Americans Are Cowboys: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
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'''[[Desu Des Brigade|JesuOtaku]]''' on a side character from ''[[Digimon Tamers]]'' who is from America }}
In foreign media, when you want your American, you've got your personality down
But that still leaves your design. Personality is one thing, but looks? Hmmmmm...
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* The term ''[[wikipedia:Cowboy diplomacy|cowboy diplomacy]]'', sometimes used by critics of certain aspects of US foreign policy.
* A frequent complaint from American intellectual types about their European (and particularly French) opposite numbers is this bizarre identification of the cowboy as one of the most important things in the American psyche. One episode of ''[[This American Life]]'' includes a bit where a visitor to Germany goes into the phenomenon (and why it's stupid) in detail.
* The reason for this stereotype seems to be that, way back when, the majority of early American entertainment media that made to other countries had a Western theme. Westerns were hugely popular in the U.S. at the time, but they weren't exactly slice-of-life storytelling, something many non-Americans at the time could not have known
This phenomenon predates motion pictures; Buffalo Bill's Wild West performances made [[wikipedia:Buffalo Bill#Buffalo Bill.E2.80.99s Wild West Tours Europe|many successful European tours]] and were perhaps many Europeans' first exposure to American media (and Americans in general).
* The only American character seen in the It's a Small World ride at the [[Disney Theme Parks]] (not counting a lone Eskimo) for some reason actually dresses up in stereotypical cowboy garb that is found only in the last part of the ride.
* [[Canada, Eh?|Canada]] has a variant on this trope with the province of Alberta. Alberta is sometimes seen as the Canadian equivalent of [[Everythings Bigger In Texas|Texas]], given its thriving oil industry, political conservatism and cowboy culture. In some circles, Albertans are stereotyped as redneck cowboys, which can be a source of pride or derision, depending on who you talk to.
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