We All Live in America: Difference between revisions

Content added Content deleted
VisualWikitext
m (fix broken external links)
m (Mass update links)
Line 11: Line 11:
Please note that, despite the [[Trope]] name, this is not an exclusively American phenomenon; writers from other countries will often project their own cultural mores, vernacular, and sense of geography onto countries other than their own, including the United States, as well (most common is the strange tendency to treat all the landmarks and major cities of a country that spans an entire continent as if they are within a couple hours' drive of each other).
Please note that, despite the [[Trope]] name, this is not an exclusively American phenomenon; writers from other countries will often project their own cultural mores, vernacular, and sense of geography onto countries other than their own, including the United States, as well (most common is the strange tendency to treat all the landmarks and major cities of a country that spans an entire continent as if they are within a couple hours' drive of each other).


Compare [[Creator Provincialism]], in which nothing important happens outside the writer's home country. [[Politically Correct History]] is the temporal version of this. Also compare [[Canada Does Not Exist]], a weird mutation of We All Live in America that Canadian TV producers often impose upon themselves.
Compare [[Creator Provincialism]], in which nothing important happens outside the writer's home country. [[Politically-Correct History]] is the temporal version of this. Also compare [[Canada Does Not Exist]], a weird mutation of We All Live in America that Canadian TV producers often impose upon themselves.


Contrast [[Eagleland Osmosis]], where the influence of another country's media (chiefly the United States') causes people to do this to their ''own'' society. See also [[Values Dissonance]], which is perhaps the most compelling reason why this [[Trope]] doesn't work.
Contrast [[Eagleland Osmosis]], where the influence of another country's media (chiefly the United States') causes people to do this to their ''own'' society. See also [[Values Dissonance]], which is perhaps the most compelling reason why this [[Trope]] doesn't work.
Line 101: Line 101:


== [[Live Action TV]] ==
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* British TV series, ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britannia_High Britannia High]'', was very much in the mold of American high-school dramas. It wasn't even a typical school - it was a theatre school. Even the series logo has an American feel to it.
* British TV series, ''[[wikipedia:Britannia High|Britannia High]]'', was very much in the mold of American high-school dramas. It wasn't even a typical school - it was a theatre school. Even the series logo has an American feel to it.
* Somewhat justified in ''[[USA High]]'' as it's about a school for Americans in Paris, but even the non-American characters speak American English (in silly versions of their own accents).
* Somewhat justified in ''[[USA High]]'' as it's about a school for Americans in Paris, but even the non-American characters speak American English (in silly versions of their own accents).
* Inspector Fowler, chief of a British Police station in [[The Thin Blue Line]], attempts to teach his men the importance or political correctness, and at one point utters, "That would be the pot calling the kettle... errr, African-American."
* Inspector Fowler, chief of a British Police station in [[The Thin Blue Line]], attempts to teach his men the importance or political correctness, and at one point utters, "That would be the pot calling the kettle... errr, African-American."
Line 182: Line 182:
* If you come across an international forum where people celebrate the Fourth of July, expect someone to ask either whether [http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=does+britain+celebrate+the+fourth+of+july Britain celebrates the fourth of July], or, if informed they don't, to ask [[The American Revolution|why]] [[Captain Obvious|they don't]].
* If you come across an international forum where people celebrate the Fourth of July, expect someone to ask either whether [http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=does+britain+celebrate+the+fourth+of+july Britain celebrates the fourth of July], or, if informed they don't, to ask [[The American Revolution|why]] [[Captain Obvious|they don't]].
* ''[[Not Always Right]]'' shows that in the worst of [http://notalwaysright.com/racists-at-least-get-your-countries-straight worst] cases, the whole "[http://notalwaysright.com/imperialism-at-its-finest borders]" thing (or even those [http://notalwaysright.com/actually-were-saving-them-for-ww3 pesky] "[http://notalwaysright.com/out-of-state-out-of-mind continents]") becomes a bit vague -- [http://notalwaysright.com/why-our-contracts-are-a-gazillion-pages-long We All Call In America].
* ''[[Not Always Right]]'' shows that in the worst of [http://notalwaysright.com/racists-at-least-get-your-countries-straight worst] cases, the whole "[http://notalwaysright.com/imperialism-at-its-finest borders]" thing (or even those [http://notalwaysright.com/actually-were-saving-them-for-ww3 pesky] "[http://notalwaysright.com/out-of-state-out-of-mind continents]") becomes a bit vague -- [http://notalwaysright.com/why-our-contracts-are-a-gazillion-pages-long We All Call In America].
