The US in Japan

When you think of the Japanese you may think of pachinko machines, but when the Japanese think of Americans they picture Nicholas Cage square dancing?



Do Japanese people think every American drives a pick-up truck while singing along to Beethoven? Cage played his "American-ness to the very hilt. When pachinko machine manufacturer Sankyo recruited Cage, they went all-out, getting him square-dancing in the middle of a lonely southwestern highway with a pack of metal ball-headed aliens" says Open Culture.

But the Japanese aren't the only ones who stereotype foreigners. How do American commercials stereotype other cultures? Do you think these stereotypes are fair? Why or why not? Why do we stereotype?

Comments

  1. I feel like we Americans do a lot of stereotyping of other peoples like for example, specially in media, we always portray Mexicans with sombreros and ponchos and tacos; and we always relate tacos with Mexicans with sombreros and ponchos. But we also seem to stereotype ourselves, for example every time Red Necks are portrayed in media they are always driving pick up trucks and hunting, brandishing rifles and shotguns. I just think every one, not just Japanese and Americans stereotype each other.

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  2. In American media we portray both our own and other cultures in extremes. For example in Volkswagon commercials, they have scientists with heavy German accents persuading consumers to buy their cars due to "German Engineering". While in commercials for Chevy, we portray men to all drive large trucks with V8 engines that can plow through any terrain in the outdoors so we can get to work or go out with our beloved old yeller. Not everyone in America drives a huge truck and wear flannels all day. It is fair for countries to portray themselves in extremes of what their citizens act. But there is a certain point where other countries begin to assume that these commercials are portraying Americans exactly as we are on a daily basis.

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  3. I think the American culture stereotypes the most to every other culture in media constantly. So the fact that this Japanese commercial is stereotyping Americans is kind of funny. We get to understand the way other cultures might stereotype the American culture for once. Americans stereotype other cultures in many ways for example the MC Donald's commercial that uses the cha cha slide with the little African American boy. The fact that he has a sweat suit and a head band with a hat to the side stereotypes African Americans and their choosing in apparel. I believe that the american stereotype the Asian culture too, when they say all Asians are smart or that Asians can't drive. I don't think stereotypes are fair they just make fun of each-others culture and it hurts peoples feelings. I think we stereotype because people usually get amused of making fun of other cultures.

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  4. I believe that the stereotypes of Americans are not fair but then again every country has stereo types of the other countries that are not always fair.Not only does Japan see American's in that manner but so do other countries throughout the glob, for example Australians see Americans as ignorant people, Chinese see Americans as people that are not smart, do bad on exams, don't think or process information at the rate they do. with that said i guess we can call it fair because the united states has stereo types of almost every country in the world; I can mention any of them out of respect but im sure every one has heard of several stereotypes in the united states about other countries.

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  5. It is very common for people to stereotype the unknown. Not all the Japanese people would think that every American drives a pick-up truck while singing along to Beethoven. This stereotype could not be true for every single American. Based on this video, it is pretty obvious that the Japanese have little knowledge of American culture. The reverse is true for Americans. The American people have stereotyped many foreigners based on their ways of life. Some stereotypes Americans have of Italians are that they love pasta, and because they love pasta, they are stout. Another stereotype is that the older Italian women are good cooks as portrayed in a Ragu commercial. The Americans have a bad impression of the French people. They think the French are stuck up and rude and don’t like Americans. I do not think that these stereotypes are fair because they are only oversimplified generalizations, and cannot accurately be applied to a collective group of people. It would not be fair for anyone to be stereotyped by any of these inaccurate and unfair generalizations. People tend to stereotype because they are ignorant and afraid of the unknown. If there is any aspect of life that is new to them, they immediately perceive it in a negative light. By limiting the amount of stereotyping that we inflict on other people, we will be able to understand them in a better light.

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  6. Throughout history, cultures have stereotyped other cultures based on the things one culture knows about another. For example, the Americans would use advertising and television shows to convince people that it was right to attack all the people of the Middle Eastern not in alliance with the U.S. Americans have also classified people of Asian decent to all be very intelligent and people of Spanish or Mexican cultures to be more likely to cause crimes. These opinions are unjust and people should be more focused on learning about them instead of judging about outward appearance.

