Episode 13: Stereotypes about Americans

Rozhovor s Američankou Olivií z Chicaga o amerických stereotypech. Které jsou pravdivé, a které naopak vůbec? Milují všichni Američané fast food? Věší si povinně na domy americké vlajky? Jezdí výhradně v obřích autech? Ví něco i o světě za hranicemi USA? Koukají se pořád na televizi? Jak můžou být pořád tak usměvaví a hovorní? A hlavně - jak to, že mají všichni tak dokonalé zuby?

Transcript

Stereotypes About American People

Speaker 1 0:14

day . Thank you .

Speaker 2 0:37

So hi , everybody , and welcome to today's episode . I'm super excited to welcome my guest for today , my amazing friend , olivia Beigun . Hi , hello , olivia .

Speaker 3 0:50

So happy to be here .

Speaker 2 0:52

How are you today ?

Speaker 3 0:53

I am doing fantastic .

Speaker 2 0:56

We have to say that you are in LA right now and the weather is nice .

Speaker 3 1:02

The weather is beautiful . I was wearing a t-shirt outside while I was moving chairs into my car .

Speaker 2 1:08

That's pretty crazy , because I'm in Sweden now and it's minus 10 . Oh shit , that's awful .

Speaker 3 1:22

I'm not even sure the conversion rate , but I just know that doesn't sound good .

Speaker 2 1:26

No , it sounds horrific . Let me tell you it would be just out of curiosity .

Speaker 3 1:32

14 degrees Fahrenheit .

Speaker 2 1:34

Yeah , 14 .

Speaker 3 1:36

That's crazy . Well , you know , I'm from Chicago and I think before I left we had like our . It was like the coldest day of the year in like 100 years or something , and it was like negative . It was negative Fahrenheit , negative 15 degrees it was it was like they were like don't go outside .

Speaker 3 1:55

It was like day after tomorrow , like make sure you have blankets in the car because your engine might not start , and they're like don't be outside longer than five minutes , and I had to like , yeah , so , and I had to like go pick up pizza for people at work . I'm like , oh , so I'm the one that has to venture this like snow apocalypse . Thank you .

Speaker 2 2:16

Oh wow , that's pretty crazy . And now you're in a t-shirt .

Speaker 3 2:19

Yes , yes , now I can see , you know trees and palm trees and sun , really rubbing it in .

Speaker 2 2:25

It's very snowy outside here these days , so a lot different , yes , anyways . So the topic for today is well , I think it's going to be very funny , because it's one of my favorite ones and that's stereotypes about American people .

Speaker 3 2:40

I'm so happy to speak on behalf of all of America . So there are quite a few going around .

Speaker 2 2:48

Are you aware of that ? Yes , yes .

Speaker 3 2:51

I yes , and I was thinking about this today because I'm like , how am I going to ? Because I think there's always a little bit of a truth , you know , in stereotypes , to an extent , where they originate . But I think and we'll see this in my answers I think there's going to be a very divided perception . I think America's very divided right now , and so I think there's definitely validity in a lot of stereotypes , but I think there's also , you know , a lot of falseness . But I'm , I'm here , I'm stretched down and ready to go .

Speaker 2 3:26

Okay , so let's start . So I'll just go on by one and you tell me what you think of those . Okay , okay , so Americans know everything about their roots .

Speaker 3 3:37

I mean I , I think a lot of Americans think they know everything about their roots . I think they absolutely know shit about their roots . A lot of people , I mean I think we're because we're a melting pot right , we like to hold on to you , know what our cultural roots are , and I think you and I have had a conversation about this , because it's like I come from like an Italian American family , but you know , italian American is very different than , obviously , growing up in different parts of Italy and I , like I don't speak Italian , my mom doesn't speak Italian , like my grandma is Slovenian and she , like she speaks Slovenian . But I mean , like I definitely know very little , like probably accurately , about my culture , but I think people like to say that they do . They're like I'm .

Speaker 3 4:35

Polish , so I'm gonna go eat pierogies and drink a bunch of vodka and celebrate all these things , and in reality it's like they don't know anything about Polish literature or history .

