History Main / NationalStereoTypes

** Another "joyful German stereotype" is the female Berlin cabaret singer performing in male costume, usually referencing MarleneDietrich or the film [[Film/{{Cabaret}}]].

* Germanexpressionism, with a lot of shadows and distorted backgrounds, has also become infamous.

** Many American sitcoms appear to be bland, safe, formulaic and cheesy family shows only aiming for the lowest and least offended common denominator. The jokes are predictable and center mostly around pop culture references - ''American'' pop culture that is. A laugh track will try to make clear that many of the awful jokes were meant to be funny. Expect a random appearance of a celebrity star at some point, always accompanied by huge audience applause, even if the actor is only famous in the U.S.A. itself. As always the series will be milked for what it's worth, long after having JumpingTheShark five seasons ago. A bit TruthInTelevision, though YourMileageMayVary, since in more recent years there have been American sitcoms that try to avoid these clichés.

* BritishAccents are used to provide the speaker with a witty, sophisticated outlook (see IAmVeryBritish and [[DeadpanSnarker Deadpan Snarkers]]) This can be the charming, witty, intellectual male Brit (JamesBond, [[Series/TheAvengers John Steed]], SherlockHolmes) or the young and sexy EnglishRose type woman (Emma Peel and various BondGirl s). Characters in historical costume dramas often have British accents, even if the setting has [[TheQueensLatin nothing to do with England]]. Upper-class characters and movie villains are usually represented as TheMeanBrit or EvilBrit. Too often they are depicted as eloquent snobs who are in the end humiliated by someone who is more egalitarian.

* In videogames, English ''female'' characters are often amongst the most [[FanService fanservicey]] and portrayed as steely, [[BritishStuffiness no-nonsense]] femme fatales sporting [[SensualSpandex form-fitting outfits]] and cut-glass [[BritishAccents RP accents]]. Examples include Cammy White from ''Franchise/StreetFighter'', Isabella "Ivy" Valentine from the ''SoulSeries'', Christie from ''DeadOrAlive'', Leanne Neville from ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'' and of course, arguably the number one all-time videogame MsFanservice, [[TombRaider Lara Croft.]] This depiction undoubtedly derives from the various sexy Brit BondGirl s, as well as pioneering 1960's British SpyDrama series ''Series/TheAvengers'', which singlehandedly started the SpyCatsuit and TV ActionGirl tropes.

* British accents provide people with a witty, sophisticated outlook (see IAmVeryBritish and [[DeadpanSnarker Deadpan Snarkers]]) This can be the charming, witty, intellectual male Brit (JamesBond, [[Series/TheAvengers John Steed]], SherlockHolmes) or the young and sexy EnglishRose type woman (Emma Peel and various BondGirl s). Characters in historical costume dramas often have British accents, even if the setting has [[TheQueensLatin nothing to do with England]]. Upper-class characters and movie villains are usually represented as TheMeanBrit or EvilBrit. Too often they are depicted as eloquent snobs who are in the end humiliated by someone who is more egalitarian.

* British accents are often used to provide people with a witty, sophisticated outlook (see IAmVeryBritish and [[DeadpanSnarker Deadpan Snarkers]]) This can be the charming, witty, intellectual male Brit (JamesBond, [[Series/TheAvengers John Steed]], SherlockHolmes) or the young and sexy EnglishRose type woman (Emma Peel and various BondGirl s). Characters in historical costume dramas often have British accents, even if the setting has [[TheQueensLatin nothing to do with England]]. Upper-class characters and movie villains are usually represented as TheMeanBrit or EvilBrit. Too often they are depicted as eloquent snobs who are in the end humiliated by someone who is more egalitarian.

** Consider the fact that Hollywood is the only place in the world where millions of dollars are used to make films about braindead sensational or otherwise banal topics. And mostly because they can export it to the rest of the world, even if fails at the box office.

** Their {{anime}} is often ridiculed. Characters simply freeze in one position while a vague background goes by. You seldom see a realistic Asian in their cartoons: [[{{Mukokuseki}} always white people with very wide eyes.]] Non-anime fans seem to think anime is still at the quality of Anime/SpeedRacer.
*** Also, AllAnimeIsNaughtyTentacles.

* Croatians are closet Nazis who really want nothing more than be German or Italian.

* Serbs are murderous maniacs obsessed with and pissed off by things that happened centuries ago. And since ASerbianFilm they are not likely to gain a reputation for good taste any time soon...

** Russian music will be trepaks, troikas, balalaikas, violin music, ballet dances and preferably the following melodies: "Katyusha", "Kalinka", "Ochi Chyornye" ("Dark Eyes") and "The Song Of The Wolga Boat Men". Some Tchaikovsky music is also essential.

* It's also cold as fuck. Yakutsk, the coldest town on earth, is in Siberia. A typical day is subzero.

* Back when the country was named Persia it was known for the sjah, Persian cats and Persian carpets.

