# 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:** 3
**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, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/41 "2010-05-03T13:26:06Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > “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!” “That’s the trouble with you Americans,” says Death, clenching his skeletal hand, “you’ve got no _balls_.” ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/42 "2010-05-03T14:29:07Z")
> [@In\_Winnipeg](#): > > I’ve not only lived in tourist country and right on the border long enough to tell you stories all night long about rude/ignorant American tourists, but I have witnessed similar behaviour both in England and in Ireland. Think the Fawlty Towers episode “Waldorf Salad” and you’ll know exactly what I mean. I thought the really great part about that episode was that it showed both that the American customer was a demanding boor and that Basil had little business being in hospitality, as he expected everything to run on his timetable and preferences. I know that dealing with the general public is a pain, but Basil wasn’t an example of attempting to roll with things. ---
**Author:** ![mo50](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@mo50](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mo50)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/43 "2010-05-03T15:42:55Z")
I’d think this has largely passed into historical cliche IMHO. Americans don’t travel overseas much compared to alot of other nationalities, for a variety of reasons, (which I think is a shame, really) & the ones that do are generally either super rich or culturally sensitive backpacker types. As mentioned earlier, I think Germans and Aussies have largely taken on the mantle of boorish foreigner if only by virtue of there being comparatively so many of them out kicking around the globe. Not that there aren’t still plenty of ugly Americans, but we’re mostly confined to cruise ships & package tours, trying to make the most of our measley two weeks vacation! Don’t the Brits call Aussies “JAFA” for just another effen’ Australian? I’m sure meant affectionately! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mo50](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@mo50](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mo50)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/44 "2010-05-03T15:49:44Z")
PS Obligatory Simpsons reference: When they’re on the beach in Rio, the lifeguard tells them “Hey, Americans, you can’t go there!” Homer turns around & says, “How did you know we’re American?” His T shirt has Uncle Sam holding a globe with the motto “Try and Stop Us!” :smack: ---
**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, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/45 "2010-05-03T16:54:14Z")
And when the Simpsons visited London, he said to a hotel clerk something like, “We saved your asses from the Japanese in World War I, so we’re going to expect the kid-glove treatment while we stay here! And cold beer!” ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/46 "2010-05-03T19:34:21Z")
Well there is this article which cites a survey which ranks the French as the overall worst tourists in Europe > **[BBC NEWS | Europe | 'Rude' French are worst tourists](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8143780.stm)** > > A new survey has found that hotel owners view French tourists as the meanest and rudest in the world. Americans don’t exactly rank well overall, but do get first place as the most generous and best tippers. So i guess Americans expect special treatment, but are happy to pay extra for it. When I was in Italy, a Roman I befriended said that Venetians have a horrible reputation for being rude to tourists and pretty much anybody who isn’t Venetian. His accent and speech style made the way he said it pretty funny. “Da Venitians, deya so stupid. Deya mean to tourists, but widouta da tourists da whole fuckina city woulda sink.” Unrelated but amusing, he identified the Castel Sant’Angelo as “Disa whereda popa goda hide.” ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/47 "2010-05-03T19:57:36Z")
I’ve heard rumours (From PJ O’Roarke, I think) that the Isrealis are the rudest tourists on the planet. ---
**Author:** ![Sonnenstrahl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Sonnenstrahl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sonnenstrahl)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/48 "2010-05-03T20:33:27Z")
I was amused that in the French/Spanish film _Auberge Espagnole_, the role of culturally-insensitive boor was given to the Brit, among a group of continental Europeans. From that I concluded that it’s actually the English language that does it to us. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/49 "2010-05-03T20:58:15Z")
The movie [Barcelona](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109219/) (1994) takes some pokes at the lay-all-the-world’s-ills-at-the-feet-of-Uncle-Sam variety of anti-Americanism you occasionally see in Europe. But in doing so, it features a character who actually lives down to some of the “boorish American” stereotypes. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/50 "2010-05-03T21:37:29Z")
