American image through movies

[John Bear]

I hope there is some movie freaks out there to answer this question.

What is the most ridiculous stereotype that movies teach about america?
I mean like " you ride a harley and you are Hell's angel" or " taxi drivers in New York are foreing or like Robert de Niro" or "before anything ends there is a kiss" not the best examples but hope you get the point.

Backround. I have been in US and e-mail monthly to my cousins, but still major part what I see on US is through movies and TV series. In those there is lots of true(like environment) but there are still just writers point of view. What are the most major misstakes in your oppinion?

[Aught Six]

I hate the portrayal of guns the most, being naturally interested in the topic. You can't have an blockbuster action film in this country without copious amounts of exaggerated gunfire and explosions. And the damage they show is complete overkill. Handgun rounds going through armor, blowing victims off of their feet, the number of fully automatic weapons and high explosives vs. the firearms that real criminals use, etc.

Total BS, and most American movie-goers don't know the difference between fact and fiction!

[bigbulls]

Yeah, I agree. The way the movies portray the American gun owners in the worst light they can.

The portrayal of the "hero cop", like Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon or Jackie Chan / Chris Tucker in Rush Hour, let loose on the city and causes more damage and carniage than the one "bad guy" could have ever immagined doing on his own and never even gets diciplined.

[Briman]

The worst are the portrayal of guns. Driveby shooting and murder rates by gangbangers went way up after the movie "boys in the hood" came out- the idiots even adopted the pistol shooting style of holding the guns sideways like in the movie.

People hit by shotguns in movies are always lifted into the air and blown back 5 feet. Americans who are challenged by anything related to physics by in large believe the movie physics. I've actually had long arguments with people on this board who were convinced that a shotgun would lift you off your feet and a .45 auto would knock you right over when hit.

[CalHunter]

Total BS, and most American movie-goers don't know the difference between fact and fiction!
Aught Six

You hit the nail on the head with this one. I'm a cop and have had people I've arrested actually ask me (and they were straight up serious) if they were going to be interrogated with rubber hoses (who knows what idiotic movie this came from), if our cars go 200 MPH (yeah, in my dreams) and several other idiotic questions about things taken straight from the movies. I've seen yuppie/preppie kids act, dress and talk like gangbangers then get surprised when the real deal whoops their butt because they "axed" for it.

One of the funniest stupid criminal incidents, a guy I arrested waited till we were in the jail and then told me it wasn't a valid arrest. Being curious, I asked why not. He told me it wasn't valid because I had not read him his rights "like in the movies." I asked him if he would feel better if I read him his rights. he said yes. I then read him his rights and "advised" him to use the one about not talking to me while several other department personnel were looking on in disbelief and amazement. After I read him his rights, the guy then told me it was now a valid arrest. I told him I was glad I could put his mind at rest on this issue. To this day, I am sure that guy truly does not understand the first thing about what constitutes a lawful arrest or when Miranda Rights actually apply (hint--It's when you're in custody and being asked incriminating questions).

Think it's bad when the criminals shoot their gun sideways? I'm a range officer and I've had cops come to the range and do the same thing. I almost died laughing when they finally figured out they couldn't hit the side of a barn shooting like that.

John Bear, probably one of the most irritating things about these movies is the juvenile way almost everybody acts and talks like some petulant teenager and smartaleck to boot. People talk and act like this and then are actually surprised when they get the butt whooped or worse. People will believe almost anything if they just see it on TV or the movies. No wonder our society is growing mush between the ears when it comes to critical and analytical thinking.

[Coastie]

John Bear, the New York city cab driver thing is for real and not a stereotype. Finding a cab driver in NY that speaks English is next to impossible and they drive as if they are the only ones on the road. Aside from that, movies are the worst possible means of communicating anything, I told my kids as they were growing up to never believe anything they saw in a movie, it wasn't real, it is made up. Must we send this message to the world? HOLLYWOOD IS MAKE BELIEVE AND DOES NOT REPRESENT ANYTHING EXCEPT SOMEBODIES IMAGINATION!!!! I would have thought that all of those continental elites would have figured this out for themselves by now.

[kevin1]

John Bear ,
it is my sad duty to report that Americans are nothing like what you've seen on tv and movies , don't believe evrything you see . Are Finns the same way they are portrayed on tv and movies , or do such portrayals make you wince or laugh at how unreal they are ?

We aren't all like Schwartzenegger and Stallone , we're generally much poorer though better looking .

[akbound]

Hi John Bear,

I'm not sure what stereotypes other people have of Americans as a result of watching movies. I would hope most people, like those living here, realize movies are for entertainment purposes. (Otherwise we might be lead to believe that Bambi actually talks with Thumper.) What stereotypes do others have of us as a result of watching movies?

I know when I'm watching a movie.....that it is a movie.....entertainment (and I use that term loosely for some of them! And yes, you can include "docufictionaries" like M. Moore's along with that.) They have nothing more to do with reality than does Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck. I hope the world's people are intelligent enough to discern that.....without an explanation from us! If they weren't.......I doubt any amount of persuasion to the contrary would make a difference.

Dave

[John Bear]

I know that it is just a story, fantasy, imagination or what ever. It is also about writer, who he is, what he has experied, what he has seen, how does he feels and what he wants to say. It is reflection what sels ( if commersial movie) or what writer thinks as art(if art movie). (writer, director, actor, or producer)

Like all stereotypes, it comes somewhere. There is usually something true. Like hod dogs in New York are as good as they say in the movie.

And me. I have only seen Seatle and that part of the US. Just wanted to know what you as americans see is wrong or just ridiculous in the movies.

Finnish movie. Not much to say. Maybe 1 or 2 good one in the year. Usually too artistic. But there is still lots of true in those. It is just that you can't look movies like documents but more like how they are done and those little hints that must be proved somewere else also.

To akbopund: Alltought mickey mouse and donald duck are cartoons. They are also someones from there imagination. And popularity of those two is also interested. What I have understand in some research Mickey mouse is more popular there than donald. In Finnland Donald is first then mickey. That says something about peoples.

[kevin1]

John Bear ,
if American documentaries are available there you'll find that they generally present a more realistic view of who we are . Some of them can be a bit biased , but they can generally be counted upon to deliver a reasonably accurate view of us .

"Bowling for Columbine" is NOT a documentary , do not judge us by that film since the filmaker who shot it should most probably be shot for doing it .