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  7. It does not matter what culture you are from because every culture stereotypes no matter what. If you go to another country and if you were to tell them you were american they will think you are rich and eat hamburgers everyday. These stereotypes are not fair because basically people get to judge you before even getting to know you. We typically stereotype because we think we know how other people are right before we know them. That is why we typically stereotype.

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  8. Americans deserve worse stereotypes. I am proud to be seen driving in a truck down the countryside. The music was just funny. They could have made us fat or wasteful or other stereotypes that fit our worst attributes. I have seen too many stereotypes about other countries made here in America, so I only think this is fair.

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  9. As an American I can say we stereotype every ethnicity and gender. When we talk about the Japanese, we think of the small tiny pointless cars they make, or stereotype the size of Japanese men. Every single ethnic group out there stereotypes every other ethic group. When we talk about Native Americans people tend to view them as alcoholics or bums. These stereotypes are from experiences others have had in the past, but they don't define who you are.

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  10. Stereotypes are a part of of our daily lives. Stereotyping is used to classify certain groups.It can often be very offensive and hurtful. Personally as a Hispanic female I have heard just about every stereotype there is directed toward my ethnic group. These Stereotypes are often unfair. I am Mexican, but I don't know anyone Mexican Maids, I don't know any Mexican landscapers, and not every Mexican is a gangster like you will see on TV or commercials. Everyone Stereotypes and I believe stereotypes come from not being fully educated about the many different groups we live among.

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  11. There is a countless amount of stereotypes in society today. Typical american stereotypes still tend to belittle other's, the "savage" stereotype is still around to this day. One stereotype I have had to deal with is the stereotype of how "all Hawaiian's know how to hula" or "All Asians are mathematicians". People tend to turn to stereotypes in order to "better understand the unknown". Many people hate not knowing, so they turn to information that may not necessarily be credible, but if it furthers their understanding then they will reply on it whole heartily. I do not think that stereotypes are fair because the people that they refer to have no control over who thinks it and it is very difficult to live past those stereotypes. I say that we must refrain from stereotypes, however b/c of the way our society is, that is easier said than done, sadly.

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  12. American commercials stereotype other cultures such as Latinos, Chinese, and blacks. They stereotype latinos as farm workers who pick up crops all day in the hot shining sun. Latinos who work in McDownals or low paying job who have american bosses. Then commercials also stereotype chinese individuals placing them as bad drivers but also as great mathematics. And blacks as dangerous individuals who can come and hurt one at any moment if seen walking on the streets. However stereotypes are just names given to individuals of different racis and ethnicities. Stereotypes can be true in all races a latino and african american can be bad driver too. Stereoypes should not exist to judge the inteligence or working area of an individual. We should learn to meet a person before starting to judging it and discriving him or her with stereotypes.

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  13. Americans stereotype a lot of race, not only the japanese stereotype Americans as rednecks that like to drive pick-up trucks or square dance. We, as Americans, stereotype the people in the Middle East as Terrorist, British as tea loving people, Asians as bad drivers but smart and small people , and Mexicans wearing sombreros and eat tacos. It's what we do everyday, even I do it when I meet someone for the first time. We judge them before meeting them in person or when you first meet them.

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  14. Stereotyping is something you can probably find in every culture. People like to categorize other people by race, color, food, clothes, way of living, etc. For example, some people in the Middle East have some stereotypes about American families and how they don't respect each other or their elders. The same problem happens here, some people here in the United States think about people in the Middle Eastern as terrorists. It is sad.

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  15. Although this is quite funny this video leads into a bigger discussion. stereotypes are everywhere and they are usually about someone race, age or color. Despite that Americans stereotype a lot of races this video should not be justified by that. I hope that people are aware of what stereotypes can do to people.

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  16. I don't think so. It really depends how you like. As for me, I will listen to Beethoven music because I am a music major student. But, I am no an American but do study here as an international student. In my opinion, everyone has their own stereotype to other culture. Such as American always think Chinese people are good at Kufu fighting. Chinese people stereotype Japanese are cool heart and bad guys... Hey here is the answer, it is totally not fair. It is because of our society especially our commercial love to show us different culture and they earn money on how they "culture shock" us. For instance, I believe everyone have seen "Panda express" or "Sushi boat" commercial on TV. But the face is, they named themselves "Chinese food" and "Japanese food" but the tastes are not the same as the original. They had changed their recipe to get into the industry to make more people buying them. Which means they make them more "American favor".