Speaker 2 4:49

Do you remember when we talked about this it was like this one , I think it must have been like a party or like a gathering and there was this guy and he was saying I am half . What did he say ? Yeah , he was like I'm half German , half Slovenian , but he was obviously American . And I was like , oh so , like you've been to Germany ? And he was like no . And I was like so , do you speak German ? And he was like no . And I was like so what's the capital of Germany ? And he was like you know what he said ? He was like Belgium , that's so bad .

Speaker 3 5:21

I remember the conversation . I don't remember it that vividly .

Speaker 2 5:25

Belgium obviously , and I was like okay .

Speaker 3 5:28

You're like yeah , totally yeah . I would say that that is somewhat true . I would say , if we have a scale of , we're leaning on the scale . I feel like that Americans think that they know more than they do , for sure , about the roots .

Speaker 2 5:44

Okay , so next one . Americans are very patriotic and they hang American flags absolutely everywhere .

Speaker 3 5:54

This one was making me laugh so hard . This is a depends where you are , vibe . I think and again , these are like me , even saying this is a stereotype , right , but I think in more rural areas of America and like in the South , there's a lot more patriotism for our country , a lot of flags and then like older , older generations , like the baby boomers and whatnot but it's funny because I run in a younger- baby boomer , what's that ?

Speaker 3 6:29

Oh , it's like the generation of like . So you know , we're millennials , and then there's Gen Z years . Baby boomers were the generation that came after as a like , a result of the war . So , like , there are people who are much , much older than we are and so , therefore , like , they have a different sense of value towards America . Right , because they live in what they view like the golden age and they had the American dream and like all this other stuff , and they had to go through war and the depression and hardship and whatnot .

Speaker 3 7:01

But so it's funny , though , because I actually think a lot of Americans who are my age , our age and younger are very anti-America . Like , it's a very like we yeah , they're like we don't want to be associated with America , I mean , especially like with all the stuff with Trump . But it's a very different narrative where they're like we don't have patriotism , like America sucks , like we want to be more like Europe or like these other places that are doing these progressive things and we're so ashamed of our country , and I think that's something that's like really echoing . And so you have these like very clashing people who you're thinking stereotypically , like are wearing American tuxedos and like with American flags everywhere , and then the people who are like so against it that they feel that showing any type of love for America is representative of you being like a nationalist , you know , and like being bad . So that's what I think is really split , actually .

Speaker 2 8:09

That definitely sounds like it and I mean I guess like well , we don't have to talk politics , but like your election showed pretty well how divided the country is , right at this point .

Speaker 3 8:21

Oh , very , very much so .

Speaker 2 8:23

Yeah , okay . So next one Americans only drive huge cars .

Speaker 3 8:29

Yeah , we're all in hummers and limos . No , I would say no , I have a huge car .

Speaker 3 8:37

I have an Acura RDX , so it's like a SUV . Is that considered a big car ? Well , for me , yes , it's not a smart car SUV , it's like a smaller SUV . I see it's funny because then maybe it's like it is everything's bigger . You know , in Texas or whatever , that's like the slogan . Maybe my version of big is like , is like XL , and yours , your version of big is what my normal is , because I was going to say , like only assholes drive big ass , like Hummer cars that are huge . But if you think an SUV is big , then everybody has an SUV .

Speaker 2 9:17

So , yes , I mean here in Sweden , but I mean I guess it's because Volvo they do SUVs , so everybody drives Volvo here , so I'm pretty used to it .

Speaker 3 9:28

Yeah .

Speaker 2 9:29

Seeing it at least .

Speaker 3 9:30

See this , it's like the smart cars to me , like that was that . I would be a little .

Speaker 2 9:35

In the Czech Republic . I think this would be considered a huge car , a big car at least .

Speaker 3 9:39

An SUV , totally , then I guess I drive a big car because I'm an American .

Speaker 2 9:47

And then you also have like huge portions and everything is like bigger .

Speaker 3 9:52

Yeah , I mean I . It's like I'm not upset about that one . I mean like I'm totally fine to supersize a fry and a Diet Coke . My portion control is awful .

