Top Gear yesterday.

[dillonthebunny]

Originally Posted by Goten

America constantly takes overblown British stereotypes and uses them in films. But do we really care that much? Not at all. Because we know how to laugh at ourselves and/or the stereotypes.

its true... British guy = Bad guy...

if good guy is British then South African = Bad guy




and lol.. yeh, sorry Goten, haha.. forgot you were welsh,


listen to Goten, the Americans have NOTHING on what the British take off the Welsh. the Welsh seriously have it the worst out of everyone in the whole world (and thats including the French)... which is weird, seeing as the Welsh are a part of us!

I like the Welsh (just thought I had better say that).... its true

[Gabriel013]

Very true.

I struggle to see that driving a car through anywhere in the UK with " Blair for re-election" would result in similar aggressive behaviour. Same with any of the other slogans adjusted slightly for the British market.

Slogans such as "Football sucks" might get shouts from some people but I doubt they would resort to violence on the scale shown by the southern Americans on the show.


Only an idiot would think the show was depicting all Americans. Stereotypes are just a caracature generalisation.

Aren't some of the people on your forum from a similar area Ryan? I'm pretty sure they wouldn't react the same way would they??

If you see the whole show the team gave their cars to Katrina victims and they also praised their American made vehicles even though they were old and very rundown. I for one never associated the roadkill challenge with an American stereotype. I just thought it was put in to make the presenters suffer!

While I think about it, They are always slamming TVR which is (or was until recently) a British company.

[dillonthebunny]

my X wifes dad had a TVR..


was nice for about three mins, then the paint started to peal and the leather started to come off the interior..

shite car really.

fkg fast tho...


we wuv wu wyan... happy V day

[Ryan H.]

I wouldn't have been so upset about the whole thing were it not for the articles written by both Hammond and Clarkson. Both generalized not just certain people from the south but all Americans in that light, Hammond's article implied that people of the south fly the confederate flag because they're upset about the abolition of slavery, and Clarkson's article flat out lied about certain aspects of life in America in order to slam it.

It's one thing when they rip on the way French people drive. It's another when they make patently false statements that make America out to be a country of fat, retarded gun loving cousin f*ckers, which is exactly how Clarkson characterized America in his article on this episode. He didn't rag on one sub segment of Americans, he did it to all Americans.

[dillonthebunny]

ah, well.. I didnt read that, so I have no comment on those articles.


thing is tho, Clarkson is the sort of guy who would say he hated you Americans because you dont spell the word 'Colour' correctly.

where as we might say it, but you know we here are messing around. a bit different when presented with an article, you do have some responsibility in order to show that you are in fact joking.. if in fact you were joking.


I like to think he and the rest of Top Gear are joking, and just taking the piss a lot, but either thats because i like to see the best in people or am just missing the point.

[Ryan H.]

Originally Posted by dillonthebunny

ah, well.. I didnt read that, so I have no comment on those articles.


thing is tho, Clarkson is the sort of guy who would say he hated you Americans because you dont spell the word 'Colour' correctly.

where as we might say it, but you know we here are messing around. a bit different when presented with an article, you do have some responsibility in order to show that you are in fact joking.. if in fact you were joking.


I like to think he and the rest of Top Gear are joking, and just taking the piss a lot, but either thats because i like to see the best in people or am just missing the point.

First off, I have no clue what 'taking the piss' means, so you're gonna have to clarify that.

As for Clarkson's article, here are a few snippets:

"You need a permit to do everything in America. You even need a passport to buy a drink. But interestingly you don’t need one if you wish to rent some guns and some bullets. I needed a 50 cal (very big) machinegun. “No problem,” said the man at the shop. “But could you just sign this assuring us that the movie you’re making is not anti-Bush or anti-war.”"

"And, unfortunately, these people at the bottom of the food chain have no intellect at all. Reasoning with them is like reasoning with a tree. I think this is because people in the sticks have stopped marrying their cousins and are now mating with vegetables.

They certainly aren’t eating them. You see them growing in fields, but all you ever find on a menu is cheese, cheese, cheese, or cheese with cheese. Except for a steak and cheese sandwich I bought in Mississippi. This was made, according to the label, from “imitation cheese”.

Nope, I don’t know what that is either but I do know that out of the main population centres, the potato people are getting fatter and dimmer by the minute.

Today the average petrol pump attendant is capable, just, of turning on a pump when you prepay. But if you pay for two pumps to be turned on to fill two cars, you can, if you stare carefully, see wisps of smoke coming from her fat, useless, war losing, acne-scarred, gormless turnip face."

http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol...icle681768.ece

His statements about guns is patently and verifiably false to the point of absurdity, and something tells me you need ID to buy alcohol in Britain, too. Also, you do not need a permit to film anywhere in America, but you do need certain permits if you're going to film in certain areas.

As for the flat out ad hominem attacks on the intellect and culture of America, all I can say is I see no humor in that, whereas I HAVE seen the humor in some of his lighter jabs at Americans on the show. This article, however, titled The United States of Paranoia, is not only ironic, it's terribly insulting.

[Gabriel013]

I have to agree with some of your points Ryan, I hadn't seen that article before. I am positive that many were meant in jest but I can very much see how his broadbrush comments care offensive to some Americans.

As for taking the piss, it usually means mocking in a light hearted affectionate way. If you were to make a joke at you friends expense due to his oversized ears or some such, then that would be taking the piss.


As for buying alcohol. ID is only required if you look younger than the legal age. I've never been to the US so I don't know if customers are asked for ID most of the time or whether it's a similar policy as ours.

[Goten]

I think you should just take that with a pinch of salt. To me, those extracts atleast, he just looked like he was messing around. Pretty much any insult he says can only be taken half seriously, especially ones like the last bold quote
in the extract you provided. Don't get me wrong, I can see why it riled you up, but I just don't think it's meant to be taken so literally.

Also Dillon, you don't have to lie, I don't mind if you dislike the Welsh , we get stick off everyone, especially right up here in North Wales. I'm pretty much on the border between Wales and England (being in Wrexham, it's right next to Chester and our local derby game is next week, can't wait ), so we even get some stick from South Wales and Mid Wales about being English . We can never win here..... but I did beat someone 4-1 playing as Wales against England in Pro Evo last night, so I guess I can take the small victories.

[Gabriel013]

You gave us Charlotte Church. How can we hate you

[Arnold K. (Admin)]

I personally couldn't care less about Clarkson's comments, since they were clearly directed towards the Southerners. He even said that in the region they were in there religion was George Bush, God, Country and Western. He repeatedly used the word "the south" or other words referencing the south.

Charlotte Church, on the other hand, I care much about. Thanks, Wales.