> [@yojimbo](#): > > Killing Zoe? > > [Go to 2:05](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmlVCQ_WDHQ) 😃 Damn… beat me to it. If it wasn’t for us, you’d all be speaking German right now! ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/51 "2010-05-03T21:47:02Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > I’m struggling to think of many British or European movies that have American characters at all. The first one that springs to mind is the original British version of _Death at a Funeral_. The American (as with _In Bruges_ he’s an American dwarf, but they aren’t played by the same actor) … Just a nit, but actually, Peter Dinklage played the role of the “American Dwarf” in both versions of the movie. Peter Dinklage also played the dwarf in _In Bruges_. J. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/52 "2010-05-03T21:48:26Z")
> [@jharvey963](#): > > Peter Dinklage also played the dwarf in _In Bruges_. You are mistaken. 🙂 That was [Jordan Prentice](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0696015/). ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/53 "2010-05-03T23:19:48Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > “That’s the trouble with you Americans,” says Death, clenching his skeletal hand, “you’ve got no _balls_.” No, Death said that about the English. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/54 "2010-05-03T23:32:15Z")
> [@jharvey963](#): > > Just a nit, but actually, Peter Dinklage played the role of the “American Dwarf” in both versions of the movie. Peter Dinklage also played the dwarf in _In Bruges_. > [@spoke-](#): > > You are mistaken. 🙂 > > That was [Jordan Prentice](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0696015/). Yes, I’ve never seen _In Bruges_ but I looked up the cast before I posted. I would have assumed it was the same actor just because you wouldn’t think there would be many different American dwarf actors appearing in British films within a 1-2 year time period, but it turns out there were at least two of them. ---
**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 4, 2010, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/55 "2010-05-04T01:26:30Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > No, Death said that about the English. Ah, my mistake. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/56 "2010-05-04T02:18:58Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > **The meaning of life** has an American couple (with extremely badly done accents). If you’re thinking of the “Grim Reaper” sketch, one of those American characters was played by Terry Gilliam, whose accent is genuine. On the other hand, there was the “Crimson Permanent Insurance” sketch, featuring a bunch of “American” businessmen sitting around a conference table —and yes, their accents were atrocious. ---
**Author:** ![vdgg81](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/3d9bf3/32.png) [@vdgg81](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vdgg81)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/57 "2010-05-04T03:30:57Z")
For what it’s worth, a couple of years ago I went backpacking in Argentina and stayed at a lot of youth hostels. I was surprised by how few American tourists I met (and those I did invariably apologized for being American, which was weird). The Americans there were all very nice and polite. The Australians were on average the rudest/noisiest bunch, but even so not enough that I’d characterize any of them as boorish, and many were incredibly nice people. The Israelis were probably the second largest group I met there and they were all fun and open, though much too noisy for my tastes. My high school had exchange programs with German schools so I met lots of German teens and they were not too polite here in Brazil, but I don’t meet many other tourists here, so I wouldn’t know how to compare them with others. I spent a few months in France twice and I did get the impression that the American tourists there were a bit boorish on average. (I’ve been myself a tourist in the US several times and would say that Americans make for more gracious hosts by far than the French, though I love France and have no problem at all with its people. IMO French snootiness is much exaggerated.) ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/58 "2010-05-04T09:58:07Z")
BTW is there any kind of ‘boorish out-of-stater’ cliché within the US? ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/59 "2010-05-04T11:31:04Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > \*\* > > 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! I’ve seen this in practice. I was in Israel, a Brazilian man was chatting up a German girl, they were both speaking in English. The conversation got around to France and the German girl made some unflattering comments about it. Immediately a Frenchman who was in the party said “Ah you must be English, they have a problem about the French”. I then chipped in and said “No we don’t, I had a French girlfriend one time”. Actually that wasn’t entirely true because a lot of Brits really do have a strong antipathy against the French, though I’m not one of them. The Frenchman turned out to be a brilliant bloke with a great sense of humour but it proves that when people can’t recognise other accents they can make false assumptions about the nationality of the speaker. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028/60 "2010-05-04T11:46:07Z")
> [@Bytegeist](#): > > If you’re thinking of the “Grim Reaper” sketch, one of those American characters was played by Terry Gilliam, whose accent is genuine. Not the accent he was using in the film, no. He’s quite soft-spoken in reality. Another fine example of American boors: [Flushed Away](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k153GAj_0vo). Pretty much every Ugly American cliche rolled into one (well, two). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-boorish-american-a-stock-character-in-british-european-film/538028.md?page=4)