One of the lesser but still important themes of My Unmade Movie is Anti-Americanism. Anti-Americanism is as pervasive as American culture and American influence EVERYWHERE.
Personally, I have to make a conscious effort to keep mine in check...and therein lies the problem. I at least recognize that it is a problem and not an acceptable norm. How often do people in the outside world, i.e., the actual world that isn't America...and there's a lot of it...how often do those people stop and think, "wait a minute, maybe not all Americans think that way". Presently, a Republican politician, Ron Paul, has dared to suggest that perhaps American foreign policy is to blame for the enmity that showers America from off her shores. To use a great Americanism, "Well duh!", the Brits would call this restating the blinding, bleeding obvious; more succinctly one man's retaliation is the CIA's "blowback". Would it be wildly preposterous to suggest further that Hollywood or at the very least Fox news could just possibly, just occasionally, be producing what someone, somewhere else could rightfully describe as "propaganda"?
Personally I marvel when members of the American public ask, "why do they hate us so much?" Just ask your politicians, if their answer is anything other than "America's bullying foreign policy", then they're lying which of course should come as no surprise. In the outside world we have very little good to say about politicians generally, even if we like them! In the outside world we maintain a healthy skepticism.
It was your founding fathers who so perfectly framed all the basic principles of modern democracy; checks and balances, separation of church and state, and the right to a dissenting opinion; what the hell happened?, what's wrong with you (the) people?
Lewis Black one of my many, many favourite Americans addresses some of these issues, and is, as ever, very complimentary toward Canada. LANGUAGE WARNING!
more about all of this later...
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