# Do the British really have this stereotype of Americans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 29, 2013, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683 "2013-01-29T03:10:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/41 "2013-01-29T23:35:54Z")
> [@FrankJBN](#): > > “I think this image can be traced back to World War 2 and its aftermath” > > Earlier than that. The ‘ugly American’ is a fairly stock charaterization in pre-war English mystery novels / stories. Basically the plot of Our American Cousin. Now better known as the play Lincoln was watching when he was killed. Its about a loud obnoxious country bumpkin Yank who goes to England to inherit the family estate. It was written by an Englishman. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/42 "2013-01-30T00:01:02Z")
Antagonism goes back to Mrs Trollope’s _Domestic Manners of the Americans_ and Dickens’s _American Notes_, both of which aroused furious resentment when they found their way back across the Atlantic. The New England Yankee who considered it all in a day’s work to cheat someone or out-manouvre them in business or commerce, and considered it just as admirable if anyone managed to do the same to him, is a common trope in literature of the time. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/43 "2013-01-30T00:01:15Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > Yes, but the Pythons are doing _deliberately_ bad accents here. British actors who are seriously playing American characters tend to be much better than the reverse. I must admit that I am constantly amazed that House is played by the same guy who played Bertie Wooster and Prince George. But, are there no American actors who can put on a convincing British accent? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/44 "2013-01-30T00:13:16Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > Yes, but the Pythons are doing _deliberately_ bad accents here. Even Gilliam? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/45 "2013-01-30T00:17:56Z")
> [@For You](#): > > Even Gilliam? _Especially_ Gilliam. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/46 "2013-01-30T00:33:10Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > Yes, but the Pythons are doing _deliberately_ bad accents here. British actors who are seriously playing American characters tend to be much better than the reverse. It depends. Ever since we started getting British TV over here BBC stock actors have been notoriously awful at American accents. Its gotten better but Doctor Who (new and old) is my cite. The British actors playing Americans on shows that are made for Americans tend to be much better. Band of Brothers was full of actors who did fantastic jobs with their accent. Damian Lewis, Dexter Fletcher, Robin Laing, Ross McCall, Jamie Bamber are all pretty much perfect. Marc Warren, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/47 "2013-01-30T01:11:58Z")
If another example was required: The BBC TV comedy Absolute Power series 2 episode 5 “Spinning America” with William Hootkins as the US Ambassador. [http://www.tv.com/shows/absolute-power/episodes/](http://www.tv.com/shows/absolute-power/episodes/) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/48 "2013-01-30T02:55:19Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > I’m told by several of my Thai friends that there are no such things as restaurant critics here because they would never be able to print a negative review of a restaurant (even if 100% true) out of fear of being sued for defamation. Well, there are restaurant critics here – I happen to know at least one and am acquainted with another – but it’s true you rarely see a negative review. They all seem to be PR pieces. Bernard Trink, that long-time American expat who has been here about 50 years and is still doing book reviews in his 80s, told the story of his short-lived career as a restaurant critic at I think it was the now-defunct _Bangkok World_. One of his first assignments as such, if not the very first, was to cover a new restaurant opened by some high-society lady. It was awful, and he said so. She became very angry and publicly accused him of being a “hippie.” This was the late 1960s, and back then “hippie” was used as a general all-purpose insult regardless of your lifestyle or the length of your hair. And short-haired Korean War vet Trink was certainly no hippie in any sense of the word. The lady got her friends in high places to put pressure on the newspaper, and Trink was unceremoniously removed from the restaurant beat forthwith. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/49 "2013-01-30T03:47:21Z")