* '''Australians''' are always stereotyped as white, blond, six feet tall, rough, unsophisticated, wildlife experts, bushwackers and obsessive beer drinkers. They often carry boomerangs, large knives and either go surfing, didgeridoo playing or wrestle with crocodiles. They always use expressions like "Crikey!", "G'day, mate" and "Put another shrimp on the barbie" (despite the term ''prawn'' is used for shrimp in Australia). These stereotypes are mostly based on images reflected in CrocodileDundee, Steve Irwin, and [[Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus G'day Bruce!]] They almost always have English names.

* Also adding to a Scottish atmosphere are the following things: castles, fog, rain and, of course, the MonsterOfLochNess.

* South Koreans stereotype [[DefectorFromCommieLand North Korean defectors]] the way many countries stereotype poor unwanted immigrants, i.e. as an uneducated criminal class. Yes, discrimination is a problem.

* For Hollywood's purposes, North Korea seems to have replaced the Soviet Union as the default enemy country of the U.S. This often involves North Korea being portrayed as vastly more powerful and technologically advanced than it really is.
* South Koreans stereotype [[DefectorFromCommieLand North Korean defectors]] the way many countries stereotype poor unwanted immigrants, i.e. as a uneducated criminal class. Yes, discrimination is a problem.

* For Hollywood's purposes, North Korea seems to have replaced the Soviet Union as the default enemy country of the U.S.
* South Koreans stereotype [[DefectorFromCommieLand North Korean defectors]] as backwards, uneducated criminals with a harsh accent. Yes, discrimination is a problem.

'''{{Ireland}}'''

* {{Utah}}: See UsefulNotes/{{Mormonism}}, because nobody knows or mentions anything else about this state besides its Salt Lake or, for older people, the Osmonds. Basically, Utah is stereotyped as some kind of weird Mormon theocracy and a ''de facto'' foreign country on U.S. soil. And for polygamy -- ''especially'' polygamy.

* {{Utah}}: See UsefulNotes/{{Mormonism}}, because nobody knows or mentions anything else about this state besides its Salt Lake or, for older people, the Osmonds.

** If Austria was said to have the second-most useless armed forces in European history, the Italians were said to be the worst (even though they beat the hell out of the German and Austrian armies during WW1). Italian tanks are popularly supposed to have three forward gears and seventeen reverse gears; the slimmest book in the world is apparently '''The Italian book of War Heroes''; and British people in particular will point to newsreel film of Italian soldiers surrendering by the tens of thousand as proof that whatever they're good at, it's not fighting.

* Whenever a scene takes place in Italy the background music will consist of some famous opera arias, usually by GiuseppeVerdi or GioachinoRossini.

** If Austria was said to have the second-most useless armed forces in European history, the Italians were said to be the worst (even though they eventually beat the hell out the austrians during WW1). Italian tanks are popularly supposed to have three forward gears and seventeen reverse gears; the slimmest book in the world is apparently '''The Italian book of War Heroes''; and British people in particular will point to newsreel film of Italian soldiers surrendering by the tens of thousand as proof that whatever they're good at, it's not fighting.

** If Austria was said to have the second-most useless armed forces in European history, the Italians were said to be the worst. Italian tanks are popularly supposed to have three forward gears and seventeen reverse gears; the slimmest book in the world is apparently '''The Italian book of War Heroes''; and British people in particular will point to newsreel film of Italian soldiers surrendering by the tens of thousand as proof that whatever they're good at, it's not fighting.

** If Austria is said to have the second-most useless armed forces in European history, the Italians are (according to observed history) the worst. Italian tanks are popularly supposed to have three forward gears and seventeen reverse gears; the slimmest book in the world is apparently '''The Italian book of War Heroes''; and British people in particular will point to newsreel film of Italian soldiers surrendering by the tens of thousand as proof that whatever they're good at, it's not fighting.

** Oregon has an UnknownRival relationship with California. Apart from the standard Californian stereotypes, Oregonians stereotype Californians as rich, snobby carpetbaggers who can't drive properly. Interestingly, the two states have roughly the same values politically, both being reliable blue states in any presidential election. Oregon would probably argue that it has the ''real'' environmentalist hippies while California has the slick poseur versions. [[Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian Splitters!]]

** Oregon has an UnknownRival relationship with California. Apart from the standard Californian stereotypes, Oregonians stereotype Californians as rich, snobby carpetbaggers who can't drive properly. Interestingly, the two states have roughly the same values politically, both being reliable blue states in any presidential election. Oregon would probably argue that it has the ''real'' liberals while California has the slick poseur versions. [[Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian Splitters!]]

'''{{Japan}}'''

** Following the ''highly'' successful importation of serials Series/{{Borgen}} and ''{{Forbrydelsen}}'' to the UK/US, the Danish are becoming known for their incredibly bleak, gritty (but dangerously gripping) drama serials, populated by [[AffirmativeActionGirl icy female leads]] and dour (but hot) male side-kicks.

