# Is "the Boorish American" a stock character in British/European film? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 2, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028 "2010-05-02T15:05:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/21 "2010-05-02T20:48:50Z")
I watch a lot of British mystery shows, and I know for sure there’s the “boorish group of Americans in a hotel” episode of the show _Inspector Morse_. I’m almost positive there’s boorish Americans in _Miss Marple_ (Geraldine McEwan version) and _Sherlock Holmes_ (Jeremy Brett). _Marple_ might have been a story in a hotel, too. I think _Holmes_ was some sort of landowner. Personally, I think it’s funny when these types of characters show up. Especially when they’re played by British actors with over-the-top American accents. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/22 "2010-05-02T20:50:26Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I can’t answer the OP directly, but BAs to exist. I think it was in Munich where I saw a family of three at an American Express office that was seriously bent out of shape because in their hotel _there was a towel on the floor!_ :eek: After they’d gone, my friend told the clerk ‘We’re not all like that.’ Why do you hate America do much?:mad: [Right-wing radio/cable TV ranter mode on]REAL Americans don’t go abroad (unless, of course, it’s to bomb the shit out of some miscreant nation that entertains bad thoughts about us and looks at us wrong). This is the greatest country on earth so why would you want to visit those arrogant, spineless, godless, decadent, socialists with poor hygiene in Europe? Rembember, along with owning a Prius, living on the West Coast or the Northeast, and drinking lattes, chablis, and microbrews, having a passport is a surefire sign of being an elitist.[Right-wing radio/cable TV ranter mode off] [QUOTE=suranyi] In American movies, there is often the stereotypical snooty Englishman. So it goes both ways. [/QUOTE] Not just snooty but often the villain. In fact, in the vast majority of American movies that don’t star Hugh Grant, if somebody British shows up, you automatically know he’s the bad guy. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/23 "2010-05-02T21:01:40Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Personally, I think it’s funny when these types of characters show up. Especially when they’re played by British actors with over-the-top American accents. For some reason, I can only think of old examples, and always in British films. **The meaning of life** has an American couple (with extremely badly done accents). With **ivan732** , I think it was getting pretty old by even at that time. At the same time, if you need a character in a European setting who’s foreign, ignorant and loud, American is sort of the obvious choice. Likewise, English for loud and extremely drunk, German for loud and arrogant, Italian for loud and oversexed. It’s all just stupid stereotypes, even if you can find examples. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/24 "2010-05-02T21:06:11Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Personally, I think it’s funny when these types of characters show up. Especially when they’re played by British actors with over-the-top American accents. Oh, I’m not really griping about it either. Not in any serious way. Every group gets stereotyped in some way, I reckon. I just think it’s an interesting phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/25 "2010-05-02T21:08:05Z")
[Bram Stoker’s boorish American](http://www.shortstoryarchive.com/s/squaw.html). ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/26 "2010-05-02T21:10:16Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > And the bad guy is very often played by a British actor. Well yeah, but the difference is the English really _are_ evil. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/27 "2010-05-02T21:19:22Z")
> [@Kylede](#): > > When Europe needed someone to save them from the over-expansionist Gemany twice in the last 100 years, who did they look to? Maybe next time someone rolls tanks across a border, maybe they should look to someone else??/ \*Exactly like that, yes! \* 😃 My ancedote - when I was in Rome on holiday, we ended up doing one of those walking tours with a guide; a group of about 20 British people, and one American couple. The husband was the stereotype in ever way - from the shorts and sandles to the way, when the Italian guide help up her umbrella as a way of the group being able to follow her in the extremely crowded streets, exclaimed _“Is that supposed to be an American flag?”_ The answer being, of course - “no, that’s her umbrella”. Plus why would she hold an American flag up to a group of British tourists? He seemed quite insulted by the fact that she wasn’t waving an American flag instead of her umbrella. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/28 "2010-05-02T22:19:00Z")
> [@](#): > > To be fair, we heard from locals in Denmark and Sweden that they thought Germans had reputations as bad as Americans Although, to put it back on us, I’ve heard of Germans referred to as “The Americans of Europe”. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/29 "2010-05-02T22:43:57Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Good example! What movie is this from? Killing Zoe? [Go to 2:05](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmlVCQ_WDHQ) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/30 "2010-05-02T23:16:36Z")
