“[I] tried to explain: There was an uprising against Germany, but the Russians were across the river, and on the German side there were also soldiers from Hungary or Ukraine,” he said. "For Americans, it was completely incomprehensible, too complicated, because they grew up in a different historical context, where everything was arranged: America is always good, the rest are the bad guys. And there are no complications
americans are the dumbest audience in the world hands down and have a very limited range of sensibilities. if something isn’t blunt and calculating it goes over peoples heads or they just can’t connect with it. if something strays too far from how american entertainment is scripted/shot/etc then it’s automatically bad. this also extends to the cinephile and critical sphere. but the insulting thing is that this disconnect is considered an issue of quality because there’s a layer of american cultural exceptionalism over all discourse.
if americans like X foreign movie or band then it’s quality, and if they don’t like something then it has no value whatsoever, and it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. on letterboxd they actually changed the algorithm recently to favor american reviewers under the guise of fairness because a south american film that americans don’t like made it into the top 100. it was like the most offensive thing to people that someone had different opinions on art.
if something strays too far from how american entertainment is scripted/shot/etc then it’s automatically bad.
This even extends to reality TV slop. Look at the difference between Gordon Ramsay’s American and British shows. It’s night and day.
american reality tv is very narrative/drama based and barely shows people doing shit. i had such a low opinion of reality TV until i watched stuff from asia like hyori’s bed and breakfast.
but that’s kinda american culture in general. we love to build up phony narratives and megadramas and bask in scandal and whatever else. a million serial killer movies and documentaries and county jail shows. the trump saga. following dumb trials. nobody acts real on anything or says anything real. can’t even go on a talent show without them giving people character arcs. then youtube is mostly the same shit.
if americans like X foreign movie or band then it’s quality, and if they don’t like something then it has no value whatsoever
not just film either, also tech
see how many tech outlets insist minidisk “failed” because yankees didn’t buy them
they were wildly popular everywhere else lol
(also better than a cd walkman)
