Eagle Land: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

When viewed from the outside, or sometimes even from the ''inside,'' the United States of America comes in different flavors.

'''Flavor 1: America, Fuck Yeah!'''

 

 

 

 

'''Mixed Flavor'''

 

 

This [[Trope]] is about outsiders looking at the US, so some information here might be heavily stereotyped and culturally offensive to actual Americans. If you happen to see a work that portrays the United States or Americans ''as a whole'' as Flavor #2, but it's an ''American'' production, that's a case of [[Cultural Cringe]]; likewise, an American indulging in Flavor #1 is merely a case of [[Creator Provincialism]]. If the work in question doesn't delve into judgment but refers to the US culture and history by both structuralist and functionalist examples then you're probably reading an in-depth history book.

* ''[[G Gundam]]'''s Chibodee Crockett. Take Roy Fokker, Muhammad Ali, Stephen Colbert, and Toby Keith. Mix well, surround with hot young women, and stick in a robot football player/boxer/cowboy/surfer [[Wearing a Flag on Your Head|wearing star-spangled shorts]]. Truly [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40SMfuAfhr8 a real American].

* Aries of ''[[Mai-Otome]]'' and ''[[Mai-Otome Zwei]]'' has some definite parallels to the US, from a suspiciously Pentagon-like structure to the attitude of Brigadier General Haruka Armitage, a [[Determinator]] to the extreme who often charges in with little to no plan. Aries itself is mainly type 1 being one of the good nations with Yukino being a calm assertive leader who balances out Haruka.

* Subversion: In ''[[Beck (manga)|Beck]]: Mongolian Chop Squad'', the eponymous band was, according to the opening song, "made to hit in America," and the band trying to make it over there was the subject of much of the series. However, their idea of fitting in is wearing t-shirts that say "Jesus is Coming", and America is shown rather realistically (despite some pretty bad [[Engrish]] signage).

* ''[[Kimagure Orange Road]]'' both subverts it (manga) and plays it straight (OVA). In the manga story, Kyosuke, Madoka, and a new girl Sayuri (not Hikaru) find themselves on vacation in Hawaii. One day, Sayuri disappears after going to her room to change. After unsuccessfully searching for her, they believe her to have been kidnapped. Later, they get a phone call in their hotel room, telling them to go to certain locations, ending in a yacht in the harbor. The owner of the yacht tells them to spend the night, and that he'll be back in the morning with their breakfast. Since neither of them know what "breakfast" means, they assume it is something rather sinister. After a night of drinking, the owner returns, brings them their food, and produces a gun...which happens to be a lighter for his pipe. Turns out they were mistaken for a newlywed couple who had ordered a honeymoon package of sorts, and told to go to their locations. And Sayuri had gone off to a bar to hunt guys, completely forgetting about her friends. The OVA, however, had Hikaru actually being kidnapped by crazy [[Mooks]] with guns, and ended with a final shootout, with the police (or any sensible Americans) nowhere to be seen.

=== Music ===

* "American Woman," originally by The Guess Who, painted the U.S. as Flavor 2. Then Lenny Kravitz [[Covered Up|covered it up]] with a funk remix and a music video with American flags, hot girls on choppers and muscle cars, and [[Heather Graham]] dancing on top of a bus. Because of that, it's today regarded as more Flavor 1 in style regardless of its lyrics. Incidentally, The Guess Who claimed ''American Woman'' was never intended to be anti-American in the first place.

* [[Blur (band)|Blur]]'s song "Magic America", which is about a man who moves to America entirely because of this view of the country.

 

 

=== Radio ===

 

 

* [[School Shock]] presents the Americans as aggressive diplomats with their default tactic being war threats, however backing down when some kind of resistance is shown (though the resister in this case was China). At least their president has a [[Funny Afro]] and a big smile.