Speaker 2 10:07

I have to show to anyone who's listening . I have to show a photo because you are super slim , like I'm sad they don't think that you're like oversized , overweight .

Speaker 3 10:16

Ukraine is taking me out of the apartment I haven't left Exactly .

Speaker 2 10:22

I guess that's another stereotype that Americans are obsessed with fast food and hamburgers .

Speaker 3 10:30

Well , I think with hamburgers we can have , you can have a fancy hamburger .

Speaker 2 10:34

That's true .

Speaker 3 10:35

You know , we have very fancy hamburgers that have brie and jam and candied bacon on top of it , on a egg with a rice bun .

Speaker 3 10:46

I don't know Fast food , that's a hard one , because I would say I think that's more dependent on like what part again , like what part of the US you're in , because I think , for instance , in LA , there's a huge stereotype to eat really well , and to me that's like coming from Chicago where , again , like there's a lot of Italian Americans , so we have like a lot of like Italian delis and like we are known for our hot dogs and Italian beefs and Italian sausage and stuff like that , where I'm like that's good , hearty food .

Speaker 3 11:25

And then I come to LA and everyone's like I would love a kale salad with my a sahi , like one of those , like a sahi bowl , yes , and they're like could I please have the vinaigrette that's been non-pasteurized , like who the like ? What the fuck does that even mean , you know ? And so I get super annoyed , honestly , I get annoyed with people like that out here which in reality they probably have a much healthier lifestyle than I do . But I'm like you sound like an asshole , you know it . Pretentious , totally . So , to answer your question , I think , I think we probably consume a lot more fast food than you know , other places , european countries , but it's , I think it just depends on the , it depends on the person . It's like an elitist thing , right .

Speaker 3 12:14

Like if you're eating fast food , it's kind of looked down upon , you know .

Speaker 2 12:17

Yeah , I do like to have a burger here and there .

Speaker 3 12:21

Yeah , yeah , because it's like , I guess you know we have our barbecues and stuff , you know , so it'll be like , oh , like 4th of July , we're gonna , you know , have a cookout and put hot dogs and burgers on the grill , like a good burger on the grill when it's like a nice day outside or like a tailgate at a baseball game or something that's . I guess we do eat a lot of that stuff .

Speaker 2 12:44

Okay , next one

American Communication and Stereotypes

Speaker 2 12:46

. Americans are very chatty .

Speaker 3 12:49

I'm very chatty . Again it's . I think that the US is so big , I just feel like it's so dependent on where you're at , because I feel like people in New York are not going to be as chatty because , like they're stereotypically more aggressive so they're like I don't have time for small talk . People in the Midwest are known for being really nice and really down to earth , but kind of just like we're just here , we're just here , we're just nice , and then there's a bunch of stereotypes about the South and then LA , the West is more like we're going to talk slower and I'm going to be really nice , but it might be kind of fake . But I think in general , I guess Americans , I think , are friendly and therefore chatty . I don't know .

Speaker 2 13:45

Yeah , I would agree . Okay , next one Americans don't hold passports as they very rarely travel .

Speaker 3 13:55

No , I mean I have a passport , but it's probably an old ugly picture from when I was like 15 .

Speaker 2 14:02

It's not valid though .

Speaker 3 14:03

No , mine is valid because I had to have it . I think I had to have it and it's probably going to expire soon . It's such a bitch process to get it renewed .

Speaker 2 14:10

I think that's true , I read that like . Only I have to find this number again but , maybe only like 30% of Americans actually have their passport issued because , like you like never go outside of America , so you don't really need it .

Speaker 3 14:25

Yeah . So this is what I'll say . Is , I believe , that statistic , because I believe , probably as a nation , right ? I think the issue is for us to leave , like for us to go to another state is like for you guys to go to another country , you know , and for us to leave the US , it's just really expensive to go anywhere . So , like the people that I know , all we all have passports and like a lot of people , I think there are a lot of people who do travel , but I also think that , because it's so expensive , a lot of people just can't travel and then like , therefore don't have passports .