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  17. In my opinion, we all stereotype each other because its normal and natural. America is obviously the most diverse nation in the World and we do make jokes and assumptions about other cultures. We say Asians are terrible drivers, we say African Americans are violent, White people are greedy and Middle Eastern's are all jihadist rebells out to get America. These assumptions are ignorant and just ridiculous. We Americans have a tendency to be bullies, and to make fun of each other. In the end, Americans are known for they're sarcasm and ignorance, so foreigners don't think highly of us.

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  18. Honestly, you can't help but stereotype foreigners. Whether you're from the U.S. or Middle East. It's how each culture is portrayed by the majority.
    In the U.S. the commercials portrays the most common form of each culture. For example, I remember a commercial that portrayed a little Asian girl eating chicken nuggets for McDonalds with chopsticks and another one that showed malnourished African children.
    Ok, I get it; Asians eat with chopsticks because that's what the majority of Asians do but chicken nuggets is finger food so the chopsticks made the commercial really stereotypical. Where as the malnourished African children are displayed in shanty towns or just standing there with sad expressions and dirty backgrounds because Africa is apparently underdeveloped. This is true for the most part that parts of Africa is underdeveloped.

    The stereotypes that are shown in the American commercials are fair to an extent that all cultures have a stereotype of their own of other cultures and that they're derived from the majority and history of those cultures. For example, Americans (Caucasians) think highly of themselves, Asian women are bad drivers, or African Americans are dangerous

    We as Americans stereotype because that's how we perceive them for the most part.

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  19. Americans stereotype other cultures all the time on commercials. They assume that all asian people love sushi and are excellent at math. They portray in kool-aid commercials that only african americans love their products. From watching many foreign commercials I can see that most of them see Americans as fat, lazy, rich, and spoiled people. People often stereotype because they are ignorant to the culture that they are poking fun at. The stereotypes are fair because everyone makes fun of each other and people need to smile more in there life. I know people can be easily offended about race, but I believe that we should embrace these stereotypes. If they see that we are getting easily offended by the stereotypes that they say, It will be shown that we are vulnerable to those remarks. If we embrace the jokes and laugh along with it, we will take away the demeaning factors of what they are saying.

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  20. While not as prevalent as in the decades that have passed, Americans, much like most countries or demographics, stereotype cultures and groups they aren't familiar with. The reason for this is because when someone doesn't understand/agree with something, they try to make blanket statements about that group in order to boost themselves up and/or justify mistreating them. In American culture, the biggest stereotypes of other cultures often come from those closest to us; Mexico and Canada. In Mexico's case, stereotypes are on the negative end of the spectrum; Americans, both on and off TV, make it seem that everyone in Mexico wants to live in America and sneak in illegally. On the other end, when Americans think of Canada they think of the stereotype of Canadians being overly nice and apologetic. While neither of those stereotypes are 100% true or false, people will always stereotype cultures and groups they don't understand, and that won't change anytime soon since it's become a consistent part of human nature for centuries.

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  21. Honestly, I don’t know what Japanese people stereotype Americans as because I am not Japanese and I’ve never been to Japan. However, I don’t doubt that Japanese people believe that Americans are all cowboys that ride horses because stereotypes are very powerful and can make a whole country believe one thought. From my experience, I believe everyone stereotypes people that they don’t know much about because it is easier to identify them as one entire group. We fail to realize people are different and not everyone fits these stereotypes.

    The most common stereotyped commercial Americans use is the commercial with African children living in poverty. These commercials make many of us believe that Africa is filled with nothing but dirt land and starving people. I believe that these stereotypes are unfair to the people they are given to because they cloud the minds of others and make them believe that one race of people are the same, when they aren’t. Moreover, I believe people stereotype others because it makes the world make more sense and helps us identify each other.