* Carrie from ''[[Bamboo Blade]]'' is depicted as a somewhat stereotypical American type 2. She is obnoxious and in-your-face, extremely arrogant, and generally disregards the traditional rules of Kendo in favor of practices she thinks are more cool. However, by the end of the anime series, she and her rival Miya-Miya do seem to have a grudging respect for one another.

* ''[[Blood Plus]]'': This one wins hands-down for Eagleland #2 in anime ({{spoiler|Condi and Rummy are raising an army of vampires. Well, not personally. Yes, this is seriously the anime's plot}}). The writers balanced this (somewhat) through the characters of David and the American members of Red Shield.

** In the Japanese version they outright left the French Van Aragano to die because he wasn't American(this was changed in the English dub to the more plausible reason of "you caused all of this so you can stay".)

* ''[[Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex]]'' contains a particularly obnoxious example of type 2 in the infamous episode 10; a major plot point revolves around the "American Empire" sanctioning their forces to commit atrocious war crimes in South America, which might have been marginally forgivable given the series' alternate-future setting (in which [[All There in the Manual|supplemental materials]] reveal that America has undergone a second Civil War), but the depiction of the Japanese-American characters as ugly, condescending, manipulative cowards really has no excuse. Needless to say, some American fans like to [[Fanon Discontinuity|ignore that episode]].

** It is worth noting that the "American Empire" is NOT the United States, but one of two break-away nations from the US (the other being the far-left ''[[Ameri Soviet]] Alliance'' (that's seriously what they're called)). While this is barely touched on in the series (though made explicitly clear in the manga) besides a shot of the US terrirories split into 3 ''on a map in the background'', and brief mentions of the USA itself, it becomes more apparent in the second season, particularly at the end of the final episode, where the three Americas are each mentioned, seperately. Also worth noting that the CIA agents in the aforementioned episode look even ''more'' Japanese than the Japanese main characters, and the American Empire is seen working ''with'' Japan later in the series. Stacked together as a whole, the entire thing comes off as a very ''hesitant'' use of type 2.

* Early '90s show ''[[Mad Bull 34]]'' sends a Japanese policeman on exchange to New York's 34th precinct to be [[Buddy Cop Show|buddies]] with "Sleepy" John Estes, the most violent cop on the force, who cleans up the [[Big Applesauce|Big Apple]]'s crime problem with shotguns, grenades, and a wanton disregard for legal procedure.

* The ''[[Marmalade Boy]]'' anime has several characters who incarnated diverse variations of Eagleland #2. The one who shows up more often is Michael Grant, who started learning Japanese after watching several Japanese movies, acts like an overactive [[Genki Girl|Genki Boy]] and is quite fixated on his host sister, Miki. Also, we have Yuu's American friends and schoolmates: a [[Hot-Blooded]] semi [[Jerk Jock]] (Brian), a blonde [[Clingy Jealous Girl]] (Jenny), a sweet and homely [[Cool Big Sis]] (Doris) and young man who pretends to be sexually ambiguous to a degree (Bill).

** She also knows phsyics second-nature, being able to answer all Shinji's homework without even being able to read it, and also speaks at least two languages fluently (it can be assumed she also knows English from living in the States). I think her word is pretty good.

* In the Anime ''Ping Pong Club'' the tall, hairy, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, extremely ''smelly'' Mitchell Tanabe is..you guessed it. American.

* ''[[Pretty Sammy|Magical Project S]]'' has a brief sequence at the White House, where it shows the President as some gullible idiot willing to dump 60 billion dollars into a satellite surveillance system created by a 12 year old [[Genki Girl]] [[Mad Scientist]] for "military purposes". It then suggests that the security there isn't just incompetent, but also unobservant as said scientist also converted the White House into a rocket launch pad while they were "out on their nightly business".