Speaking of “put on” accents, I recently watched a delightful little Japanese movie called _[Salvage Mice](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1934299/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)_. All of the cast members were Japanese, except for the Big Bad Evil Guy, who was supposed to be an American. And while all of the Japanese actors’ lines were subtitled in English, they made the interesting decision to _overdub_ the “American” actor’s lines (definitely overdubbed - lips didn’t match the words I was hearing; I assume the white actor spoke Japanese in the original release). Except, instead of finding an American to overdub the character’s lines, it was clearly a non-American speaking. The accent was fine, the grammar was perfect … but the _manner_ of speaking was extremely odd to my ears, mainly because of how _deep_ the guy’s voice was, but also because his diction/pronunciation was quite formal and proper. But the pitch of the guy’s voice was the main thing - I have a fairly deep voice myself, and know plenty of other guys with deep voices, but most of us don’t speak with such an exaggeratedly deep voice in normal conversation. This guy sounded more like a classic rock DJ using his “radio voice”. So it made me wonder if that was how we sound to Japanese listeners. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/50 "2013-01-30T08:11:59Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Look, remember that as far as ‘national characteristics’ go, Britons are in many ways culturally opposite to Americans – we are shy, socially awkward creatures who pain ourselves about being too loud or showy or breaking the Rules. My Brazilian friend finds our inhibitions hilarious. So forgive us if our stereotype of Americans highlights the things we find socially excruciating, but others wouldn’t care about. Im guessing you have never been to a footie match or met a chav… ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/51 "2013-01-30T09:05:53Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Im guessing you have never been to a footie match or met a chav… Or taught in a British school or university! ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/52 "2013-01-30T19:05:50Z")
Meryl Streep and Gwyneth Paltrow can do the accents well. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/53 "2013-01-30T21:04:02Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Look, remember that as far as ‘national characteristics’ go, Britons are in many ways culturally opposite to Americans – we are shy, socially awkward creatures who pain ourselves about being too loud or showy or breaking the Rules. My Brazilian friend finds our inhibitions hilarious. So forgive us if our stereotype of Americans highlights the things we find socially excruciating, but others wouldn’t care about. > [@madsircool](#): > > Im guessing you have never been to a footie match or met a chav… One stereotype about Brits I have sometimes encountered – George Orwell remarked on it more than once, though that was a long time ago now – is that the upper and upper-middle classes assume themselves the “real” Britons, and do not merely despise the classes below, but most of the time are subconsciously oblivious to their very existence. ---
**Author:** ![BrokenBriton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@BrokenBriton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrokenBriton)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/54 "2013-01-30T22:34:05Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > are there no American actors who can put on a convincing British accent? The producer/s are often looking for unknown (to US audience) faces, plus they work cheap and have a rep for reliability and not being too precious. ---
**Author:** ![BrokenBriton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@BrokenBriton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrokenBriton)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/55 "2013-01-30T22:35:16Z")
p.s. stereotypes mostly serve the script. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/56 "2013-01-31T13:06:26Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > One stereotype about Brits I have sometimes encountered – George Orwell remarked on it more than once, though that was a long time ago now – is that the upper and upper-middle classes assume themselves the “real” Britons, and do not merely despise the classes below, but most of the time are subconsciously oblivious to their very existence. I’m not sure that’s a stereotype, so much as an opinion that George Orwell happened to have. It doesn’t make much sense to contemporary British me, but as you say he wrote it ~70 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/57 "2013-01-31T16:06:58Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > One stereotype about Brits I have sometimes encountered – George Orwell remarked on it more than once, though that was a long time ago now – is that the upper and upper-middle classes assume themselves the “real” Britons, and do not merely despise the classes below, but most of the time are subconsciously oblivious to their very existence. I don’t think there’s anything remarkable about rich people feeling superior to others – I’d say that travels across national borders – but it’s not something I would recognise as a stereotype. And George Orwell liked to be particularly provocative so I wouldn’t take his comments as a sign of a true stereotype – he was equally rude about all the classes. ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683/58 "2013-02-01T20:04:20Z")
I don’t think we Brits have AN American stereotype - with all the American TV and films we’ve got we’ve got many: American tourist: loud, crass, and in inappropriate shorts American cop: fat, gun belt eats donuts and so on… American businessman could be anything from Don Draper to Montgomery Burns… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-british-really-have-this-stereotype-of-americans/648683.md?page=2)