Food for Thought

Americans are independent, arrogant, fat, work-obsessed, nosy, stupid and rich-or so we've been labeled by the rest of the world. It shouldn't come as too much of a shock. In fact, if you watch American television or films, we make fun of ourselves daily for these very stereotypes. There are many other stereotypes that we attach to ourselves as well. I'm sure it won't take you too long to come up with more to add to my list. As with any stereotype, it isn't exactly true. Yes, we can find examples of all of these traits throughout America and probably even within ourselves, but for the most part, we can shrug them off as being stereotypes and nothing more.

Last Sunday some friends and I went to Kenitra to have a discussion on stereotypes with some Moroccan students. We weren't looking forward to it. I'm sorry to admit it, but it seemed like a lot of extra work and money, and none of us could really imagine much of a benefit. However, our professor was very excited about it, and so on Saturday morning, we prepared our presentation. The next day we took the train to Kenitra.

Our list of Moroccan stereotypes was short-almost nonexistent. Afterall, it isn't a country that a person hears a lot about in the states. To compensate for this, we discussed stereotypes for the Arab world in general. Our only stereotypes for Morocco specifically were about Moroccan men.

The list of American stereotypes from the Moroccan students was much longer and contained many of the stereotypes I listed above. In addition they listed things like, "all American men love football" and "all American women love cheerleading." They showed a clip from "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader" and another where a foreigner was asking Americans basic questions that they of course couldn't answer correctly (or even close).

After both sides had given their presentations, we started to discuss. Our professor asked the Moroccan boys in the room how many of them had harrassed a girl on the street. They all raised their hands. None could really give an excuse, but even the girls, who admitted they too were subject to such harrassment, tried to defend that part of the culture while at the same time saying that they wished it wasn't that way.

When we discussed the American stereotypes, I think the Moroccans were surprised that we weren't more defensive. They criticized American television and films for giving the world this view of Americans. We admitted that the stereotypes were partly true and that those who are given the spotlight in our country are often the least deserving. However, we tried to impress upon them that when they watch our films and shows, they should see them as entertainment-not real life. Our real lives in America would never make it past a pilot for the most part. The Moroccans seemed more angry about the way the entertainment industry presented Americans than we Americans were.

After a lunch of sandwiches and pizza and a group sing along, we hopped back on the train. Nothing was really resolved, but we did have a lot more to think about, and we were all happy that we had gone.