> [@yojimbo](#): > > Killing Zoe? > > [Go to 2:05](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmlVCQ_WDHQ) 😃 Wow. I know you’re riffing, but great example of what I’m talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/31 "2010-05-03T01:47:54Z")
> [@Yumblie](#): > > In _Love, Actually_ the American president was a boorish horndog putting the moves on the prime minister’s secretary, but he might’ve been just a specific parody of Bill Clinton… ISTR an interview with the screenwriter, who said the character was an amalgam of Clinton’s libido and Dubya’s arrogance. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/32 "2010-05-03T02:37:03Z")
> [@](#): > > In Love, Actually the American president was a boorish horndog putting the moves on the prime minister’s secretary, but he might’ve been just a specific parody of Bill Clinton Considering the movie was made in 2003 and the President was portrayed as a conservative from Texas, I don’t think it was Clinton being parodied. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/33 "2010-05-03T03:00:39Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I watch a lot of British mystery shows, and I know for sure there’s the “boorish group of Americans in a hotel” episode of the show _Inspector Morse_. > > I’m almost positive there’s boorish Americans in _Miss Marple_ (Geraldine McEwan version) and _Sherlock Holmes_ (Jeremy Brett). _Marple_ might have been a story in a hotel, too. I think _Holmes_ was some sort of landowner. > > Personally, I think it’s funny when these types of characters show up. Especially when they’re played by British actors with over-the-top American accents. Miss Marple is based on Agatha Christie’s stories, of course, and those are a special case. Even in the original Christie stories, the Americans are ridiculous charicatures. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/34 "2010-05-03T04:16:59Z")
Well, at least one counterexample: in [Run Fatboy, Run](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0425413/), Hank Azaria plays a type of perfect American - smart, professional, fit, good looking. Of course, he’s supposed to be _annoyingly_ perfect (think Owen Wilson’s character in _Meet the Parents_), and IIRC at the end, he gets a bit snappish with some kid…but still, he’s not boorish! \*\* Side question: I wonder how often Americans are blamed for bad behavior in cases when they’re not involved at all! I know first-hand that a lot of Europeans use English when they’re traveling in other countries; how often are they mistaken for native English speakers? So, for example, a Swede traveling in Italy speaks English to a shopkeeper and is rude. The shopkeeper isn’t good enough at English to recognize the Swedish accent, and just knows that some asshole is speaking English to him, and he assumes it’s an American (or Brit/Canadian/etc.). It’s possible! ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/35 "2010-05-03T05:04:45Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > In American movies, there is often the stereotypical snooty Englishman. And, rather oddly, in American movies stereotypically “snooty” characters often seem to be played with British-sounding accents no matter **what** nationality, race, or species they’re supposed to represent. My favorite example of this is the Vulcan Science Academy “admissions committee” in the recent _Star Trek_ reboot movie, who AFAIK aren’t even played by British actors but are snooty to the max. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/36 "2010-05-03T10:33:24Z")
Gemany cricket! ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/37 "2010-05-03T10:34:42Z")
One of the **Sharpe’s Rifles** sequels featured a British Lieutenant who was born in Virginia, whose Tory parents were on the wrong side of the war, hence his commission in the King’s army. He wasn’t particularly boorish as such, but had an Elvis Presley accent. **The Triplets of Belleville** was pretty unkind to Americans. And Russians and Italians and the French… ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/38 "2010-05-03T12:23:10Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > For some reason, I can only think of old examples, and always in British films. **The meaning of life** has an American couple (with extremely badly done accents). “Shut up! Shut up, you American. You always talk, you Americans. You talk and you talk and say ‘let me tell you something’ and ‘I just wanna say this’. Well, you’re dead now, so shut up!” ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/39 "2010-05-03T13:12:20Z")
How about Sherrif J. W Pepper from the James Bond films _Live and Let Die_, and _Man with the Golden Gun_. He is shown as a tourist in MWTGG in Thailand (?), and is written as the classic sterotype of the Boorish Yank Abroad. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohgGZnEXTQk) ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/40 "2010-05-03T13:19:50Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > A bit on the loud side 😉 When my wife and daughter visited London, Sophie (my daughter) was _always_ the loudest person, regardless of where they went. Restaurants, subways, museums, etc. IMHO, y’all just need to liven it up. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028.md?page=3)