h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I haven't had a chance to read the backlog, but something about 9/11 has always bothered me. The day after 9/11 my mum put an American flag and Union Jack in the window. I don't recall ever seeing a British flag (or any other non-American flag) at 9/11.

Duh. Of course I meant 'at ground zero'.

Oh yes that horrible giant golfball. Part of "echelon", america's corperate viagra

I agree - my geography teacher's son was supposed to be working in the world trade centre that day, but his wife had just had a baby so he wasn't there. It affected the whole world, but the Americans use it as a reason to say 'God Bless America' at every opportunity, which doesn't help the global opinion of them...

>> corperate viagra<<
Excellent way of referring to it, Apparition...

Since I'm an American, perhaps I shouldn't answer this, but I am starting to think that many of the members of the US government, both Republicans and Democrats, are fanatics and lunatics supported by a constituency of morons.

(again)

Wow, strong words Olivaw, but I feel the same way sometimes.

I'm ecstatic that so many people have been contributing to this thread, and I'd like to keep the discussion going, if for no other reason than I need something to read during those long afternoons in my office when the NY Times has been exhausted.

Does anyone ever feel that American culture can be, well ... a bit tasteless sometimes? And I'm not talking about the cardboard-flavored hamburgers of McDonalds fare. This past Sunday, U.S. network television ran two competing made-for-TV movies. One was on the Jessica Lynch story (the soldier who was captured and subsequently liberated during the Iraq war) and the other was on Elizabeth Smart (a Utah girl who was kidnapped from her home and held hostage by a nutjob with a Messiah complex for nine months).
I was already wondering what the h**l Hollywood was thinking after last month's airing of the made-for-basic-cable movie based on the D.C. sniper shootings. They aired it during the one-year anniversary of the incidents, setting a new record for bad, bad, oh so bad, taste.
Is this kind of *insert expletive here* found on television the world over, or is it blessedly isolated to a single continent?

What I find humerous about the two tv movies is that both lead characters, Elizabeth Smart and the new American heroine Jessica Lynch, were played by Canadians rather than Americans. And the Elizabeth Smart one was filmed in Halifax Nova Scotia, which is as much like Slat Lake City as Bagdhad is like Anchorage.

Channel 4 have had bad taste over the years, but this has been more comical than offensive, such as having a gay Queen's speech and showing The Omen on Christmas Day.

"Is this kind of *insert expletive here* found on television the world over, or is it blessedly isolated to a single continent?"

Tabloid mentality. People like "true life" stories because it makes them feel that they were at the event or somehow part of it. People also like to think they know more about events than sometimes they do, so media coverage of this kind tends to bring out the worst in the writers and in the way that the story is portrayed.

This kind of movie, which can be made for TV with a nice small budget and a fairly decent return on said investment, has always been popular. The BBC used to have a series called "999" (which was parodied by Chris Morris as "It's Your Blood") which would relate real-life accidents, dramatise them and then give some basic and simple first aid advice. The whole reason for the show is that people like to rubberneck. So no, it's not only America that does this...but since the entertainment industry in the USA is bigger than just about anywhere else, it gets noticed more often.

For the anaversary thing. The last time someone went on a killing spree with a gun here was the 1980s I think. I'll wait for the next question.

I hate to say it, but I think that sort of thing's pretty well limited to the USA. (Though our local newspaper was promoting the book on Jessica Lynch.)

Oh, when it comes to reality shows, sadly we have plenty of those - mostly the ambulance chasing, traffic cops hard at work type thing...

"but since the entertainment industry in the USA is bigger than just about anywhere else, it gets noticed more often."

I wish it's crap wasn't so cheap. TV programming people are making their bosses happy by importing cheap rubbish in greater amounts than ever before.

Joe millionare
mr personality
the bachelor
the bachelorette

There was a station with great promos for their rubbish programmes. "america's an insane place but not nearly as insane as john wals at america's most wanted"

I won't expand on america's funniest home videos for fear of throwing something.

After quick look through backlog I didn't notice any comments about survey done by EU and released last monday. People were given list of countries and question "Which of these countries are threat to World peace?". Finns top three was:

1) U.S.A.
2) Israel
3) North Korea

Results were quite similar across whole continent. Cant remember exact results for other countries. So Mr Bush should perhaps modify his list, only one of three right.

It is rather easy to explain why US stole first place, average people here think that it is only country that has resources to make other people so god damn angry that it migth cause large scale war(s) and coverment so ignorant that they migth do it either on purpose or by beeing just stupid.

Personally I agree with two first ones, and no I have nothing against jews, I simply think that Israel wasn't smart move. You really can't throw people (palestinians) from their homes based on holy texts and presume that they wouldn't make fuzz about it.

From that point of view, Ukkeli, Yugoslavia wasn't a smart move. Three separate races were mashed together into one country, ignoring past hostilities between them, just because somebody thought it was a good idea. It's not surprising it all fell apart after about 40 years.

I have a lot of time for Americans. I have been over there many times, and while I have come across the odd off the wall commentary on my home country (that I speak English really well for someone from Ireland, and that it must have been quite a drive from there to Ohio etc.), I have also made very good friends with lots of Americans who (surprise, surprise) are no different to you or me. Many of the Americans that I have met are kind, warm of spirit, easygoing, interested in people, good for a laugh, hard working and concerned about their kids and paying the bills so that they can get by.

What does irritate me at the moment is the power of special interests in shaping government policy and the media in your country. I can't understand why Americans are not *hopping mad* about extent to which they have been lied to by their government, the military, and many broadcasters. The war in Iraq was initiated on very questionable grounds (why the hurry? The US certainly didn't have enough evidence, as we were all to discover). Then you have the downplaying of the number of casualties and the injured. Then there was the Jessica Lynch affair, which was just plain embarassing. Then there's the lack of transparency about the Iraq reconstruction contracts, with the lion's share going to the VP's old company. And this Guantanamo Bay thing - today it's Islamic extremists, who might it be tomorrow?

I am also pretty shocked by the way that the right-wing media have taken over so much of the public commentary over there. It's as close to all-out propaganda as is possible in a free country. Most Americans that I have met don't think like that, but those who *do* control the levers of information.

As I said, if I was an American citizen at the moment, I would be hopping mad about the way my government was behaving. The people who hated Clinton because of his propensity to "avoid the truth" must surely be uncomfortable with the continuous falsehoods and simulations of the current administration. Or is it a case of see-no-evil, hear-no-evil?

You have a great country and you are a great people, but your current government doesn't deserve you.

As for unfortunately timed documentaries, well we had something similar here a few days ago - when a dramatisation of the Holy Cross protests in Belfast (the one with all the schoolgirl crying on their way to school after being subjected to sectarian taunts) was aired on TV. Personally I think it was *way* to early to show this. There is lots of rubbish on TV at the moment which is why I tend to spend so much time on the computer!

Just my tuppence,

Woodpigeon

That probably should have read you don't deserve your government but you know what I mean.

I saw that list, Ukkeli,and I can't help butr agree with the Finns. (BTW - I like article free English - in small doses.)