Lets Stop George Bush before he Destroys the Whole Planet Earth.

[dan-cat]

The visions we get of America are continually shot down (by Americans) as "pure Hollywood" or untrue.

The visions you are getting belong to someone else. Perhaps if you spent some time in the US yourself (a roadtrip perhaps?) - you could form an opinion based on your own experiences and not someone else's.

What all you Americans here have failed to respond to and always will I suppose, is that if Hollywood and US TV stereotypically has a negro as a pimp or drugs baron (for example) why do they do it if it's blatently not true? (as you all seem to think)

Americans on this forum have the privilege of forming an opinion based on what they actually experience. After working 9 to 5 in small-town America, it's completely obvious to us that Hollywood provides nothing more than escapism.

I was watching a US police programme at the weekend (the one with the camera in the police car) and in the majority of instances (except one) - a policeman got out of the patrol car after stopping a motorist, and pulled his gun before approaching the car. Yet on this forum, Americans say that apparently it doesn't happen How can it not happen when we see real police footage?

For a show to be put on air - it has to be watched. It has to sell. It has to be OUT of the ordinary. I see people getting pulled over for a ticket all the time. Why would I want to buy a DVD of same? For me to buy that DVD it has to offer me something that I don't normally see.

Can you not see the dilema this is causing?

There's no dilemma if you understand that normal life doesn't sell.

 

[ColinEssex]

The visions you are getting belong to someone else. Perhaps if you spent some time in the US yourself (a roadtrip perhaps?) - you could form an opinion based on your own experiences and not someone else's.

I hear that nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina in the morning or perhaps to get your kicks on route 66 - thats assuming you survive the searches at US airports.

For a show to be put on air - it has to be watched. It has to sell. It has to be OUT of the ordinary. I see people getting pulled over for a ticket all the time. Why would I want to buy a DVD of same? For me to buy that DVD it has to offer me something that I don't normally see.

The police TV programme was not a DVD, it was on satelite. The British version has the same offenses, yet the officers are not armed to the teeth, and deal with the public in a polite yet authoritive way. Not screaming their head off threatening to shoot someone if they touch their pocket.

I see people getting pulled over for a ticket all the time.

that must cause huge jams in the rush hour, bet you can't move for police booking people.

There's no dilemma if you understand that normal life doesn't sell.

You mean The Waltons was not normal life??? I thought everyone who lived up a hill spent all day chopping wood and going round saying "mighdy fine day pardner for chopp'n wood, godda catch the viddals fer the stoo first"

Col

 

[Bodisathva]

that must cause huge jams in the rush hour, bet you can't move for police booking people.

It does actually, but the roads are wide enough for them to move out of the way, it's the rubbernecking that creates the problems.

Rubbernecking is where drivers slow down to look at recent collisions or anything out of the ordinary on the highway. Events ranging from gruesome car accidents to a police car stopped on the shoulder can cause traffic jams on both sides of the road, even if the roadway has been cleared.

Although caution is advised when there is unexpected activity on the side of a road, a car with a flat tire on the side of a highway often causes as much slow down as a real accident would due to rubbernecking. The slowdown in traffic persists even after the accident scene has been cleared if traffic is dense. Traffic experts call this phenomenon a phantom accident. This behaviour can potentially cause additional and sometimes more-serious accidents among the distracted rubberneckers.

Studies have shown some evidence of just how dramatically rubbernecking affects traffic flow, with estimates [2] being as significant as every minute of actual congestion resulting in 10 minutes of flow-on congestion. Such impact is readily observed in the event of a crash on a major arterial route, where traffic backs up on both sides of the road at roughly equal rates.

 

[dan-cat]

I hear that nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina in the morning or perhaps to get your kicks on route 66 - thats assuming you survive the searches at US airports.

Instead of relying on what you hear - why don't you find out for yourself

The police TV programme was not a DVD, it was on satelite.

The medium was unimportant. The point was that the show has to be watched to be successful.

The British version has the same offenses, yet the officers are not armed to the teeth, and deal with the public in a polite yet authoritive way. Not screaming their head off threatening to shoot someone if they touch their pocket.

You are watching an abnormal event. Abnormality sells. These abnormal events are usually preceded by a long police chase in which the offender has endangered the general public. The officer knows the driver is dangerous and for everyone's safety, assumes the worst. In other cases, the video footage you are talking of has been used by the public to prosecute officers who were over-aggressive.

You mean The Waltons was not normal life??? I thought everyone who lived up a hill spent all day chopping wood and going round saying "mighdy fine day pardner for chopp'n wood, godda catch the viddals fer the stoo first"

Wow, your references to US entertainment really are out of date.

 

[ColinEssex]

It does actually, but the roads are wide enough for them to move out of the way, it's the rubbernecking that creates the problems.

Yes, we have the same here. Its been measured that on the M25 (the circular motorway around London) a queue of traffic can grow one mile per minute and after the motorway is clear of the problem, the resulting queue (now several miles long) can take 4 to 5 hours to clear.

I came round the M25 last monday afternoon and filtered (on the bike) through a 10 mile queue to the Thames crossing. In the morning when I went, the M25 was closed clockwise because of a fatal accident. The resulting queue on the A12 approaching the M25 was 22 miles long (I clocked it as I was filtering)

Turns out the fatal accident was 3 youngsters who had just left an all weekend pop concert and skidded on wet road and went off the roadlink

Col

 

[ColinEssex]

Wow, your references to US entertainment really are out of date.