Speaker 2 15:04

Yeah , I think this is this . Like you know , it's this stereotypical like Americans don't travel , but your country is so huge and you just told me that you went from Chicago , where your family is , to LA and it took you like three days by car . So for us this would be like , I don't know , in three days you could go like it would take less to go from Sweden to the Czech Republic . That's crazy . Yeah , so . So this is kind of like , I guess , a little bit unfair to thank you .

Speaker 3 15:34

Thank you , I really appreciate that .

Speaker 2 15:38

No , it's true , because it's just like so huge , like the country is so , and they're also like there's so many beautiful places so yeah . Okay , next one American Swaggity TV all the time . Yeah , you do .

Speaker 3 15:53

Yeah , we totally do . I mean I can't say every person , but like I for sure watch way too much . I mean , to be fair , I'm going into the , you know , television and film industry , so it's my work , but we totally do like way more people . I'm surprised when people actually are like oh , I read a book , and I'm like oh , you read a book . What is this Like on a scroll ? Yeah we , we watch a lot of TV and a lot of movies too . It's our culture , is very obsessive and binge worthy .

Speaker 2 16:34

But I also think there's a huge difference between watching a good TV and then watch something really trashy , like you know , the Kardashians .

Speaker 3 16:42

Oh , I recently became obsessed with the Kardashians .

Speaker 2 16:45

Oh no , you're the wrong person to talk to you .

Speaker 3 16:49

No , I , I mean , I agree I used to never watch reality TV at all Um , because for that same reason I'm like this is really stupid . And then my roommates I got you do right and my roommates they would do their bachelor . You know , every Monday and they have wine and cheese and meat and I was like I'm feeling very left out . This is a very romantic date night you guys are having . I want to join but I hate the bachelor . And then I started watching it .

Speaker 3 17:24

And you're like okay , Now I'm obsessed and I follow them on Instagram .

Speaker 2 17:30

Yeah , I mean , I do watch a lot of TV as well , and I'm not American .

Speaker 3 17:34

But do you watch trash TV ? Is that what you're saying ?

Speaker 2 17:37

Sometimes , what ?

Speaker 3 17:39

what trash TV do you watch ?

Speaker 2 17:41

Like what Netflix ? That , like the love , is blind and this kind of oh yeah , I love his line .

Speaker 3 17:48

It was so funny because the girl that everyone hated what was her name ? Like Jessica .

Speaker 2 17:51

Jessica .

Speaker 3 17:52

I was going to say Jenna , Jessica , I was so annoyed because she was from Chicago and I was like girl given Chicago bad names , you're so annoying . Like you could tell she was not into him .

Speaker 2 18:03

Yeah , yeah , no , she was terrible .

Speaker 3 18:05

Yeah , that's really funny .

Speaker 2 18:08

Okay , so next one Americans speak their mind on social media .

Speaker 3 18:16

I think , this is actually a really interesting question . I think people we speak our minds , like I said , on social media . Like that sounds like really straightforward , but I think I think we're a little more passive , aggressive in person , like I actually think Americans are more like skirt around an issue than they necessarily like full on blast what they think . But I think the big , huge but is like we're all over Twitter and YouTube and Reddit , like just trolling everyone and saying whatever we want , even like when you don't even think about it , you know , and it's way easier to tweet something than like actually say something .

Speaker 2 19:03

Yeah but , I guess it's like a universal problem , it's not just an American thing .

Speaker 3 19:09

Yeah , no , that's true . Yeah , I mean , I don't know again , it's so hard because I totally see the stereotype , I totally see Americans speaking their mind , but I actually think that we are more passive , aggressive than that . Mm-hmm you know like we're more people pleasing .

Speaker 2 19:29

Mm-hmm , yeah , okay , next one . This one makes me laugh .

American Teeth, Friendliness, and Language Skills

Speaker 2 19:35

Americans have really nice teeth .

Speaker 3 19:38

I don't know , do I have nice teeth ? I'm actually .

Speaker 2 19:42

thank you , it's just the front one missing .

Speaker 3 19:44

But all of them . They're fake . I'll just pull them out . They're dentures .