* If you used a spell-checking word processor in the late '90s and typed using a form of English other than American English, you can almost certainly recall an incident where the program flagged an acceptable word like ''colour'' or ''synchronise'' and questioned whether you meant the American spelling. Also know as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_LOAD_LETTER PC LOAD LETTER]
* If you used a spell-checking word processor in the late '90s and typed using a form of English other than American English, you can almost certainly recall an incident where the program flagged an acceptable word like ''colour'' or ''synchronise'' and questioned whether you meant the American spelling. Also know as [[wikipedia:PC LOAD LETTER|PC LOAD LETTER]]
** [[Microsoft Word]] seems to do this by default (in both Word 2003 and Word 2007). Despite Word being perfectly capable of checking the system language settings it will still default to 'English (US)', much to the annoyance of British users who will spell a word correctly and then have the spellchecker tell them it's wrong, and then suggest they miss-spell it. Particularly galling as the language will constantly revert to English (US) between documents until you get the settings right.
** [[Microsoft Word]] seems to do this by default (in both Word 2003 and Word 2007). Despite Word being perfectly capable of checking the system language settings it will still default to 'English (US)', much to the annoyance of British users who will spell a word correctly and then have the spellchecker tell them it's wrong, and then suggest they miss-spell it. Particularly galling as the language will constantly revert to English (US) between documents until you get the settings right.
* Discussing politics on an international forum can be difficult, as many people equate words like [[You Keep Using That Word|'liberal' and 'conservative']] or the colours of those parties with the title of the appropriate popular party in their country. The fact that those words suggest different things depending on country is also a confusing matter. Part of the problem lies in that the US has a two-party system, while other democracies are a bit more flexible.
* Discussing politics on an international forum can be difficult, as many people equate words like [[You Keep Using That Word|'liberal' and 'conservative']] or the colours of those parties with the title of the appropriate popular party in their country. The fact that those words suggest different things depending on country is also a confusing matter. Part of the problem lies in that the US has a two-party system, while other democracies are a bit more flexible.
Line 196: Line 196:
* This trope occurs in Canada as "We All Live in Ontario". Due to the concentration of media in Toronto in an otherwise enormous country, pretty much anything of a "national" nature in English Canada is "Ontario". This includes terminology, accents, products and stores, etc. [[CBC]] takes a lot of flak for this from non-Ontarians. There is even a degree of Canadian [[Eagleland Osmosis]] that goes with it, as many people from thousands of miles away in British Columbia, for instance, have internalized Canadian stereotypes as their own, even though they never were. Some examples from [[Stargate City|Vancouver]] in particular: ice hockey (not that common when you can't make outdoor rinks); anything wintery for that matter (hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics does not help that image, although as noted by many, it rained the whole time); Ontario pronunciation ("Canadian raising" is much less obvious in B.C.); Tim Hortons (almost entirely absent from the Vancouver area until the merger with Wendy's -- Vancouver is a first-rate coffee town with tons of local options).
* This trope occurs in Canada as "We All Live in Ontario". Due to the concentration of media in Toronto in an otherwise enormous country, pretty much anything of a "national" nature in English Canada is "Ontario". This includes terminology, accents, products and stores, etc. [[CBC]] takes a lot of flak for this from non-Ontarians. There is even a degree of Canadian [[Eagleland Osmosis]] that goes with it, as many people from thousands of miles away in British Columbia, for instance, have internalized Canadian stereotypes as their own, even though they never were. Some examples from [[Stargate City|Vancouver]] in particular: ice hockey (not that common when you can't make outdoor rinks); anything wintery for that matter (hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics does not help that image, although as noted by many, it rained the whole time); Ontario pronunciation ("Canadian raising" is much less obvious in B.C.); Tim Hortons (almost entirely absent from the Vancouver area until the merger with Wendy's -- Vancouver is a first-rate coffee town with tons of local options).
* Same goes for Sweden, where We All Live in the three big cities, Stockholm, Göteborg and Malmö, and somtimes not even the last two are counted. The country has a population of 9 million, with around two milion living in these cities. For the rest of the country, a town of maybe a hundred thousand is considered very dense. Now, consider that most entertainment advertised, and lots of the brands as well can't be found in the smaller communities, and that going to a major city can take hours if not days...
