Ignorance is Bliss
January 6, 2007
In America our media tells us all kinds of useful stuff: Middle-Easterners are terrorists... French people are jerks... the Chinese are out to get us... Israel is the second greatest place on earth... etc. This isn't a situation simply limited to the United States. I came across a clip from an Australian satire TV show produced by the same people who publish the Australian version of The Onion. When we wonder why people in other countries think we're stupid, it's because this is the kind of stuff they see and hear everyday.
Granted, the questions that the host asks are so easy anyone with a high school diploma should ace the little quiz easily, and 99% of the time people not shown on TV were probably right. What Australians see on TV are Americans who think John Howard actually walks the streets of Washington DC to talk to common folk; and Americans who can't answer very basic modern history questions; and American's who follow Bush like a blind sheep. This isn't exactly the best representation of our country's cross section. But then again, Middle-Easterners, French, and Chinese don't exactly get a fair representation in our country either. Isn't it funny how media works?
Granted, the questions that the host asks are so easy anyone with a high school diploma should ace the little quiz easily, and 99% of the time people not shown on TV were probably right. What Australians see on TV are Americans who think John Howard actually walks the streets of Washington DC to talk to common folk; and Americans who can't answer very basic modern history questions; and American's who follow Bush like a blind sheep. This isn't exactly the best representation of our country's cross section. But then again, Middle-Easterners, French, and Chinese don't exactly get a fair representation in our country either. Isn't it funny how media works?
"Look how much bigger North Korea is than South Korea. I never knew that until now." (referencing Australia and Tazmania mislabeled on the map)
I'm rather curious how many Aussies a random American could fool if he went over there pretending to be George Bush...