Some of the stereotypes that come to mind when of think of americans is that people are loud, obnoxious, entitled and that everyone in the south owns a gun. Also before I came to america I thought all americans were very rich, owned their own lands, and that america is the land of golden opportunity, people can be anything they wanted to be. Another stereotype is that everyone in the US is very democratic. I think that these stereotypes are acquired from the media portray of the US. In the mainstream media, they show the rich people since they are the ones who can afford to be on TV. If one thinks about it, some of the popular shows on tv tends to be about rich people. For example, the kardashians, oprah, Ellen shows are all about rich people. The shows on tv tend to show people partying and having fun. Even shows about high school kids tend to portray the US teenager as someone who argues with their parents if they are not allowing them to do who they want. You won’t see that much of a homeless student in these shows, everyone has houses, phones, cars, and food to eat. So to the outside world it just looks, we have all. These can influence the way people in the US interact with other people. I know that my family in Africa always call asking for money because they think we have everything. But they don’t realize not all americans have houses they own, and those in houses have to pay the mortgage. They don’t realize that money does not grow on trees. When I talk to my friends outside of the US soil they talk to me as if I am blessed but I probably struggle more than they do. If a US citizen is traveling outside the US, people might approach them thinking they are loud. I find it interesting that Caroline’s friend starting going on about what she thought Caroline was just because she was from a certain place in her state. I come from a place known as Lewiston, Maine and there are certain stereotypes that other Maine cities and towns hold about us. The moment they here I’m from lewiston they tend to look the other way. I agree with Maya when she said that some stereotypes can influence positive communication for people coming into the US for opportunity, they know that many things are possible.
April 2, 2018 — 1
Like Odrine, I also had the same idea of U.S. as very rich and at home, many people call it the country of opportunities, many see it as a place where you can save yourself from poverty and become rich too. Since the media is very powerful and not many people have the opportunity to visit the country they just assume everything they see on TV is true and believe in that to the point that when you tell them that things are not 100% like that, they don’t believe. Also, I believe for many international students who come from complicated economic backgrounds it becomes a huge pressure and responsibility to be here since no one else at home had this chance.