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  22. Everyone has stereotyped another race or have heard stereotypes. Stereotypes are used to categorize a whole culture or label them in a way so the culture as a whole has something in common. The labels are usually insulting to the culture it is about, yet people continue to stereotype people. I have been out of the united states and have heard some of the stereotypes that some people in mexico think of americans. Yes at times people do fit the stereotypes, but one person fitting the label doesn't mean the whole culture fits it.
    I believe that people stereotype just as a way to label a race or culture that they don't fully understand. Its easier to say something fictional and insulting , versus going out and finding out solid facts about the race. I believe that along as there are different cultures and races mingling and crossing paths, stereotypes will always be around. I do not agree with stereotyping, but I'm sure it will be around longer than i will.

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  23. I have seen some American commercials with Asians in them and they were talking in English with a strong typical Chinese accent. there is no doubt that they did it on purpose and I found it quite amusing yet a bit offended as a Chinese. Personally, some of those stereotypes are fair because it truly reflects some facts about other culture; some of them are not and it shows that people are lacking information and knowledge of other cultures. We stereotype because most people generalize a group of people based on the behavior of a single group member; additionally, people assign races to some specific cultures based on what they've seen in the commercials and shows. Rather than defending our own culture, each person should have the competence to understand other's cultures and perspective.

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  24. American commercials use sterotypes in theri commercials becasue thats is how the majority of amercian soceity view other countries. For example the super bowl coke commercial featured an Arab man walking through the desert with his camel. The truth is that we see the Arab and their country as hot,dry, and view them as terroist. However some of the sterotypes featured in commercials are true to a certain degree. The way the Arabs are dress in the Commercial is some-what accute. They wear their clothing to protect their skin against the heat. American Commercial not only sterotypes other countries but themselves as well. We dont see every American drivng a Ford/Chevy truck. Wheather it is fair or not people identify other countries through sterotypes.

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  25. Americans stereotype others all the time. We even stereotype ourselves sometimes. An example would be people from the South, many stereotype them as rednecks and people who love country. I think most commercials are more careful about stereotypes now just because it could create a backlash. A recent commercial that I have seen with a stereotype is a Pepsi commercial with Sofia Vergara, the commercial doesn't really create the stereotype, she does. She has a thick latin accent which could cause people to think that all Latinos have thick accents and speak exactly like her. Stereotypes aren't fair because were judging a group of people even if we don't know anybody from that group. I think we stereotype just because we're so used to it and exposed by it so much in the media.

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  26. Commenting on this makes me feel a little uneasy since I'm not American, but I've been in the states for years, so I believe I have observed enough to give an opinion.
    Yes, Americans judge and stereotype 24/7. The US is "the united" of all countries and "free and fair".. but that's not what I see. Americans are, no offense, selfish. I feel as if they only care about their own country, believing that it's the best of the best, when in reality, it isn't true. They're always so proud of themselves, even when they're in the wrong. I find it ridiculous how they can be so.. stuck up? all this time. Of course, they're not all that bad. There are good qualities as well, but when it comes to this topic, it's a negative.

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  27. We stereo type on on a global mass. Im sure there are still people out there in Utah or even Colorado who think people in California are just all tan and go surfing all day. Stereo typing has become a cultural thing, whether its for better or worse i cant say. We commercialize other cultures by giving them heavy accents or portraying them in certain situation. Is it fair? I say yes, Americans may stereo type others but they also stereo type themselves so its not like any one group is singled out. Americans stereo types to appeal to a mass market and whats television without a little humor.

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  28. Stereotyping individuals has become apart of our human culture. As troubling that may sound to some. For instance when people from a foreign state our country think of Californians they tend to expect or visualize our women native of our wonderful state as "beach blonde" blued eyes and tan. But in reality California is far from that. Not all women from California are Caucasian and blonde.. If we want to break these cases of stereotyping we must educate our youth more effectively.

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  29. I'm actually from Japan, going to an American University is different and I love it. I am also half African American and Japanese, so being raised in Japan was quite an experience, it's surprising how stereotypical Japanese people can get, but I believe that Americans are more stereotypical than the Japanese.You have to understand that like most countries (Asia and etc) are homogeneous, people get excited when they see something different and you'll most likely be the center of attention, but I don't think they mean bad in it. Not only that, all countries and races have their own stereotypes. Americans have stereotypes about their own people, whether if it's racial, sexual, or economic class, there's always going to be some sort of ignorance or something said about someone.

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