What do you think are some of the stereotypes of U.S. Americans? 1. How did you acquire them? 2. How do they influence communication between U.S. Americans and people from other countries?
According to the article, stereotypes are “widely held beliefs about some group [of people],” whether positive or negative. Most stereotypes are acquired through consumption of mass media, including television shows, movies, and news broadcasts, but they can also be learned through exposure to an environment, whether through family and friends or personal experience.
According to an article from Business Insider, written by a world traveler, the most common stereotypes of Americans are:
All Americans:
- are rich
- do nothing but party
- are entitled/arrogant
- are monolingual
Many of these stereotypes are promoted by media outlets internationally, whether through movies, music, or television shows. For example, many non-Americans are only exposed to the culture through Hollywood cinema, which often portrays young people as engaging frequently with drugs, alcohol, and sex (#2). The stereotype that probably informs intercultural communication the most is #3, which the author of the article ascribes to tourists who often aren’t aware enough to be respectful of the culture’s customs, coming off as self-absorbed.
I like your last point about the stereotype of entitlement / arrogance because you touch on how and why other cultures might gain this perspective. I think number 3 and 4 can also tie together into a more specific stereotype that when U.S Americans travel abroad they take it for granted that there will be someone who can speak english to them and therefore can come off as entitled, whereas someone from a non english speaking country who comes to the U.S will be apologetic for not having ‘perfect english’.
The media is controlled by the people with the means to control. I wonder what the benefit to this kind of image is.