Speaker 2 19:50

That's a lame joke , that's fine .

Speaker 3 19:54

Okay , I think , yes , I would say most Americans have good teeth and that's because , like , I don't know , we're vain the dentist , if you're able to afford it , is like something that is done , you know , in your youth and Everyone dreads it . No one is . I think we're not like born with nice teeth . That's not , you know , one of the things that they gave Americans . But , like I remember , because I got my braces late , I was like a junior in High school , like my last two years of high school , before college , and I was so annoyed because I had him at prom and I was like , oh , this is rough life .

Speaker 3 20:39

And then , because I'm , in , you know , an idiot , I like lost my retainer at some point and so , as I become an adult , my teeth have started to move . So I actually just got one of those , like I think it was even an ad on Instagram , but we have like all these companies that are like in visible line , you know when you can wear them at night and then they'll like re shape your teeth . So I actually started doing that and it's funny because , like my little sister , who's 13 , she's like freaking out because she's getting braces and she's like they have to pull one of my teeth and I'm gonna have a giant hole and I'm like Natasha , you are 12 , you know 12 , 13 .

Speaker 3 21:21

I was . I had them when I was like 17 , 18 , and now I have to have them again .

Speaker 2 21:27

We're almost 30 .

Speaker 3 21:29

Yes , exactly , and I'm like , yes , I wear them at night and , yes , they are clear , but that's a bitch you know , that's so funny and I guess this also comes from you .

Speaker 2 21:41

Know we we see all those pictures of Hollywood actors and actresses and Obviously they have nice teeth because , they're paid to have good teeth .

Speaker 3 21:50

Yeah , and if and if they don't , they'll just like Photoshop it , you know , because like that's a huge thing , the face tune .

Speaker 2 21:57

Yeah , okay , the next one . Americans are very excessively maybe , smiley .

Speaker 3 22:06

I'm a very smiley , happy person , so I feel like I'm being personally targeted . Just a giant roast for myself , no , um , I . Don't know about this . I feel like I see a lot of people with what I call resting bitch face . You know . I feel like you have . Little bit when I met you Really . You know cuz it's like . Obviously you're a really fun smiley person , so I were friends .

Speaker 2 22:36

I think when I met you , I was like .

Speaker 3 22:38

This girl does not like .

Speaker 2 22:40

No , I think it's because us I'm this is also like a stereotype Europeans more like reserved , we don't go like full-on when we meet danger , you know we're not fully emotional . And then after we become friends , then obviously like we're super friendly and smiley and everything but and I feel like this is the stereotype about Americans that you're just like you know , saying hi to everyone and yeah , hi five . Yeah , but I know I mean .

Speaker 3 23:08

Probably as probably as a whole . Yeah , maybe we're more friendly than other countries , but again , like it's like if I , you walk down the street in New York , like you're not gonna get greeted in the same way that you would get greeted like in Atlanta , georgia , you know . Or like I think in general , probably in cities , cities , people are not as nice , just because I think that's like that mentality . Right , there's a lot of people , they're everyone's hustling and bustling and but like no one . It's like I think it would be weird like To go on public train , like to go on a train , like people aren't just like talking and saying hello , you know .

Speaker 2 23:51

Okay , so Americans don't know much about a world .

Speaker 3 23:58

Yes , I don't know . Yeah , I mean not to call us all out . I would feel like it's like if I was ranking , you know , countries that knew the most about the world , I would not rate us at the highest . I think there are plenty of people who are very , very , very smart and because of that , like , obviously not every American is very , is ignorant and , you know , unlearned .

Speaker 3 24:25

But I feel like because if we're talking about like the main core of America , right , like the , the , the kind of average level we don't really have to learn about anywhere else in the world , because it's like we're so used to being , like America is in the center of Hollywood , it's in the center of Western culture , it's in the center of pop culture and because that narrative is consistently fed within our own culture , I think people , beyond what they learn in history about the medieval period and the Dark Ages and the Greeks and the Romans and whatnot , they don't necessarily feel a need to know about current culture . And I think it's somewhat unfair , because I'm sure there are so many people who do like strive to travel or strive to learn outside their bubble . But I think because people don't have to learn a second language here in the US , because all of Hollywood is in America . I think we as a culture don't necessarily know as much as we could or we should .

