TO me, a Canadian, this is what I think of the typical American (the Stereotypical American in no way is what I think of individual Americans. Most people everywhere are nice, but there is a small group that stands out, and that is the stereotype).
Americans are:
- More overweight that Canadians. Eat more fast food and the likes.
- Less friendly to strangers. (See movies where a guy is murdered or dying on the road and everyone walks by. I'm aware this is much of an exaggeration.)
- Much more urban. Other than the GTA and some of B.C., much of Canada is little towns.
- Less environmentally conscious. See the permanent smog cloud above L.A. (I think it's L.A.,maybe Las Vegas)
- Materialistic. (See "American Dream")
But Americans as individuals are friendly and the likes. Normal people.
What is the stereotypical American?
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joevennix
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benol wrote:stop the flamewar
That made me laugh. This is a pretty interesting topic, I've always wondered what foreigners (why does that word have such a bad connotation) think of us. Although I must say, there is a difference between the average American, and the average hick. From what it sounds like, most of the stereotypes are based on the media, which is understandable. Homer Simpson, anyone?
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ShockSlayer
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Minus the crazy adventures to keep the show alive, yes.joevennix wrote:there is a difference between the average American, and the average hick. From what it sounds like, most of the stereotypes are based on the media, which is understandable. Homer Simpson, anyone?
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Jongamer
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More than half of those are European habits too.Sir Games-A-Lot wrote:I'm from the US and this is what I see our stereotypes as (in no particular order):
Works in a cube doing a mundane task that is still to complex to be automated
Must wear tie for no apparent reason
Sleep deprived
Drives to fast in his/her SUV which can't be taken of road
Lives in a suburb that resembles a golf course with houses
Has used illicit drugs at east once in life time
Talks on cellphone incessantly while ignoring all the features that rationalize it's cost
Drinks multiple caffeinated beverages on a daily basis
Has likely seen a shrink in the last 6 months to a year
Listens almost exclusively to music released during the period when he/she was 16 - 24.
Is more or less allergic to various particulate
Owns a television set that is, or at least was at one point, top of the line
Moderately overweight
Owns at least one PC purchased off-the-shelf running an MS Windows or Apple MacOS variant
Has at least one form of Pay TV
Has Broadband or DSL ISP depending on availability
Steals music and movies from P2P networks
Owns either a VCR and one or two 6 or 8 hour tapes for it or a TiVo DVR which are used for "Timeshifting"
Follows at least one serialized TV show (EG: Lost, Jericho, etc)
Owns an iPod, complete with shoddy white earbuds
Enjoys watching spectator sports at the national (but rarely international) level.
Follows at least one reality TV series
Has had at least one traffic ticket in the past year
Likes watching various "Nation Wide News" channels on TV (EG: CNN, FOX), more out of a need to be entertained than to inform him/herself
Either does not care about current politics or treats them as a kind of sporting event, voting only for candidates who belong to one of the two major parties
May hold irrationally strong partisan views on specific topics (EG: Terrorism, Gay Marriage, Abortion, etc.)
Likes accepted norms, since they give him/her a ready measuring stick
Does not read extensively
Has an e-mail account
Has multiple credit cards all with more or less debt on them
Is concerned about weight, but doe not like to exercise preferring to "diet"
Drinks beverages with low - moderate alcohol content regularly
Is a terrible driver
Flies on an anual basis
Uses an IM client
Shows little interest in scientific developments
Is dissatisfied with fuel prices but still marginalizes alternate fuels
Shops at Wal-Mart
Cannot cook
Has limited experience with auto maintenance
_____________________________________________________________
Well that's all I could think of, a lot of stereotypes like mine tend to be the result of that whole art imitates life - life imitates art thing, so the accuracy is quite dubious. Don't think I'm overly negative, most of my "stereotypes" are things people I know over do that drive me insane (particularly the TV news thing "No I don't care what the TV told you...")
