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If you live in the UK you will surely know Dave Gorman [1]. He did a TV show called American Unchained [2] where he attempted to get across America without usin

If you live in the UK you will surely know Dave Gorman [1]. He did a TV show called American Unchained [2] where he attempted to get across America without using chain stores. In that series I saw an America that I recognise from the Americans I know and have worked with (I've never visited America). Americans are some of the most friendly, optimistic and outgoing people in the known universe. In the show he experienced many Americans going out of their way to help him, many for little or no financial gain and many lamented the decline of offline, small time, service with a smile, mom and pop America. If I may be so bold as to offer some advice to Americans: Be careful not to lose this side of your culture, sure you've got the biggest army, the biggest economy and more burger stores than any country would ever need but what has been your real strength for the last 100 years has been your welcoming, trusting and honest nature. good luck. [1] - http://www.davegorman.com/ http://www.davegorman.com/ [2] - http://www.davegorman.com/projects_america_unchained.html http://www.davegorman.com/projects_america_unchained.html

maguay 16y ago
Thank you, and may all fellow Americans take this advice to heart. When it all comes down to it, the greatness of any nation is only the sum total of the greatness of its citizens. If we lose that, we lose what's great about America.
- rbanffy 16y ago
  > If we lose that, we lose what's great about America. How can you not only prevent this loss but also export this into other countries? How can we spark this in other cultures? How can we get rid of "negative greatness"?
kahawe 16y ago
I am from Europe as well and I can wholeheartedly agree with this. I know it has become so popular to be laughing about the States over here but let me tell you something... each and every time I had to deal with people from the States over here, they were nothing but friendly and down to earth, good hearted people who enjoy and appreciate company and small talk - even more so than lots of Germans who often give you the feeling they are just waiting for you to rip them off or wave some sales contract into their face next - just because you said "hi" and "how you doing?".
- eru 16y ago
  You can be friendly to people in Germany, but most people are rather more introverted than in America. So the common case of somebody being overly outgoing is the salesman. That tends to colour impressions.
- klenwell 16y ago
  If you're meeting Americans abroad, you're generally meeting a special self-selected type of more open-minded American. I tend to find Germans I meet here at home much more enlightened than the majority of Americans I deal with.
- vacri 16y ago
  I spent three months crossing the US and what struck me is how outgoing the Americans are. Back home (Australia) if you're standing at a bus stop, no-one will talk to a stranger unless it's a sardonic comment about how late the bus is. In the US, total strangers just started talking to me apropos of nothing, just to talk and pass the time. I think that this is my favourite aspect of the American character. The stereotype of the American who just wants to hear their own voice didn't hold up either - almost all of them were genuinely interested in conversation, though that may have been partly coloured because I was a foreign tourist a little off the beaten track.
yellowbkpk 16y ago
On. The complete opposite end of the spectrum check out Top Gear's show where they visited the American South. Obviously it was meant to provoke but it does bring up a few good points. I'd link you but I'm on my phone.
- bl4k 16y ago
  A lot of that show is scripted, and they intentionally provoked people to get a reaction for the sake of interesting TV.
- trickjarrett 16y ago
  As an American born and raised in the south, that was provoking the worst of the worst of the worst.
- kirse 16y ago
  Yea, and I also learned how to become a doctor by watching House and ER, fish for Alaskan crab by watching Deadliest Catch, and learned all about how to have relationships by closely studying Friends and Entourage! So no, that episode of Top Gear does not bring up any "good points" to draw legitimate conclusions about the American South. All it shows is that if you insult the average person enough, they'll get pissed off enough to deliver a few minutes of good footage. Meanwhile, back here in reality (not in TV land) -- if you visited down South you'd find that, given a broad sampling, Southerners are far kinder and warmer than us from New England. (p.s. I'm not from the South). It gives me great concern that we as Americans assume so much truth from our 30 minute highlight reels.
  - saw-lau 16y ago
    I am consistently amazed at how many people think that episode is a genuine unscripted documentary.
  - kenjackson 16y ago
    Weird. I had a two friends get spat on their first day in the South, and it went downhill from there. They were an interracial couple. The local sheriff asked them when they planned on leaving, as if they were the problem. This was 2010, not 1950. I'm sure the South is more welcoming for some people, but I wouldn't assume it to be the case for everybody. And I'm sure it depends on what areas of the south you go to (its still one of the most segregated areas in the US).
random42 16y ago
Do the people who help out dave, know that they are being filmed?
- dazzawazza 16y ago
  They do, he frequently tells them he is making a documentary about small town America etc. So, yes, you probably should take some of it with a pinch of salt. The documentary is, after all, entertainment. My personal experience of Americans does back up his experience though.
nodata 16y ago
Americans are some of the most friendly, optimistic and outgoing people in the known universe. I'm going to get downvoted to hell, but I have to say this: I agree completely. The reason why Americans believe that they are hating elsewhere is people transferring their strong dislike of American politics ("let's invade/interfere (with) countries and call it freedom") onto the American _people_. It's an emotional and intellectual shortcut.
- Azuldolphin 16y ago
  Not to be a jerk, but I'm genuinely curious. Why did you feel the need to preface your comment with "I'm going to get downvoted to hell"? I can't see a reason why this comment would get downvoted. Edit: I see you've been downvoted. I wonder if it's BECAUSE of your preface, rather than IN SPITE of it.
  - arvinjoar 16y ago
    Yes, "I'm going to get downvoted to hell" belongs on reddit, where people actually downvote people out of spite. I've not seen the same behavior here on HN (might just be that I haven't posted too much here). A better and more constructive preface would be "You are welcome to disagree with me here" or something like that, something that would be used in ordinary conversation.
    - dbingham 16y ago
      I've seen that behavior here. But then, I have some beliefs that sorely challenge many HNers world views.
      - jamesbritt 16y ago
        " I have some beliefs that sorely challenge many HNers world views." Many people come to HN precisely for that.
        dbingham 16y ago
lylejohnson 16y ago
I checked for this DVD on Netflix but couldn't find it. Does anyone know if there's a way to see it other than ordering this DVD from Amazon UK?
- bingaman 16y ago
  cough bt cough
- dazzawazza 16y ago
  Try contacting him on twitter @DaveGorman. He's pretty friendly on twitter.
SeamusBrady 16y ago
Lets make a huge distinction between a people (The American People) and a political power structure (The USA). Look at the Irish people (generally a decent lot) and the Irish State (mostly a basket case morally and financially). People are great. I love people, including nearly all the American I have met. I have yet to meet a state I can respect.

