America, the land of stereotypes

by Mike
(Chofu)

American media is extremely popular all over the world and since I have not been there yet, it is also what my mind goes to when I think about America. The problem with this can mainly be that it is sometimes hard to differentiate between what is actually American and what's just a stereotype.

For example, when I think of Texas my mind instantly goes to middle-aged men with cowboy hats running around with guns. Is this the reality? Probably not, but it is really hard to know since I haven't been there and the fact that some of my favorite TV shows from America are South Park and Family Guy, which tend do not only parodize but also exaggerate stereotypes does not help me get a better image.

It is also interesting because it also seems like almost every state has their own stereotype as well. Like Texas has cowboys with guns, California has anorexic movie stars, Florida has a lot of crazy people, etc.

I like a lot of American media, especially TV shows and movies and I get fed a lot of these stereotypes and I would love to go to America some day and experience just how my view of it compares to the real world.