{{quote|"Ohhhhhhhh, I'm the president."}}

* The American team in the baseball episode of ''[[Samurai Champloo]]'' is a definite type 2. They are portrayed as blatantly cheating, violent, murderous thugs who consider the Japanese team to be ignorant savages. They also keep going on and on about American superiority. When the game dissolves into a beaning match which ends with Mugen as the last man standing, he then yells "Go back to your own damn country!" The narrator then helpfully adds that the Americans went home in shame, with a profound fear of the Japanese people.

* ''Shin [[Getter Robo]] Armageddon'': After the apocalypse, the remaining nations struggle to survive against immortal aliens. A group of Americans come onto the Japanese base and start trying to kill everyone and destroy Shin Getter. Their reason? They think the Japanese ''caused'' the disaster that flooded the surface with Getter radiation, killing about 90% of the population, and drove them underground {{spoiler|in truth, the UN over-reacted and launched a nuke at the, at the time, highly volatile Shin Dragon}}. Gai calls them out on this, asking why the Japanese would drop the bomb on themselves.

* Let's not forget "Bandit" Keith [[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series|Steve]] Howard from ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'', both an American and a ruthless dirty cheater, who has a [[Wearing a Flag on Your Head|Stars and Stripes bandanna]]. He even pulls a gun on Pegasus when he loses! Of course, Pegasus himself is American... and a flamboyant, childlike billionaire. Or Rebecca Hopkins/Hawkins, American champion, a cute little girl with a teddy bear... whose [[Catch Phrase]] is "God damn". Rebecca gets a little better later on, but still. Not to mention the [[It's All About Me|shallow, selfish]] movie star Jean-Claude Magnum. [[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series|In America]].

** In [[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series|the Abridged Series]], Yugi states it himself: "So let me get this straight. The only characters on this show who represent America are Jean Claude Magnum, Rebecca Hawkins, Maximilian Pegasus, and Bandit Keith. Is it just me, or is Yu-Gi-Oh the most xenophobic show ever?"

* The manga version of ''[[Bokurano]]'' portrays America this way, even though Americans themselves are very rarely shown. Characters usually speak with disgust about the United States, saying that the country is stuck thinking it's the world's sole superpower, and worrying that the U.S. may invade Japan, using the manga's events as a pretext. In fact, the U.S. never actually does anything antagonistic in the manga.

* While America doesn't make an appearance until one of the final episodes of ''[[Speed Grapher]]'', the portrayal is definitely this type. The American President (very clearly [[George W. Bush]] in the dub) is among the world leaders discussing dealing with the situation in Japan, and they launch missiles into the middle of Tokyo as a response, and their motives for doing this are completely corrupt. Admittedly, the series also presents all Japanese politicians (and arguably all politicians in general) as corrupt.

** The Korean-American defeats his opponent, gets revenge for his slain brother, and doesn't deliver the deathblow. In return, his now-crippled Korean opponent shambles over to him, gives him his gold medal, apologizes for (accidentally) killing his brother while acknowledging them both as worthy competitors, and offers to be his new brother.

** And the filmmakers wanted me to [[Designated Hero|root for the Americans]]?

* The movie based on [[Terry Pratchett]]'s novel ''[[Discworld|The Colour of Magic]]'' has the character Twoflower as a completely oblivious American tourist complete with straw hat, Hawaiian print shirt, and camera. This is different from the book, however, as Twoflower is from the Agaetean empire and is the local equivalent of a [[Japanese Tourist]].

* A montage in ''Godzilla: Final Wars'' shows daily life in various world cities being interrupted by ''daikaiju'' attacks. Apparently, daily life in New York consists of pimps pulling guns on cops in the middle of the street. Also, the two American main characters are a quite possibly insane [[Badass Normal]] (emphasis on the "[[Badass]]") and a self-important [[Nietzsche Wannabe]], neither of whom, despite living in Tokyo, [[Gratuitous English|ever say one word in Japanese]]. Kazama only really spoke English in like two parts of the movie: during the Ebirah fight and the "Watch it, X Man!" line.