* Same goes for Sweden, where We All Live in the three big cities, Stockholm, Göteborg and Malmö, and somtimes not even the last two are counted. The country has a population of 9 million, with around two milion living in these cities. For the rest of the country, a town of maybe a hundred thousand is considered very dense. Now, consider that most entertainment advertised, and lots of the brands as well can't be found in the smaller communities, and that going to a major city can take hours if not days...
* On Twitter, "Happy Fathers Day" trended on the first Sunday of September, as Father's day in Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, & Papua New Guinea falls on that day. Cue many confused tweets asking "Happy Fathers Day? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father%27s_Day#Dates_around_the_world Isn't that in June?]"
* On Twitter, "Happy Fathers Day" trended on the first Sunday of September, as Father's day in Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, & Papua New Guinea falls on that day. Cue many confused tweets asking "Happy Fathers Day? [[wikipedia:Fatherchr(27)s Day#Dates around the world|Isn't that in June?]]"
* In the wake of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Norway_attacks 2011 terrorist attacks on Oslo and Utøya] some pundits claimed that the death toll would have been much lower if the Norwegian government hadn't suppressed the people's right to bear arms. Two problems with that: one, there is no "Right to bear arms" in Norway<ref> It is legal to acquire arms in Norway, but it is subject to strict government regulations. In fact, the gunman's weapons were all acquired legally.</ref>, and two, Norway lacks much of the US self defense/gun culture. So even if someone on Utøya owned a gun, bringing one to a summer camp would be unthinkable.
* In the wake of the [[wikipedia:2011 Norway attacks|2011 terrorist attacks on Oslo and Utøya]] some pundits claimed that the death toll would have been much lower if the Norwegian government hadn't suppressed the people's right to bear arms. Two problems with that: one, there is no "Right to bear arms" in Norway<ref> It is legal to acquire arms in Norway, but it is subject to strict government regulations. In fact, the gunman's weapons were all acquired legally.</ref>, and two, Norway lacks much of the US self defense/gun culture. So even if someone on Utøya owned a gun, bringing one to a summer camp would be unthinkable.
* A common mistake, particularly on the Internet, is to assume that everywhere in the world runs on the same time, or at least to not include a reference to the time zone of the author.
* A common mistake, particularly on the Internet, is to assume that everywhere in the world runs on the same time, or at least to not include a reference to the time zone of the author.
** And assuming that summer happens between June and September everywhere in the world.
** And assuming that summer happens between June and September everywhere in the world.
Line 205: Line 205:
** A similar effect occurs between Commonwealth nations regarding the Queen's Birthday holiday.
** A similar effect occurs between Commonwealth nations regarding the Queen's Birthday holiday.
* For the Netherlands, it often becomes "We all live in Amsterdam". Especially common among tourists. Related to [[Freestate Amsterdam]].
* For the Netherlands, it often becomes "We all live in Amsterdam". Especially common among tourists. Related to [[Freestate Amsterdam]].
** Or at least, "We all live in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randstad Randstad]" even though about three fifths of the population lives in the remaining three quarters of the country. Even national politicians seem to frequently forget that things that work in the major cities, or requirements imposed on them, don't necessarily also apply to the rest of the country, especially the more rural areas.
** Or at least, "We all live in the [[wikipedia:Randstad|Randstad]]" even though about three fifths of the population lives in the remaining three quarters of the country. Even national politicians seem to frequently forget that things that work in the major cities, or requirements imposed on them, don't necessarily also apply to the rest of the country, especially the more rural areas.
* Some websites participating in the anti-SOPA campaigns often encourages "everyone" to contact their local representatives and urge them to vote against it, forgetting that not all of us have representatives who are voting on SOPA or PIPA, both of which are American.
* Some websites participating in the anti-SOPA campaigns often encourages "everyone" to contact their local representatives and urge them to vote against it, forgetting that not all of us have representatives who are voting on SOPA or PIPA, both of which are American.
** At least most have some sort of link for non-Americans to cast their opinion to their national representatives, since the American legislation threatens some worldwide online businesses, not just American ones, but the chances of non-American opinions getting widely listened in the matter are miniscule.
** At least most have some sort of link for non-Americans to cast their opinion to their national representatives, since the American legislation threatens some worldwide online businesses, not just American ones, but the chances of non-American opinions getting widely listened in the matter are miniscule.
Line 218: Line 218:
[[Category:Did Not Do the Research]]
[[Category:Did Not Do the Research]]
[[Category:We All Live In America]]
[[Category:We All Live In America]]
[[Category:Trope]]
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/We_All_Live_in_America"