First of all, everyone knows that "americans" means "US people", even if America is not USA. It is what it is. :)
Now. For decades people in US have talked about being hated by the rest of the world. How are things today from an european point of view?
Well, most of people, in Europe, gets an idea about Americans both by the news and by what everyone gets from US. I'm talking of the average citizen, of course. And what does the average european citizen know about US by the news? He knows that USA exercises power and influence over many countries around the world. He knows that USA is the richest country of the world. He knows that Americans love firearms and that sometimes someone goes mad and kills a lot of people. Becouse local news, in european tv networks, report mostly this kind of news - as well as some oddities, of course.
But the average european citizen gets more than some news from USA. He gets most of the tv series and the movies he watchs. He gets music and shows. He gets many kinds of products - mostly technological and innovative ones. By all these things - not just by the news - most of europeans form their opinions and feelings about americans.
And what is that US fiction, shows and innovations tell to europeans? Well, those things brings stories, and stories always are able to close the gap between reality and news - which of course create prejudices and misconceptions. But these prejudices and misconceptions in the opinion and feeling of the average misinformed european citizen about Americans are both positive and negative.
Opportunities, freedom, patriotism, democracy, hope, faith in the future are the positive ideas. Superficiality, bigotry, brutality, arrogance, cruelty are the negative ones.
Put all this together and shake it up: that's what Europeans think of Americans. There is hate, love and a lot of misconceptions in it. Here is: it is what it is.
Of course, this is just my point of view. :)
What it looks like is that Americans try to act like they are the person they look up to. That's what I see most on Youtube & television.
I believe and really hope that most people are just their own personality anywhere on the world.
You don't see that often on television and other media, I think because everyone wants to act and show the best version of himself, and in American culture that's a little more common that in other cultures.
People from other countries or continents all have their different behaviors and ways. When you accept that, you're peaceful! <3
Just my opinion.
To be extra rude:
-I could see Americans as actors or fake persons
-I could see all Asian people as serious, smart and disciplined people
-I could see all Middle-East people as chaotic people who love to shout
-I could see all Somalians as pirates
-I could see all Scandinavians as vikings
But these are just misconceptions because you don't know the people that well.
How do you guys see, or could you form an image of Europeans based on media?
thx for your comment. Of course every people, culture and ethnicity have to bear prejudices and misbelieves about themselves, but Americans seems to me more worried about this than others :)
Maybe they see Europeans as the cooler guys on their media? hahahah
We don't hate America or the US, just all the carp they do to the world.
I love the people from america and have many friends in the states :-)
In 2011 I was for nearly 3 months there and made a lot of good friendships.
having traveled there. there is a good amount of distrust in some areas stemming back to old cold war tensions and the fact that many military men left bastard children behind with single mothers to endure without. there is the hardship when viewing places like Germany. in that sense there is a resentment. when it comes to how they are viewed media wise... there is discord over the way news is conducted simply due to the fact that it comes across as all negative and toxic. in general though i don't think Europeans "hate Americans" but it is hard not to wonder about a country when you have belligerents are going out of their way to make themselves the forefront of an entire culture of people. that is what skews the outside view... not all americans are bad, just some of them are really terrible.
thx for your thoughts, Junoberries.
I think the same as you :)