There’s been a longstanding feud between the US and England that few people have ever really commented on but has existed ever since what the English would dub the “temper tantrum” that was the Revolutionary War. Go on, ask a few Brits just what they think of that time period and see what they say. That being said however Americans are really no better when it comes to dishing it back to our historical cousins. Stereotyping in Hollywood is a very big deal and has been going on for a long, LONG time. In fact we’re guilty of stereotyping just about anyone we’ve ever had a problem with even if our countries have joined forces in the past. The truth of the matter is that America is quite keen on taking a few things from each culture and ascribing them to said culture in an effort to make them seem as the norm.
In other words, here are some of the most commonly seen English stereotypes in film.
Many villains are seen to have an English accent. Take for example Loki in the movie The Avengers.
Sinister, yes? For some reason the English accent seems to lend itself to the role of the villain quite well, and yet it can also be made to be quite endearing. In many ways though the throaty growl that many Englishmen can produce and the simply dreadful quality it can bring might be why this stereotype is so common.
Absolutely dreadful dental hygiene is a common sight in movies.
To be fair he’s actually being shown a personal hygiene setup, but Austin Powers is by far one of the biggest examples of just really-awful-teeth. The only issue with this is that the English have been characterized by this throughout the years by clinging to the fact that at one type dentistry in England was a lesser known practice. To this day however most kids in Britain actually have better teeth than most American children.
They are fiercely dedicated soccer fans.
Funny as this scene is, and it is very, very funny, it paints Englishmen as rowdy, violent, and extremely passionate soccer fans, hooligans even. While this stereotype isn’t the worst in the world it does give the impression that the English are absolutely crazed when it comes to their sporting events. In truth the only correlation between the English and Americans in this field would be that Americans tend to go nuts for the NFL, football in other words, while the English do about the same for their version of football, soccer.
The idea that one stereotype can speak to the likes, dislikes, and overall makeup of a culture or a nation is kind of ridiculous, but it is what tends to make it to film. While a lot of what you’ve seen here is extremely blatant and rarely that complimentary it is also done in good fun for the most part. We know by now that England is ahead of many nations when it comes to their dental hygiene, they’re no crazier than any other fans when it comes to their sports, and they tend to make fun of our accents just as much as we make fun of theirs.
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