** During the first Christmas special of the new ''[[Doctor Who]]'' series, 'The Christmas Invasion', after aliens are clearly involved, one of the characters informs the Prime Minister Harriet Jones<ref>Yes, we know who you are.</ref> "I'm getting demands from Washington, Ma'm. The President's insisting that he take control of the situation." to which she replies, "You can tell the President, and please, use these Exact words: He's not my boss, and he's certainly not turning this into a war."

*** [[Hypocrite|She then winds up ordering Torchwood to shoot down the retreating enemy ship]].

** Also pretty well subverted in the first two episodes of Series 6 "The Impossible Astronaut" and "The Day of the Moon", which are set in the US. The American characters are pretty sympathetic, if a bit trigger-happy (many of them are, after all, FBI agents). Even [[Richard Nixon]] gets a pretty kind portrayal.

* ''[[Lexx]]'' in its Season Four is very much Type Two in its portrayal of the United States. Stupid moralistic rednecks, the prison industrial complex, crazy survivalists, suburban misery behind a facade of perfection, teenage druggies, criminals, heartless porn stars, reality TV... And the [[Our Presidents Are Different|evil, crooked, and not-too-intelligent president]] is armed with nuclear weapons and is a puppet of [[Satan|a pure evil being]]. Of course, ''every'' country comes off badly on ''Lexx''.

** Jeremy Clarkson once flirted with an American audience member by saying "You can't be American. You're not nearly fat enough."

** Clarkson's comments about Americans are particularly ironic given that if he were American, [[Take That|he'd be the archetypal Type 2]].

* ''[[A Bit of Fry and Laurie]]'' does this occasionally, notably in "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6riY-103vbc Kicking Ass]" and "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUKOebCbINc From Here To Just Over There]".

* [[Kenny Everett]] had the bombastic [[General Ripper]] character of [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJYZrVc1kCY General Cheeseburger] (the post-[[Watershed]] version was called General Bombthebastards), whose solution to every problem involved rounding up those responsible in a field and [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|bombing the bastards]]. Also his shoulderpads served as launch pads for ICBMs.

* One of the teams in the video game ''[[Rival Schools|Rival Schools: United by Fate]]'' is three American exchange students; an arrogant bully (Roy), a ditzy cheerleader (Tiffany), and a preacher in training (Boman). Of these three, Roy and Tiffany (''especially'' Roy) exhibit Flavor #2. All three are cast as villains, though, due to {{spoiler|a case of [[Brainwashed and Crazy]] after getting kidnapped by the villains of the game}}. By the end, all three become better people by interacting with the more cultured and honorable Japanese students. Roy and Tiffany bring their newfound tolerance back home, while Boman stays in Japan to bridge the difference between the two nations. {{spoiler|Roy actually becomes the President of the United States some decades later, with Tiffany as his wife and First Lady.}}

* Super Macho Man in ''[[Punch-Out!!]]!!'' ''Wii'' could be considered a deconstruction of the standard [[All-American Face]], as the (American) audience hates his guts, and with good reason. He's a smug smarmy Californian bodybuilder, and enjoys [[Rich Bitch|flaunting his wealth]] (and [[Pec Flex|pecs]]) over Little Mac. He's also a total [[Heel]] who knocks the referee over and showboats like there's no tomorrow.

* In ''[[World of Warcraft]] Cataclysm'', the new Goblin race are basically this, in spite of not even coming from America. A group of greedy industrialists with a 'money makes right' attitude, they exhibit shocking ignorance about the rest of the world, a mercantile ruthlessness that would be shocking if it weren't [[Played for Laughs]], the kind of taste in clothes that you'd expect from Paris Hilton, and an absolute belief that if you weren't born a goblin, you're not as good as they are. They're basically every negative stereotype of America, from trailer trash to Hollywood excess to robber barons, all rolled into one.