Over all I think our image has been declining as of late, partially because 9/11 seems to have left a lot of people feeling very isolationist and a bit xenophobic, in addition to polarizing our politics thus making it difficult to start concerted efforts for national change in any one direction, but I teeter on the edge of the rules so I'll leave it at that.
edited, reason: grammar/clarity
Yeah much of them are habits of more people than just the american, even in Canada it look a bit like that...Jongamer wrote:More than half of those are European habits too.Sir Games-A-Lot wrote:I'm from the US and this is what I see our stereotypes as (in no particular order):
Works in a cube doing a mundane task that is still to complex to be automated
Must wear tie for no apparent reason
Sleep deprived
Drives to fast in his/her SUV which can't be taken of road
Lives in a suburb that resembles a golf course with houses
Has used illicit drugs at east once in life time
Talks on cellphone incessantly while ignoring all the features that rationalize it's cost
Drinks multiple caffeinated beverages on a daily basis
Has likely seen a shrink in the last 6 months to a year
Listens almost exclusively to music released during the period when he/she was 16 - 24.
Is more or less allergic to various particulate
Owns a television set that is, or at least was at one point, top of the line
Moderately overweight
Owns at least one PC purchased off-the-shelf running an MS Windows or Apple MacOS variant
Has at least one form of Pay TV
Has Broadband or DSL ISP depending on availability
Steals music and movies from P2P networks
Owns either a VCR and one or two 6 or 8 hour tapes for it or a TiVo DVR which are used for "Timeshifting"
Follows at least one serialized TV show (EG: Lost, Jericho, etc)
Owns an iPod, complete with shoddy white earbuds
Enjoys watching spectator sports at the national (but rarely international) level.
Follows at least one reality TV series
Has had at least one traffic ticket in the past year
Likes watching various "Nation Wide News" channels on TV (EG: CNN, FOX), more out of a need to be entertained than to inform him/herself
Either does not care about current politics or treats them as a kind of sporting event, voting only for candidates who belong to one of the two major parties
May hold irrationally strong partisan views on specific topics (EG: Terrorism, Gay Marriage, Abortion, etc.)
Likes accepted norms, since they give him/her a ready measuring stick
Does not read extensively
Has an e-mail account
Has multiple credit cards all with more or less debt on them
Is concerned about weight, but doe not like to exercise preferring to "diet"
Drinks beverages with low - moderate alcohol content regularly
Is a terrible driver
Flies on an anual basis
Uses an IM client
Shows little interest in scientific developments
Is dissatisfied with fuel prices but still marginalizes alternate fuels
Shops at Wal-Mart
Cannot cook
Has limited experience with auto maintenance
_____________________________________________________________
Well that's all I could think of, a lot of stereotypes like mine tend to be the result of that whole art imitates life - life imitates art thing, so the accuracy is quite dubious. Don't think I'm overly negative, most of my "stereotypes" are things people I know over do that drive me insane (particularly the TV news thing "No I don't care what the TV told you...")
Over all I think our image has been declining as of late, partially because 9/11 seems to have left a lot of people feeling very isolationist and a bit xenophobic, in addition to polarizing our politics thus making it difficult to start concerted efforts for national change in any one direction, but I teeter on the edge of the rules so I'll leave it at that.
edited, reason: grammar/clarity
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benol
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FYI, the flamewar I was referring to was the one between daguuy and theelkjoevennix wrote:benol wrote:stop the flamewar
Yeah about South Park lol, but in almost every american Cartoon, they don't really like us...(Canadian). But I've never heard the "aboot"...Jongamer wrote: Stereo Typical Canadian
Likes to say aboot, instead of about
and watch Southpark for more things Stereo Typical on Canadians (Mainly the older seasons with Terrance and Phillip (or the Southpark movie)
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Jongamer
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JKO-K6 wrote:Yeah about South Park lol, but in almost every american Cartoon, they don't really like us...(Canadian). But I've never heard the "aboot"...Jongamer wrote: Stereo Typical Canadian
Likes to say aboot, instead of about
and watch Southpark for more things Stereo Typical on Canadians (Mainly the older seasons with Terrance and Phillip (or the Southpark movie)
ROTHLMFAO can't beleave that you never heard that one.How about listening to Weird al Yankovic's New CD (Streight outta Lynwood) and Listen to the Parody of American Idiot called "Canadian Idiot" Lots of Canadian jokes in there. (Quote from the song "They think their silly accent is so cute. Can't understand what their talking aboot."
"Have'nt learned my alphebet from A-Zed."
Here you go. Its just the Song voiced over the Original American Idiot Music Video.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=asx4vBajY7M
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