England's view on americans?

Us Brits have as stereotypical a view of you as you do of us. It doesn't help that many of you are so self-deprecating that our narrow, unfair stereotypes are so rarely challenged.

There's the image of the 'average' American as ignorant, overweight and patriotic. But that's ridiculous.

We often seem to forget how much of your cultural output we adore and use every day; a lot of the most popular television, literature, music and movies in Britain come direct from the US. Some of it many would rather stayed within your borders, but there's also some fantastic, intelligent, creative stuff America shares with the world.

Tech and the web:
Google, YouTube, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter etc.

TV:
Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, The Wire etc.

Music:
Rock, Jazz, Blues, R'n'B, Hip Hop, all began in the US.

Movies:
See http://www.imdb.com/chart/top

As for us British, we have plenty of ignorant people, plenty of people with strong, barely intelligible accents, plenty of fat people and so on.

It's sad that your dominance in the world militarily, culturally and economically means a lot of people have a resentment towards Americans that overshadows your achievements. It can be hard to detach our view of your people from our view of your government at times.

So basically, we often forget how much of your culture we love because of how much of it we resent.

To be honest I feel awkward answering this, I don't want to offend anyone, I want to start by saying that I love a lot about American culture and want to visit Maine and New York, I also want to say that the UK is nothing like how you picture it, the crime rate in the UK is though the roof.

My strongest view about America is how ingrained Christianity and especially creationism is in society, I have no problem with someone having faith at all but i honestly believe religion has no place in shaping politics that will affect the whole country, yet an atheist has pretty much no chance getting to power in America l, I find it strange because most of the founding fathers were atheists.

As for Americans as a people, I can't say I've never been to America, I know many people on this site who are American who are great, in every country there will be nice people, and not, I love American accents, I haven't heard a single accent I don't love from America,

Next time I go abroad I'm going to America.

The stereotype is that you talk like rednecks (or speak GenAm - General American, the sort of accent that British actors like Hugh Laurie use when they're playing American characters), know nothing about world geography or politics, are fat, love McDonald's, cocky and over-confident, own lots of guns, and are more conservative than us. Most of the stereotypes are negative, but some of them aren't. You're more cool and laid-back, less emotionally reserved. I think most people realise deep down that these stereotypes, especially the negative ones, are not extremely realistic.

As for me, I don't really have a picture of what Americans as a whole are like. American politics are typically conservative, but I don't think core American values are any more necessarily conservative than British values. I think most American accents are pretty cool. It's a fun novelty to us, like English accents are to you.

I think you are basing the British off of the American TV version of us. The reality is that so many of us are vile, irrational, rude, and so on, most don't even have the stereotypical posh English talk, you should hear the chav London talk, it's just "Ugh".

"British people always seem intelligent"

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7RBelz8BgX0

Check this guy out. It's hardly even an exaggeration, since so many people are actually like this here in the UK.
Now that we've got that aside, I can say that I imagine the typical American looks something like this:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fdBrYfxSXWc

Well for starters you could have spelled intelligent right..

I would personally like to add.

No really i enjoyed addition in high school maths that much

I think the reputation of Americans is pulled directly from what one would normally experience in a trip to Wal Mart.

A 250 lb. woman who stands barely at 5'0 with the bottom of her belly hanging below a pink shirt with sparkle print Mickey Mouse ears and an obscenely low cut walking next to an equally fat man in a dark grey, grease stained T-Shirt with the "Don't tread on me" snake pictured on the front hauling a shopping cart full of chips, frozen pizzas and two liter bottles of coke mumbling racist go-back-to-Mexico remarks to each other about the middle-aged latina working behind the counter as their fat little children run around, snatching up candy bars and tripping up old ladies in their mad dash to fit as many in the cart as possible as they pull out their EBT card from a knockoff NRA wallet.

I noticed above that it was mentioned that this isn't challenged and it's because a lot of us know that this is true. I am a college student of healthy weight with a full-time job and I'm not going to lie, a lot of us are not like that but a lot of us are and those of us who realize it are quite ashamed of it, especially when we watch TV and see these countries in Europe where everyone is thin, dressed beautifully eating organic salads and breads and walking in small towns instead of driving in large cities and you're like... damn. And I put my bag of chips away, grab the very small amount of fat I have on my tummy and sad face :(

I personally love every culture in someway, because every culture is interesting. That's just one of my favorite parts of being American. For example, I'm one half Polish, German and Russian on my Dad's side, and my Mom's side is a mix of most cultures. That is part of the reason why USA in sign language looks like you're stirring a pot- it's that to represent that America is like a big mix of culture, and the sign is you stirring the cultures together as one. I think it's sort of cool having so many different people together, living mostly in peace together.

But I'm American, so this doesn't really help answer your question. Sorry...

I'm English and I've been to New York. Not a lot was different (culturally) other than the obvious: currency, accents, driving on the other side of the road ect.

Anyway, as for British people being intelligent, I strongly suggest you watch an episode of Jeremy Kyle. That will solve all your questions.

It's actually quite embarrassing really, that there's this stereotype going around about us (intelligent, nice houses in the countryside, we go to schools that are like Hogwarts ect.). I couldn't have a posh accent if I tried. The more north you go, the more it changes.

I think Americans are crazy, your culture amazes me.

They pulled in just behind the bridge
He lays her down, he frowns
Gee my lifes a funny thing, am I still too young?
He kissed her then and there
She took his ring, took his babies
It took him minutes, took her nowhere
Heaven knows, she'd have taken anything, but

All night
She wants the young american
Young american, young american, she wants the young american
All right
She wants the young american

Scanning life through the picture windows
She finds the slinky vagabond
He coughs as he passes her ford mustang, but
Heaven forbid, she'll take anything
But the freak, and his type, all for nothing
He misses a step and cuts his hand, but
Showing nothing, he swoops like a song
She cries where have all papas heroes gone?

All night
She wants the young american
Young american, young american, she wants the young american
All right
She wants the young american

All the way from washington
Her bread-winner begs off the bathroom floor
We live for just these twenty years
Do we have to die for the fifty more?

All night
He wants the young american
Young american, young american, he wants the young american
All right
He wants the young american

Do you remember, your president nixon?
Do you remember, the bills you have to pay
Or even yesterday

Have you been an un-american?
Just you and your idol singing falsetto bout
Leather, leather everywhere, and
Not a myth left from the ghetto
Well, well, well, would you carry a razor
In case, just in case of depression
Sit on your hands on a bus of survivors
Blushing at all the afro-sheilas
Aint that close to love?
Well, aint that poster love?
Well, it aint that barbie doll
Her hearts been broken just like you have

And
All night
You want the young american
Young american, young american, you want the young american
All right
You want the young american

You aint a pimp and you aint a hustler
A pimps got a cadi and a lady got a chrysler
Blacks got respect, and whites got his soul train
Mamas got cramps, and look at your hands ache
I heard the news today, oh boy
I got a suite and you got defeat
Aint there a man you can say no more?
And, aint there a woman I can sock on the jaw?
And, aint there a child I can hold without judging?
Aint there a pen that will write before they die?
Aint you proud that youve still got faces?
Aint there one damn song that can make me
Break down and cry?

All night
I want the young american
Young american, young american, I want the young american
All right
I want the young american
Young american
Young american, young american, I want the young american
(I want with you, I want with you want)
All right
(you want it, I want you you, you want i, I want you want)
Young american, young american, I want the young american (I want to want, to want, to want , to want i, I want you)
All right
(lord I wanted the young american)
(young american)
Young american, young american
I want the young american
Mmmmmm mmm