Everything I Learnt About American’s I Learnt From TV

Part One, Telephone etiquette

There’s a stereotype out there that Americans are rude, snobbish people, but I’ve gotta say that every American I’ve ever met has been really nice and friendly. Pissed off that others naturally assume they’ll be a jerk, but nice nonetheless.
So this isn’t going to be a ‘bash the Americans’ blog, but one that will pose a question that has plagued me for many years.
Do Americans say “goodbye” when they hang up the phone? On every television series, every movie, no one ever says goodbye when they’re done talking! When the conversation has ended, they just hang up, that’s it. No, “see you later”, no “nice talking with you”, just “that information was really helpful” BEEP BEEP BEEP.
Maybe it’s a cultural thing, maybe writers think that there’s no time to add those two syllables into the script, but either way it’s annoying.
In Australia, we end the conversation before we hang up the phone. It’s not always “goodbye”, but there’s some specific hint that the conversation is over. On TV, that never happens. The conversation winds down, but it is never truly ended, like on Hawaii 5-0 (2010):
Danno: “I’ll be over in two hours.”
And that’s it; that’s the end of the conversation. It wasn't like he said "I'll see you in two hours, bye", just "I'll be over in two hours".
I’m waiting for the time when a person gets cut off half way through a conversation:
“Alright, Kowalski is being hidden in the mines, so-”
*BEEP BEEP BEEP*
*rings back*
“Hello”
“Dude you just hung up on me”
“I thought we were done!”
“I was in the middle of talking”
“You gave the vital plot point; I didn’t think there was any need for more talk”
“Well, I was gonna invite you over for dinner, but now-”
*BEEP BEEP BEEP*
“son of a-”

You get the point. Do real Americans do this? Is it not correct to end a phone conversation with a salutation in the United States? Put it in the comments, or if you have had this similar thing happen to you, share the story below.

Kathy

Everything I Learnt About Life I Learnt From TV

Part Two, Making a scene

It’s a situation we’ve all been in, we’re walking along minding our own business when suddenly, two people start having a fight. It’s really awkward, ‘cause what can you do? As much as you’d like to walk away and mind your own business, the spectacle draws you in. What are they fighting about? Are they going to start throwing punches? It’s the same process that sent you running whenever they started to chant “fight” in the playground, you just want to see what happens next.
But apparently, we’re doing it wrong. Americans NEVER stare when something interesting is going down. At least, Americans on TV don’t. In fact, nobody on TV makes a mention or even a peep when two people are having a shouting match or love making session in a public place. In a recent episode of Greys Anatomy, Callie and her girl friend Arizona are having a screaming match at each other at the airport. Dozens of weary travellers all have a front seat viewing for this fight, but no one is looking! None of the extras are even paying them any mind. Even worse was when Arizona mentions that they are fighting in an airport, acknowledging that this is not an everyday occurrence. Someone on the staff knows that this is odd, and yet no one is looking at this.
I’m no dummy; I know there are rules about this kind of stuff in the “real world” of TV. The only sound that is allowed during filming is the dialogue, so everyone on set including the extras has to be quiet, and if a director speaks to you then you are upgraded from extra to guest actor. And to be fair, it would be extraordinarily hard to do 30 takes of any emotional scene, especially with a dozen or so strangers staring at you. But for the realism of the piece, if two people, especially a lesbian couple, are having a domestic in a crowded airport, people are gonna be looking.

So, should we be more like these American Extras and pretend there’s nothing going on when we see a blue (a fight), or should we just give in to our baser instincts, so long as we only do it out of the corner of our eyes? Leave your opinions in the comment

Kathy

Alien encounters redux: More proof

Adding more proof to my aliens theory, I spied one more mark yesterday. I thought I'd post it here because everything posted on the internet is true, duh.

and another, clearer picture

So there you have it. I thought they went away when I called public attention to it, but I guess not.

Also, those funky numbers at the bottom of yesterdays post isn't some weird secret society meeting code (or is it?), but it's to let the good people at technorati.com that I own this blog.

Comment below if you've got proof of aliens living amongst us, or if you have any ideas for more blog posts. Not that I'm running out, but it's good to know what the readers want to read.

Kathy