Quote Originally Posted by Don Corleone
Well, I would certainly agree Americans tend to be more insular than Europeans. It'd be hard to debate that.

That being said, I suggest that cultural awareness is a double-edged sword. Were you Europeans to travel to America and spend some time here, you would recognize that the America you see on television, that you assume is us.... Gerry Springer, Beverly Hills 90210, reality TV, etc. is cartoonish. It's true, I mean, these are Americans on these shows portraying Americans, and these people do exist somewhere. But it's such a gross refinement of some extreme trends that I think you come off with a very cartoonish view of us.
Yeah.. absolutely spot on, that.

though it does give people the impression that they known america... and thats significant. Since it is often the case that americans know next to nothing about Europe, while europeans have a distorted and cartoonish view of America.

So, as usual, i think it's probably a lot to do with the atmosphere of mutual accusations.