National Stereotypes: Difference between revisions

** [[Dragons Up the Yin-Yang]] is often used to portray an Oriental atmosphere.

* There's also a tendency of claiming that every cheap and dangerous product was made in Eastern Asia, usually by slave laborers, before being sent to the Western World. ''"Made in Korea", "Made in Hong Kong", "Made in Taiwan"'',...

 

===[[China]]===

* Oddly, the Ainu get more press in America than in Japan.

 

 

 

===[[South Korea]]===

* French are often called “rude or arrogant” to foreigners. They are not afraid of swearing and using bad language (See also: [[French Jerk]]). Especially when they are driving. Parisians in particular are considered to be [[Jerkass|very rude]] to tourists and foreigners (although not as much the latter as the former). It is not uncommon for travel guides to tell tourists not to look at people in the Metro in the eye, since they will think you have a problem with them.

* The [[French Jerk|"arrogant Frenchman"]] stereotype was also fed by Charles De Gaulle, who both during World War II and later as President (1958-1969) expressed a very non-cooperative and independent view on world politics. During [[World War II]] de Gaulle refused to cooperate in the Allies plans to '''free France'''. He, unlike all the other leaders, in his public speech right after D-Day stated that this invasion was the real invasion, this had the potential to ruin the Allied deceptions that Normandy was just a feint, with Calais the real invasion point. That was just one of his many, many, many actions whereby it seemed he was [[With Friends Like These...|more of a problem for his friends than enemies]].

* French accents are also enormously popular in comedies, [[Western Animation]] and even dramatic films and TV series, often to the point of overkill. French people will always speak English like Maurice Chevalier, usually complete with a “hon hon hon” laugh. All these French characters talk in the same way: "the" and "this" are pronounced "zee" and "zis", the words "mais oui," "mon ami" or "mon chéri" are used non-stop and the "w" is pronounced "ooweee". Famous examples are Inspector Clouseau in [[The Pink Panther]], Lumière in [[Beauty and The Beast]], all the French characters in [['Allo 'Allo!|Allo Allo]] and Pepe Le Pew. Sometimes, like in the movie [[Shrek]] (where the British character [[Robin Hood]] inexplicably speaks English with a French accent), people are depicted as being French for no apparent reason other than evoking laughs while using the accent. In reality, as with any language, how heavy a native accent is while speaking a foreign language usually has more to do with 1) when in their lives they learned the foreign language 2) how long they've been speaking it and to whom and 3) how good they are at imitating accents. It's common for a French student of English living in France to talk this way, for example, but it would be very rare for a Frenchman who's lived for many years in, say, Midwestern America, to not say 'the' more or less like a Midwestern American.

* In (beat 'em up) videogames, French characters are often depicted as elegant and angsty, with a penchant for [[Royal Rapier|fencing]]. Examples include [[Jeanne D'Archetype|Charlotte]] from [[Samurai Shodown]], Ky Kiske from [[Guilty Gear]], Elisabeth Blanctorche (who uses a riding crop) from [[King of Fighters]], [[French Jerk]] Raphael and his ward [[Elegant Gothic Lolita|Amy]] from the [[Soul Series]]. Other examples also follow the dour, angsty Frenchman type, and include Remy from [[Street Fighter]], who fits the cynical, [[Nietzsche Wannabe]] type perfectly and Abel, also from [[Street Fighter]], with his brooding, emo-ish personality (although he is atypical in that he exhibits none of the usual associated elegance, and is a hulking, rugby player type). All of the examples mentioned probably derive from the deep, sullen French philosopher archetype, inspired perhaps by the likes of Jean-Paul Sartre and [[Jacques Derrida]].