But the way they live up in them thar hills hasn't changed since the 1800's when the USA was ruled by the gun - oh gosh, the USA still is ruled by the gun - how odd that no progress has been made

Col

 

[dan-cat]

But the way they live up in them thar hills hasn't changed since the 1800's

How would you know

 

[Kraj]

I do not "fire right back", I merely try to assertain what is happening. The visions we get of America are continually shot down (by Americans) as "pure Hollywood" or untrue.

What all you Americans here have failed to respond to and always will I suppose, is that if Hollywood and US TV stereotypically has a negro as a pimp or drugs baron (for example) why do they do it if it's blatently not true? (as you all seem to think)

I was watching a US police programme at the weekend (the one with the camera in the police car) and in the majority of instances (except one) - a policeman got out of the patrol car after stopping a motorist, and pulled his gun before approaching the car. Yet on this forum, Americans say that apparently it doesn't happen How can it not happen when we see real police footage?

Can you not see the dilema this is causing?

Col

Colin, this is a perfectly reasonable and understandable point of view.

Unfortunately, it just doesn't hold water anymore. You keep using this excuse to defend your perspective and yet (as your next posts show) instead of actually making an attempt to understand why the difference exists you simply get defensive; you ignore everyone's explanations and insist that your point of view is accurate. For example, you claim we have "failed to respond" to the question as to why Hollywood portrays real life inaccurately. In fact, this point has been addressed on multiple occasions (ie., every time you bring it up) by a variety of different posters. You just don't listen. And that's what you have consistently done for the two years I've been posting here. Therefore, it is of my opinion that your claim to simply be trying "to assertain what is happening" is an outright lie.

Frankly, if you want to base all your conclusions about America and Americans off of television and movies, that's your perogative. Just do us all a favor and stop telling yourself you know more about the daily life of Americans than Americans do.

I understand there is a high possibility that you actually don't believe you know more about America than Americans do, and that you're really just trying to stir the hornet's nest. If that is the case, I'm begging you: get some new material. If you're interested in semi-heated discussion then find a topic people can be passionate about. When you rehash the exact same arguments over and over it's just plain boring. This forum has been steadily declining into farce (and not of Oscar Wilde-quality), and more than a few regulars have simply departed out of boredom or disgust. I apologize if I'm overreacting or my tone is overly harsh, but even though I've begun to be able to take a step back and be less uppity about things, I still see less and less friendly conversation and/or stimulating debate going on around here, and instead more and more bickering and valuable forum members simply giving up and departing. It's upsetting.

 

[Matt Greatorex]

before Ken jumps down my throat by saying never believe Hollywood - there must be some substance in it or they [Hollywood] wouldn't do it – So in short you get your education from Hollywood movies.

Wow, it's worse than I thought. There really are snakes loose on a plane somewhere.

Never mind the snakes, when can New York expect the aliens and giant lizard to attack?

I don't know, I take a couple of weeks off for honeymoon and this has fast become the most varied and - dare I say - surreal forum of all (not that I make any claim to having kept it sensible myself, having made no contributions until now, but I have enjoyed reading some of the more rational comments).

Now we've got WWII strategy discussions, conspiracy theories, Withnail and I quotations, the (inevitable ) US-bashing, the range of topics is fantastic.
)

I understand your heart and your mind. But if you knew the mind of the N.W.O. and its goals you would flinge a little.

I realise it was a typo of some sort, but what word were you aiming for with 'flinge'?

 

[Bodisathva]

I don't know, I take a couple of weeks off for honeymoon

congrats

...you did remember to wear your foil hats during the ceremony, didn't you?

 

[Matt Greatorex]

congrats

...you did remember to wear your foil hats during the ceremony, didn't you?

Of course we did. Why take the risk?

Although my better half appears to be conducting her own mind-control experiments, with or without government help.

 

[Kraj]

I realise it was a typo of some sort, but what word were you aiming for with 'flinge'?

I'm going with "flinch".

 

[dan-cat]

I'm going with "flinch".

I vote for "cringe"

 

[MrsGorilla]

I vote for "cringe"

That's what I was going to say but I thought it might be a bit far-fetched for a typo.

 

[Bodisathva]

I think it was submitted prematurely...I'm betting on "fling"

 

[Matt Greatorex]

I vote for "cringe"

I'm going with "flinch".

I googled it and found it used on a few other forums and assumed it was just a word I didn't know. However, since none of the other sites made the meaning any clearer, I started thinking it might be a 'typo'. I was guessing "flinch", but it didn't seem to quite fit the rest of the paragraph. Neither did my other options of "fling", "flange" or "flan".

Perhaps "cringe" is right?

Alternatively, maybe it's one these new fangled words the kids are using these days (a la "phat" or "chillax") and I'm just not hip enough to follow it.

 

[dan-cat]

That's what I was going to say but I thought it might be a bit far-fetched for a typo.

too slow - no banana for you!

 

[Matt Greatorex]

While I think of it, credit where credit's due:

Terri321's "Are you a mutation of scripted media?"

ranks right up there with

"You do have a spleen?" (I forget who posed this little gem)

as one of the most insane remarks I've read on any of the forums.
Top marks for originality if nothing else.

 

[MrsGorilla]

I take a couple of weeks off for honeymoon

By the way, congrats. Just to hijack the thread further, did you get to go anywhere exciting for your honeymoon?

 

[MrsGorilla]

too slow - no banana for you!

Oh well. I have an ample enough supply for now.