Go on any movie’s IMDb discussion board and you’re sure to run into this. Of course I’m talking about the slanderous remarks thrown towards the American population based solely on a few popular films. According to such discussions, us Americans have no taste in film, all we can do is remake foreign films and do book adaptations, and we require explosives and gore to make a movie watchable. Not only are such remarks unfounded, but they’re extremely offensive to a country with a population of 307,006,550 (June 2009). It might be hard for some people to wrap their simple and hateful brains around, but making a generalization about an entire country of people based solely on some movies that are marketed (exceptionally well) worldwide is absolutely ludicrous, and they themselves might be in need of an evaluation.

As an American I am proud of the talent this great country produces. I look at filmakers such as the Cohen Brothers, Quentin Tarantino, David Lynch, and Paul Thomas Anderson with great admiration. Sure, Hollywood puts out garbage year after year, and somehow year after year there are people that pay for these films which allows such nonsense to continue to be produced. Let’s face it, Hollywood is a business. Movies are a business just like fast food; it might not be good for you but sometimes it is satisfying so we continue to throw our money down the drain. Just because a few of us like to have some mindless entertainment every now and then doesn’t give one the right to insult the entire population.

Because the United States is constantly in the spotlight in the world’s media, it’s inevitable that we’ll always be the subject of harsh criticism. We’re easy targets. And because Hollywood is made up of brilliant business people that can, to borrow a quote from David Spade in Tommy Boy, “sell a ketchup Popsicle to a woman in white gloves,” its near impossible for us to relieve the bad cinematic stereotypes we face as a result of some of our worst movies making the most noise. But dear bitter discussion board poster: please think before you type. Not every American supports Hollywood, not every director works in the studio system, and most importantly not all Americans have the same exact opinions when it comes to movies.

It just so happens that because Hollywood is so prominent, it’s filth smells the most. The fact of the matter is that all countries make bad films along with the good. All I’m saying is that before you make a completely ignorant remark, think about what you’re saying and realize that even your country might lack originality and also puts trash on the screen, just on a smaller scale.

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