* [[Ben There, Dan That!]] features an alternate reality where the UK has been annexed as the 51st American state. Pretty much everything here is some form or other of gentle (or not-so-gentle) [[Take That]] to America. There's the portly guy sitting around in a miniscule castle calling himself the king, there's the shut-down fish and chip shop, and just listen to what they think of our beer when they visit the "authentic English pub" (the soulless American pisswater is the only thing the barman will serve. He's such a collossal pussy that he'll demand more ID than any rational person would carry before he'll serve the robust, flavorful, and actually-counts-as-alcoholic British lager).

* ''[[El Goonish Shive]]'': [[The Government]] isn't that bad. Even [[The Men in Black]]. But ''[http://egscomics.com/?date=2008-05-26 tourists]''...

** Of course, the writer's [[Word of God|commentary on the strip]] seems to imply that it was more of a jab at tourists in general than just American ones.

 

 

* ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]'': America as seen in ''The Program'' would like to see itself as Type 1, but is very much Type 2. It's basically modern culture [[Twenty Minutes in The Future]], however the main difference is that the country has turned militaristic and nationalistic, and the characters are raised to acknowledge and embrace it.

* [[Zero Punctuation|Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw]] has made his disdain and disgust for America known on more than one occasion in a few of his videos (especially in his reviews of ''[[Modern Warfare|Call of Duty: Modern Warfare]]'' and ''[[Medal of Honor|Medal of Honor: Airborne]]''. At one point, Croshaw considered "moving to that steaming shithole across the ocean" because he was sick of the Australian Media Board's aggressive censorship policies, which he then likened to traditional right-wing conservatism in the States.

* In ''[[Atop the Fourth Wall]]'', Linkara makes a parody in the review of ''[[Captain America (comics)]]'' #1

{{quote|Narrating: Meanwhile, in the peace loving America (then shows Linkara randomly shooting in the air)}}

* [http://globalfire.tv/nj/graphs/aussauger.jpg This cartoon] comes courtesy of the May 2005 issue of "metall," a German magazine by IG Metall (Germany's largest trade union) with two million issues circulated monthly. The featured article for that issue [http://www.dmko.info/titel.pdf likened American companies to parasites], draining German companies of their profitability then selling them off later. The article caused [http://medienkritik.typepad.com/blog/2005/05/germanys_larges.html significant uproar] in Germany, to say the least.

* There is a hilarious chapter in David Sedaris's book ''Me Talk Pretty One Day'' where Sedaris describes something that happened to him on the subway in Paris. He was standing near an American couple who played Flavor 2 straight as an arrow. They mistook Sedaris, an American, as a Frenchman and, not realizing that he is fluent in English, kept on referring to him as a "frog" who would likely try to pickpocket them if he had the chance. They were not aware of metro etiquette and were taking up way too much space, guarding the support bar they were using (intended for use by many people at once) as if it was their personal property. Sedaris described their dress as something like denim shorts tee-shirts and remarked (paraphrasing from memory), "That's great -- show up in a foreign country dressed like you're ready to mow their lawn."

** Ironically, Between Latin Americans themselves, both ''Mexicans and Argentinians'' are the Spanish-speaking versions of this trope, but unlike Americans, this is normally [[Played for Laughs]]. (Although not so much for the Mexicans)

 

 

=== Anime & Manga ===

* [[Moe Anthropomorphism|America]] from ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'' is a more benign [[Boisterous Bruiser|blend of both flavors]]; his geography is terrible, he's loud, pushy, [[The Ditz|clueless]], addicted to cheeseburgers and various sweets, and he's an [[Attention Whore]] (he calls himself the "World's Hero") -- but he's also friendly and good natured, to the point of being a literal [[Friend to All Living Things]] and a serious [[Love Freak]]. Considering some of the other "America-tan" characters to come out of Japan (e.g. Meriken), ''Axis Powers Hetalia'''s take on America is actually pretty positive.