maguay 16y ago

Thank you, and may all fellow Americans take this advice to heart. When it all comes down to it, the greatness of any nation is only the sum total of the greatness of its citizens. If we lose that, we lose what's great about America.

rbanffy 16y ago
> If we lose that, we lose what's great about America. How can you not only prevent this loss but also export this into other countries? How can we spark this in other cultures? How can we get rid of "negative greatness"?

kahawe 16y ago

I am from Europe as well and I can wholeheartedly agree with this. I know it has become so popular to be laughing about the States over here but let me tell you something... each and every time I had to deal with people from the States over here, they were nothing but friendly and down to earth, good hearted people who enjoy and appreciate company and small talk - even more so than lots of Germans who often give you the feeling they are just waiting for you to rip them off or wave some sales contract into their face next - just because you said "hi" and "how you doing?".

eru 16y ago
You can be friendly to people in Germany, but most people are rather more introverted than in America. So the common case of somebody being overly outgoing is the salesman. That tends to colour impressions.
klenwell 16y ago
If you're meeting Americans abroad, you're generally meeting a special self-selected type of more open-minded American. I tend to find Germans I meet here at home much more enlightened than the majority of Americans I deal with.
vacri 16y ago
I spent three months crossing the US and what struck me is how outgoing the Americans are. Back home (Australia) if you're standing at a bus stop, no-one will talk to a stranger unless it's a sardonic comment about how late the bus is. In the US, total strangers just started talking to me apropos of nothing, just to talk and pass the time. I think that this is my favourite aspect of the American character. The stereotype of the American who just wants to hear their own voice didn't hold up either - almost all of them were genuinely interested in conversation, though that may have been partly coloured because I was a foreign tourist a little off the beaten track.

