I defer to your superior knowledge, Dave. Nice post.
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my statement was merely to point out the basis of american thought (as this statement is a question as to why americans think the french are stinky). most of our thought is derived from successes brought about during ww2, which, in conjunction, highlights france's "less succesful" moments.
so, at a glance, we see us kicking ass, and the french running away.
its brief, stereotypical, 60 years old, etc, etc... but its the explanation.
Ah well, and there you have it. My home country just spent a day in mourning for the decimation of its flower of youth in Ypres, Gallipoli and Somme in WW1. So, yes, memories are long. But its funny that you feel that way about the French, your allies, than, say, the Germans, who caused the whole mess.
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it is, as said, the victor that writes the history books.
Actually, everyone writes their own history books.
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ahh, but it was the beginning of the cold war (the end of ww2) that set up the US as the predominant force - challenged (equally, perhaps) by that of the soviet world.
For a long while the US was trailing, and badly. The successful launch of Sputnik showed Americans that the Soviet Union was capable of firig missiles into any US city, and there wasn't a thing the US could do about it, including respond in force (As an aside, I'm curious why Stalin did not do this, as he was madder than a cut snake). this in turn was one of the catalysts for McCarthyism. It was not until the Apollo missions that the US established superiority in space.
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still, tho, the 'known world' was little more than england prior to that. this was the US's big advance and 'victory' over its predecessor.
I have yet another book, called "The Clash of Civlisations and the Re-making of World Order", by a guy called Huntington. I disagree with the central premise of this book , but it is full of interesting facts. There is an interesting map showing the globe with a shaded area indicating Western control (I know you maintain "the West" means just the US and not the US plus Western Europe, Rob, but bear with me on this one). Most of the globe was under the control of the British Empire or its Western rivals: Africa was divided between France and England, the Middle East, India (and Pakistan and Bangladesh, which were part of India back then), Malaysia, Indonesia, the Indo-Chinese peninsula except Cambodia, Australia and New Zealand. Afghanistan and Central Asian were former possesions of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, and being fought over between the UK and Russia until the Crimean War in the late 1800s ("the Great Game"). So the world was pretty much "known" - and in the hands of the French and the British.
If the US victory was to advance into these "unknown" areas, beyond the reach of its
imperial predecessors, then this is wrong too. From the above list, take out a third of Africa (I'm guessing) and Indo-China, representing France's sphere of influence. What is left is the British Empire - upon which "the sun never sets". The US does not count itself as an imperial power (which I disagree with, but that is a debate for another day), but even in terms of sheer influence the US lags behind the British at their height. (This pre-eminence was assisted, I concede, by the thinking that "colonialism" was not a dirty word.)
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i just find it righteous to proclaim one form of entertainment superior to another. entertainment is whatever the viewer wants it to be - some get their kicks off 'seinfeld,' some off 'jerry lewis'. one is as bad or as genius as the next.
Sure, I'll agree with that. The value of entertainment is subjective.
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were this the case, then why do you have an issue with the american dislike of france?couldnt i use the infamous 'healthy thing' defense of 2002, as well?
You sure can, and would have been a good point. The difference is, though, what you have said above: France's prejudices are based on their exposure to contemporary US mass media. American prejudices are based on France's loss to German expertise (which also trounced the British Expeditionary Force, but no one picks on the Brits) 60 years ago. They have a more modern view.
If you want to pick on the French for being a bunch of redneck goatfuckers for letting the racist Le Pen get through to the final round of the French presidential race, which they did two days ago, then I'm right behind you. But you can't give them shit for losing to improbably fast German armoured formations 63 years ago.
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"made in france"
No its a "Tiny", which is an English brand. LOL.
Finally, as you said in your opening post, you've met some nice French people. So have I. So to say that the "French" are generally snotty towards Anglophones is not borne out by anecdotal evidence from either of us (although a shopkeeper did get mouthy with me in Paris for not weighing my fruit before I brought it to the till). Its like saying all Americans are gunslinging Biblebashers, when clearly they are not so.