* The anime series ''[[Konjiki no Gash Bell]]'' (''Zatch Bell'' in the dub) contains a team of superheroes called the Majestic Twelve, who are portrayed as amazingly incompetent. The only female member is named Big Boing (Lady Susan in the dub) and [[Gag Boobs|her superpowers consist of having huge breasts,]] smelling like lavender (in the English dub) and commenting every moment with the word "''Yeah!''" But Apollo and Jeed are the American characters that we see most, and both are definite type 1s.

* ''[[Lucky Star]]'' has Patricia Martin who is ostensibly an American [[Occidental Otaku|gaijin otaku]]. She may represent America a bit better than most, because she speaks fluent Japanese, having learned the entirety of the language from watching anime... However, she's also depicted as being a bit air headed and somewhat undereducated in true Japanese culture outside of [[Animeland]]. Patty's quite clearly modelled on the stereotypical [[Pretty Fly for a White Guy|Japanophile]], so this isn't that far from [[Truth in Television]]...

* Anthony from ''[[Doki Doki School Hours]]'' is like a male version of Patricia. At one point he shows everyone a photo of his 14 year old kid sister - an large-busted (perhaps implausibly so for her age) blonde cheerleader.

* In ''[[Mahoromatic]]'', American meddling with the remains of a [[Giant Enemy Crab|giant alien crab mech]] causes it to go wild and tear the bathing suits off of young teenage girls on the beach. Hmmm. Could be a mixed message in there.

* One of the recurring themes of ''[[Captain America (comics)]]'' comics is contrasting Cap's Type 1 idealism with what can often be a Type 2 reality.

** In an interesting example (at least of reader reactions), during ''[[Civil War (Comic Book)|Civil War]]'' reporter Sally Floyd accused Cap of being out of touch with modern America. While it was apparently supposed to be taken seriously, her examples of "modern America" involved ''[[American Idol]]'', [[Myspace]], and [[NASCAR]] so most (American) readers took it as an insulting Type 2 stereotype and began to hate her.

** One of the famous Ultimate Captain America quotes is (upon being asked to surrender) [http://21.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kon66vqu3C1qzp5buo1_500.jpg "Surrender? Do you think this A on my forehead stands for France?"] For the record, that line was written by Mark Millar, a Scotsman. The fact that the [[Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys|French as cowardly]] is a [[Newer Than They Think|fairly recent]] stereotype that [[Human Popsicle]] Cap wouldn't be aware of isn't addressed. (Mainstream Cap, probably written in response to the above, fondly remembers working with the French ''resistance'', proving that French ''citizens'' are brave and strong, but the French '''government''' basically rolled over and spread its legs.)

* The above quote is parodied in ''[[Nextwave]]'', where [[Action Girl|Elsa Bloodstone]], fighting a Captain America-imitation while wearing a European Union shirt, refuses to 'lay there and get used to being the victim'. [http://blog.pucp.edu.pe/media/2855/20100308-Elsaincolor.png.jpg "Victim? Do you think this letter on my chest stands for America?"] (Type 2, obviously, but the entire book takes [[Refuge in Audacity]] and is [[Played for Laughs]].)

 

=== Live-Action TV ===

** The majority of the Americans in "The Impossible Astronaut" and "Day of the Moon." Aside from being a little gun-happy (which is justified in the majority of them are Secret Service Agents) it's one of the better portrayals of America in recent ''Doctor Who'' seasons. According to the producers, America appears to be a place where everyone is a jovial, if slightly thick and dim-witted, patriot, and random spurts of [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|melodramatic processional music]] accompany the President everywhere.

** The US President in the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode "Last of the Time Lords" is a subversion of Flavor 2; he acts like one and will say so himself, but at heart he was a Flavor 1, albeit misguided.