Speaker 2 25:46

Yeah Well , thank you for your I don't know honesty .

Speaker 3 25:51

Yeah , I mean , it's hard . I think this to your point about the patriotism right , I think we do . I think we do do a lot of really good things and we do do a lot of bad things , and I think that's like everywhere , but Well , it's nice that you're very like , also self aware of not only the good things .

Speaker 3 26:13

Yeah , I mean , I think there are people like definitely people like me out there , and so that's why I'm like it's hard to say that we're totally yes and we're totally no , because there are normal people right , sure , but there's also some crazy people , man .

Speaker 3 26:31

Like , have you heard of and I say this as someone who loves Florida , because I love Disney World but have you heard ? There's like a thing that is a joke on Google and it would be like you type in Florida man arrested and your birthday , and it's like the joke of like some crazy thing that a Florida man did and like because there's so many crazy Florida men who get arrested , like for every day of the year , they'll be like , oh my God , and then that's what it is .

Speaker 2 27:00

You have to do it ? Oh , absolutely Well , and actually you just mentioned another one , that's that Americans only speak English . Is that so ?

Speaker 3 27:11

predominantly . I mean I do think there is a decent amount . I mean I think the next most spoken language , right , would be Spanish , just because we have a lot of Mexican immigrants and like second generation Mexican Americans , you know . So I think there are some like I think English and Spanish are the most spoken here , but like mainstream white society is is , yeah , is is just English .

Speaker 2 27:47

So you said that you don't have to learn them .

Speaker 3 27:49

So we , so we have to know , we have to study , study , those , we do so we like in high school . I took three years of French and then most colleges have a foreign language requirement . But if you do X amount of years in high school then , depending on your college , you don't have to take more college . So , like I took , I got to like French for or whatever , and so my college was like oh , she made it to French for it satisfied the requirements , so she doesn't have to take it more in college .

Speaker 2 28:27

I see .

Speaker 3 28:28

But and I think to be fair though , I think , yes , it's not stressed in our culture to speak another language , but I think the other hard thing is like there's nowhere to really go to practice Like unless unless you're learning Spanish , which , like a lot of , like most places , even when you're younger , will have Spanish like foreign language classes , but it's not in the same way as , like I think , you guys have like English classes and where you're like actually learn that and it follows you .

Speaker 2 28:59

Ours is more like an extra , like foreign language , and it's like there's no one to practice French with , you know of course , and I mean , for I said this , like previously but you know , for us , for example , for me , it's just a necessity really , if I want to travel , if I want to go abroad . I think my check wouldn't be very useful , so so it's just what it is . So I do understand that if you speak the language that we just all study at school , like you might not feel need to to learn a second one or a third .

Speaker 3 29:35

Yeah , I wish I knew it better . I was also just so bad at it . I would say that one is pretty true though .

Speaker 2 29:42

Okay , so next one Americans are obsessed with work .

Speaker 3 29:47

Yeah , I think . Well , I mean there's a subset of lazy people everywhere . I think as a culture , yeah , we have like a very bad what do they call it work life balance . You know , like everyone is very career driven , very motivated , like your work harder , not , you know , smarter sometimes . I think it's been something that's really been visible during the pandemic , because I think there's been a narrative for a lot of people of like , oh , I'm working remotely at home , so I should work harder , because , you know , I want to make sure that it comes off that I'm working just as hard as if I was in the office or I'm in a pandemic .

Speaker 3 30:34

I have all this free time . Now . I should be learning an instrument , I should be reading more books , I should be more proactive , and I think we like forget that there are a lot of other important things , yeah .

Speaker 2 30:49

Yeah , well , that's all I have . Thank you so much for being my guest , of course , being our tour guide around the United States of America .

Speaker 3 31:03

I mean , you know me here in my American flag robe . I wish you had it . I know me too .

Speaker 2 31:14

And thank you to everyone who's listened to this episode as well , and I hope to see you next week . Bye .