come from the British who 'settled' America after murdering the Natives, and their ancestors continued to spread them. The car bomb and potato 'jokes' aren't funny. The only place I've ever heard of an 'Irish car bomb' shot being served is in America, which is ironic considering how many people there claim to be Irish."
8. "I'm Colombian and my country is always portrayed as being completely hot and tropical, including Bogotá, which is actually not warm at all."
9. "I am an Arab American and lived in Lebanon for 16 years. It is not a desert with camels and tents. It is not all abandoned streets with tanks and militias and terrorists. We have Starbucks, McDonalds, Cheesecake Factory, H&M, etc. Beirut is a city on the coast with green mountains in the distance. Yes, there is political divide and unrest sometimes, but the nightlife is always hopping and the beaches are stunning."
10. "That everyone in Britain either has a posh, cockney, Scottish, or Irish accent. That we all live in London, in apartments or houses only millionaires can afford. And OMG, that highlander thing! No, Scottish people don't all wear kilts and plaid, they're not all crazy drunk people, and very few speak Gaelic."
11. "German here: 1) That we all live in small mountain villages (we have big cities too). 2) That we all wear Dirndl and Lederhosen all day (that's Bavaria, one of 16 German states — and even there it is just on special holidays). 3) That all we eat is Bratwurst, Bretzeln, and Beer (they exist, but we have all the cuisines of the world here). 4) Oktoberfest is our national Holiday: JUST NO! (Again, this is not a holiday at all, but just a celebration). 5) That we're all Nazis and/or find it funny when you make jokes about the Holocaust: we don't! 6) We all speak English like: 'Frau Lunchlady, please do have another...' NO. This is so annoying, and most of us are very good with English."
12. "The accent and names of Dutch characters. They have often German names and a German accent. The Dutch and German are two different languages, with two different accents when speaking English."
13. "I’m looking at Bridget Jones specifically here: I’m from the UK and snow at Christmas is a rarity. Sure, there might be some in the higher grounds of Scotland or the north of England, but December is notoriously mild. London does get snow sometimes, but it’s unlikely to be a thick fluffy white blanket. It’s usually a smattering that is sludge by midday. When we do get snow, it’s a national event and places come to a standstill because it’s not a common occurrence and we are ill-prepared."
14. "I'm from Brasil and the amount of things filmmakers get wrong about us is absurd. Carnaval only happens once a year, a good amount of people don't like/know how to dance samba and funk, nor play football (I refuse to call it soccer). We speak Portuguese, and the Amazon forest doesn't take up half of the country. Also, there's much more than just the Amazon and Rio (Brasil is the largest country in South America, and when comparing to the US, Brasil is only 13.4% smaller). Also, there's not an orange filter on the sky at all times."
15. "Norway is not all mountains. Even though we live all over the country, most of the population lives in the southeast, and it's pretty flat there. It is not always cold, where I live we usually have snow for like three weeks combined a year. We get really warm summers, though. The Northern Lights is not seen all over Norway. I have never seen it. And, unfortunately, we are not all fit Vikings."
16. "France: They constantly get our sense of humor, our accents, and our food (no one eats macarons except tourists) wrong."
17. "Austrian here: Most people here have never seen Sound of Music. Only American tourists are interested in the overpriced tours. Monarchy plays no role whatsoever (BTW, it's spelled "Habsburg," not "Hapsburg"). Just like any other country, Austria is diverse and has a rich urban life, as well as more traditional rural settings. Not all of us wear Dirndl and yodel all the time — I haven‘t worn a Dirndl in my life."
18. And finally: "India is not all slums and people shitting on the road. We are the fifth most growing economy of the world!"
—Anonymous
What's something American movies always get wrong about your country? Share in the comments below!
Some responses were edited for length and/or clarity.
English (US) ·