yellowbkpk 16y ago

On. The complete opposite end of the spectrum check out Top Gear's show where they visited the American South. Obviously it was meant to provoke but it does bring up a few good points. I'd link you but I'm on my phone.

bl4k 16y ago
A lot of that show is scripted, and they intentionally provoked people to get a reaction for the sake of interesting TV.
trickjarrett 16y ago
As an American born and raised in the south, that was provoking the worst of the worst of the worst.
kirse 16y ago
Yea, and I also learned how to become a doctor by watching House and ER, fish for Alaskan crab by watching Deadliest Catch, and learned all about how to have relationships by closely studying Friends and Entourage! So no, that episode of Top Gear does not bring up any "good points" to draw legitimate conclusions about the American South. All it shows is that if you insult the average person enough, they'll get pissed off enough to deliver a few minutes of good footage. Meanwhile, back here in reality (not in TV land) -- if you visited down South you'd find that, given a broad sampling, Southerners are far kinder and warmer than us from New England. (p.s. I'm not from the South). It gives me great concern that we as Americans assume so much truth from our 30 minute highlight reels.
- saw-lau 16y ago
  I am consistently amazed at how many people think that episode is a genuine unscripted documentary.
- kenjackson 16y ago
  Weird. I had a two friends get spat on their first day in the South, and it went downhill from there. They were an interracial couple. The local sheriff asked them when they planned on leaving, as if they were the problem. This was 2010, not 1950. I'm sure the South is more welcoming for some people, but I wouldn't assume it to be the case for everybody. And I'm sure it depends on what areas of the south you go to (its still one of the most segregated areas in the US).

random42 16y ago

Do the people who help out dave, know that they are being filmed?

dazzawazza 16y ago
They do, he frequently tells them he is making a documentary about small town America etc. So, yes, you probably should take some of it with a pinch of salt. The documentary is, after all, entertainment. My personal experience of Americans does back up his experience though.

nodata 16y ago

Americans are some of the most friendly, optimistic and outgoing people in the known universe. I'm going to get downvoted to hell, but I have to say this: I agree completely. The reason why Americans believe that they are hating elsewhere is people transferring their strong dislike of American politics ("let's invade/interfere (with) countries and call it freedom") onto the American _people_. It's an emotional and intellectual shortcut.

Azuldolphin 16y ago
Not to be a jerk, but I'm genuinely curious. Why did you feel the need to preface your comment with "I'm going to get downvoted to hell"? I can't see a reason why this comment would get downvoted. Edit: I see you've been downvoted. I wonder if it's BECAUSE of your preface, rather than IN SPITE of it.
- arvinjoar 16y ago
  Yes, "I'm going to get downvoted to hell" belongs on reddit, where people actually downvote people out of spite. I've not seen the same behavior here on HN (might just be that I haven't posted too much here). A better and more constructive preface would be "You are welcome to disagree with me here" or something like that, something that would be used in ordinary conversation.
  - dbingham 16y ago
    I've seen that behavior here. But then, I have some beliefs that sorely challenge many HNers world views.
    - jamesbritt 16y ago
      " I have some beliefs that sorely challenge many HNers world views." Many people come to HN precisely for that.
      - dbingham 16y ago

lylejohnson 16y ago

I checked for this DVD on Netflix but couldn't find it. Does anyone know if there's a way to see it other than ordering this DVD from Amazon UK?

bingaman 16y ago
cough bt cough
dazzawazza 16y ago
Try contacting him on twitter @DaveGorman. He's pretty friendly on twitter.

SeamusBrady 16y ago

Lets make a huge distinction between a people (The American People) and a political power structure (The USA). Look at the Irish people (generally a decent lot) and the Irish State (mostly a basket case morally and financially). People are great. I love people, including nearly all the American I have met. I have yet to meet a state I can respect.