* Africans of any nationality are ostensibly lacking in beat 'em up videogames, especially as this medium is usually presented as some sort of tournament involving fighters from "all over the world". This often leads to cries of ignorance and prejudice in fan-forums. Asian, American and European characters make up the lion's share of characters and in the main beat 'em up series, ''[[{{Franchise/StreetFighter}} Street Fighter]]'''s Elena, a native of Kenya, is one of the few African fighters depicted. The reason for this (rightly or wrongly) is twofold:

'''Tibet'''

* Often confused with Spaniards.
* Portuguese are generally known as discoverers, thanks to Vasco da Gama, Hendrik the Navigator, Bartolomeo Diaz, Pedro Alvares Cabral and Ferdinand Magellan.

* Venezuelan Strerotype for the Portuguese are industrious people who run small busineses, more often Mom & Dad stores and bakeries, and every food store in the country is managed by them (in real life, most of the food distribution chain is indeed managed by people of portuguese descent). "El portu del abasto" is an stereotype by itself, a middle aged mustachioed man in white butcher clothes. Portuguese are always been afflicted by unibrow, even the women.

** Naturally all Danish films are porn or Dogme95 films. [[ItsNotPornItsArt Or both]].

** Because of its unusual religious tolerance at certain points in history, Jews flocked to Poland and so Jews have made up a large portion of the Polish population for a long time. Poland had the largest Jewish population in the world until, well, [[GodwinsLaw those Nazis again.]] There was a massive post-war emigration and a lot of the Polish Jews ended up in America. Perhaps because of that, in America most of the Polish people floating around in the cultural consciousness is of Jewish descent and identifies mostly with Jewish culture (Isaac Bashevis Singer, Jerzy Kosinski, etc.) so there tends to be some conflation between Jewish and Polish stereotypes in the American media.

* In Russian culture, Ukrainians are a common object of stereotyping as simple-minded rustic hillbillies. A "typical" Ukrainian wears national (peasant) dress, eats ''salo'' (pork fat) in unbelievable amounts and drinks ''gorilka'' (Ukrainian answer to vodka), speaks in FunetikAksent, and is dim-witted and sly at the same time. Despite being jovial {{Big Eater}}s, they are also prone to be stingy and [[JerkAss mean]] ("what I can't eat, I shall bite!"). Ukrainian girls are uniformly dark-haired, pudgy, gentle and submissive but also [[ReallyGetsAround slutty]]. In recent years, Western Ukrainians are stereotyped as rabid nationalists (if not outright Fascists).
** A stereotypical image of Belarus in contemporary Russia is as follows: everyone is a redneck who works on a farm, drives a tractor, and lives in a hut; nothing has changed since Soviet times in terms of politics or culture; everything is laughably cheap and everyone is dirt poor, living on a diet of vodka and potatoes; the Belarusian language doesn't exist; in short, "[[WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut they're not a real country, anyway]]".
* People will say "The Ukraine", even though it is simply "Ukraine" and not a part of Russia since 1991.
** To Americans, Ukraine is the land of beautiful women who want to marry a good man because their own men are misogynistic pigs. UnfortunateImplications abound.
** But most of all, the West knows Ukraine as "that place where Chernobyl happened."

'''Caucasus'''
In Soviet/Russian culture, stereotypes of peoples from the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia (specifically, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaidjan) are as follows:
* Caucasian people ''love'' wine, song, and merry-making in general. They are awesome cooks, specialising in meat. Their parties (especially weddings) are week-long affairs where everyone gets drunk several times over.
* Their men are incredibly lecherous and always horny, showering the objects of their affection with flowers, expensive gifts, etc., and then abandoning them after getting what they'd been looking for.
* They are reputed to be filthy rich, mostly from criminal activity. They tend towards conspicuous consumption and flashy displays of wealth.
* Due to two Chechen Wars and an ongoing insurgency in the North Caucasus, they are often suspected of being terrorists, religious fanatics, or ruthless mobsters.

* Since Tyrol is both part of Germany as Austria men wearing Tyrolean hats and lederhosen and women in dirndls, while drinking beer, eating sausages and playing tuba are both a German, as an Austrian tradition.
** Tyrol isn't part of Germany.

* All French men are called Maurice, Jacques, François, Jean, Bernard, Louis , Charles or Marcel. All French women are called Jeanne, Josephine, Marie-Antoinette, Chantal, Brigitte, Charlotte, Cécile, Amélie, Hélène, Madeleine, Martine, Virginie, Natalie or Nicole.

* If Germans are depicted having fun, they are usually wearing Tyrolean hats, lederhosen, drinking beer, playing the tuba and celebrating {{Oktoberfest}}. The women are robust, large-breasted characters with blonde hair in pigtails or braids, wearing dirndls and carrying dozens of steins of beer at once. These partying Germans are often seen eating schnitzel, sausages, sauerkraut and sauerbraten while dancing to oom-pah music. This folklore image isn’t entirely German, since it’s especially associated with Bavarian culture in southern Germany as well as Austria.