* From developer [[SNK]] we have [[Fatal Fury|Terry]] [[The King of Fighters|Bogard]] who tends to be a bit of a mix. On one the one hand he's boisterous, proud and wears stereotypical American clothes. On the other hand, he's largely self-sufficient, at least partially self-taught, and is not only a good guy, but is considered one of the most important characters in the games. In the anime, he's the main character and basically shown to be the most powerful martial artist alive, who earns the admiration of his allies and the respect of his enemies. He also defeats Ares, the God of War, in a one-on-one fight.

* Paul Phoenix from ''[[Tekken]]'' is more of a mix. While he is goofy, loud, and arrogant he is generally a good guy, and is indeed and dangerous fighter, and one of the few non Mishima characters to beat both a Mishima and a Boss character (though he still lost the tournament somehow).

* ''[[BioShock (series)|BioShock Infinite]]''. The floating city of Columbia is completely festooned with American flags, as a symbol of American superiority, for good and bad. It was originally created as a showcase of American ingenuity for the World's Fair, but then the city went crazy nativist and opened fire on China before disappearing into the clouds. One of the many pieces of propaganda in the city perfectly encapsulates the mentality present: a mural depicting one of the Founding Fathers standing on a rock, holding the Liberty Bell in his outstretched hand...and the Ten Commandments on his other arm...while surrounding by a surly, grasping mob of some of the most ugly racial and ethnic caricatures you've ever seen.

* ''[[Street Fighter]] IV'' runs the gamut of the flavor spectrum with its American characters:

** Ken arguably straddles the line between Types 1 and 2. While he is arrogant and something of a showboater, he's a fairly decent guy and Ryu's best friend.

** Guile is Type 1 all day long, being a strong and patriotic soldier, [[Memetic Mutation|a family man]], one of the strongest characters in canon, and the chief rival character to M. Bison, the series' [[Big Bad|main antagonist]]. He was even featured as one of the ''main characters'' in the animated movie. Not to mentioned he hands Ryu AND Ken their asses in Street Fighter II V. Oh, and he just happens to be among the top-ranked characters in Super Street Fighter IV, and was outright ''broken'' in early versions of Street Fighter II.

** And though the former president ultimately resorts to terrorist actions with Arsenal Gear, his goal was to restore American freedom by releasing the Patriots' grip on society, which happens anyway at the end of MGS4. Come to think of it, ''every'' hero or (human) Well-Intentioned Extremist villain through the series seems to have an unwavering love of American ideals.

* Jake Marshall from ''[[Ace Attorney]]''. When you first meet him, he seems like the stereotypical cowboy who has a southern drawl, and constantly talks about how he's a cowboy, which is [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] by other characters. Then {{spoiler|you find out that he's been spending the last two years trying to find out the truth behind who killed his brother. He was demoted two years ago for helping with the investigation so that he wouldn't be in a position to properly investigate}}.

** It's also common for South Koreans, except replace "Nazis" with "[[Imperial Japan]] / [[North Korea]] / [[Chinese With Chopper Support|China]] in rapid succession". [http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2008/03/05/2008030500047.html The United States is still viewed very favorably in South Korea.]

* Speaking of the [[Cold War]]: many countries that fell under Allied/American occupation after [[World War 2]] and throughout the [[Cold War]] are now some of the best places in the world. Two nations that had formerly been militaristic empires, (West) Germany and Japan, became some of the best places to live, with the third and fourth largest economies respectively. It's questionable how much America really had to do this, but it is interesting to compare them to Soviet backed or occupied countries such as North Korea, Cuba, and East Germany, as well as their earlier histories.

* In a [http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2009/10/06/japan-least-proud-nation/ survey], the U.S. was only about the middle in being proud of your own country. The two countries made up nearly entirely of people who think their country rules? Australia and Canada. Naturally the Japanese got dead last, not even reaching 60%.

* In some countries where America is not very well respected, it's not uncommon for American tourists to claim to be from Canada instead (possibly even adopting a pathetic imitation of a Canadian accent); including actually doing research and creating a fictional home in Canada.