The "American dream" is a universal and international theme (according to these answers). I was surprised to see "New York". Do people from other countries consider this city to be representative of the entire country?

Many of the french responses associated the US with Hollywood.  Are American actors popular in France? 

The notion of "freedom" or "liberty" is common in both sets of answers. This seems to be a universal view of the United States. It is also an image that the United States tries very hard to project to the world, so this might explain why so many of the responses include it. On the other hand, many of the French students associate "power" and "strength" with the United States, while only one American student used the word "bossy". Perhaps the power of the United States is something we do not wish to associate with ourselves. Or perhaps it is simply more obvious from outside the country.

Comme vous savez USA est l'un des pays qui a la clé du pouvoir et qui a un grand influence sur presque tous les pays du monde entiers , ce pays ,de l'oncle Sam, a fais un grand effort pour se valoriser par rapport aux autres et qui a depensé des milliards pour mettre en place une strategie marketing pour passer aux citoyens du monde l'image de l'amerique libre ou l'amerique puissante , ces efforts ont donné leurs fruit :  la célébrité des acteurs , le souhait de pas mal de gens de réaliser leurs american dream , l'interet des marché économique et des champs politique mondiaux à ce qui se passe aux usa....

A mon avis le probleme aux USA c'est que le gouvernement ne donne pas beaucoup d'importance au citoyen comme un individu et non pas comme une machine qui ne sert qu'a faire rouler la roue de l'economie :  pas de sécurité sociale , pas d'aides sociales , des études superieurs trop cher ....

I think it is important to realize that the US is not one entity. It is not one voice nor is it, in fact, one person, or one interest. About 17 times larger than France, it encompasses an incredible diversity of people, backgrounds, and beliefs. When you say that the US has spent billions in promoting this image, who exactly do you think is paying? The Hollywood companies that pay their actors to promote incredibly popular blockbuster films? Where is the line between these private companies acting in the best interests of their company versus promoting their films for .....American pride?

I think that while the idea of the American dream is deeply rooted in our culture and has carried across to many other countries, the concept is not strictly unique to the United States. 

I agree that size plays a large role in the fact that government is not really something that everyone cares about. Practically, the national government has little effect on our daily lives. My father once told me that if you want to make a difference, you have to do it at the local level and I believe this to be quite true because that is where the "daily life" aspect comes into play.

Also, with regard to the "America being portrayed by Hollywood" comment, I am curious how much this comes to mind when the French interact with American tourists. From what I've heard, American tourists and French people do not generally get along due to Americans assuming everyone speaks English and the problems that unfold from that. Does the image of Hollywood and other images of America come into play when French people interact with tourists?

C'est vrai que l'éffet médiatique joue un rôle trés important pour montrer au gens l'image de l'amérique moderne que ce soit à travers les filmes (holywood), la publicité , le marketing sportif ....

Pour répondre à la question d'Elise , à mon avis holywood a toujours donné et essaye de donner une image disant bizzare sur l'américain ,  celui qui se sont toujours le superman ou le sauveur du monde celui qui posséde le savoir celui qui ne perd jamais une guerre ....  ( mais il y a toujours l'excéption biensur ) , cette image divise les autres (non americains)  en deux parties , ceux qui ont cette vision d'admiration vers le touriste américain ( waaaaww he is an american ) ou ceux qui voit toujours l'americain comme quelqu'un qui veut se montrer superieure et donc ils les évitent.mais en général les amricains ont toujours eu le respect et le bienvenue de tout le monde.

j'ai deux questions , on sait trés bien que MIT est l'une des université les plus presigieuses dans le monde mais est ce que vous pensez que le renommé de votre université  est decisive pour juger  le niveau réel de l'étudiant  ?

Si on fais une comparaison entre les deux systéme éducationnel qu'est ce que vous en pensez ?

je crois que ça sera plus pratique si on fixe une heure pour partager nos idée live .

Bonsoir à tous,

Comme vous avez si bien su le dire, je trouve qu'il est tout à fait normal que les étudiants associent l'Amérique à la puissance et à la liberté. On a toujours eu l'impression vu de l'extérieur que tout est permis. Cette image n'est pas seulement véhiculée via les films avec Hollywood  mais aussi en regardant des documentaires ou autre. Il faut aussi noter qu’étant une puissante, la plus grande, il est normal que tout le monde est les yeux fixés. Cependant, je ne j’ai pas encore rencontré des personnes qui trouvent les américains orgueilleuses. Je pense juste que c’est l’image que l’on a d’eux qui nous pousse à juger mais sont-ils vraiment comme cela ? Difficile à dire.

De plus, je pense qu’il faut noter que tout ce que l’on a pu dire provient aussi des stéréotypes. Plusieurs parmi nous ne sont jamais allés aux Etats Unis. Ainsi, on se base donc sur ce que l’on a pu écouter ou des déductions que l’on fait lorsque l’on s’informe sur les Etats Unis.

Pour terminer je pense que les étudiants de MIT sont peut être plus réaliste car ils vivent au sein même du pays et donc on un avis plus objectif.

Paule Sambala

It is always a delicate balance when it comes to stereotypes. While it is generally accepted that a stereotype is not always representative or based in fact, there is thought that the stereotype started for a reason. While it may not be true for everyone or everything, generalizations are usually there for a reason. While not all Americans are proud, the assumption is of American arrogance. Unfortunately, as someone who winces at many of America's foreign policy decisions and, often, ignorance of world affairs, I can see how this particular view came to be. 

Les américains se sont toujours présentés comme les maîtres du mondes et ils ont un quotidien qui tourne beaucoup autour des stars, des héros, ... Cette image de l'américain est assez véhiculée dans les films et c'est tellement bien fait que souvent on est perdu on ne sait plus quoi penser. En 24h, un américain (Jack Bauer) sauve sa famille et toute la planète. Ici c'est l'image de l'américain bon citoyen et fort qui est mise en valeur et il y a plein d'autres exemples de ce type.

Les films (les medias en genéral) influencent trop sur notre vision des Etats-Unis, de l'americain et ceci explique en parti nos réponses.

Étudiants de MIT qu'en est-il de la réalité?

Hi everyone,
I'm from Europe and today I live in the US and go to MIT. I admit I had a very similar opinion of Americans before I came here. A lot of stereotypes came from movies, or tv shows (like “Friends” :)). I admired them in some ways and I saw US as a country of liberties and opportunities, but I also didn't like that they had to stick their nose into everyone's business. Maybe I saw a bit of arrogance. But you definitely, definitely cannot judge a country and its people until you actually visit it and talk to them.
What I discovered, and this is just my opinion, is that US government and ordinary people, are two different worlds. There is the US government that very often behaves like a global police officer, and then you have people who don't know much about it or simply don't care. They live their own lives and don’t stress about it too much. For example, 80% of Americans don't even know where my country is or whether it exists (and we're talking about educated MIT people), not even knowing that US (well NATO but US was the main initiator) bombed it in 1999 which wasn't so long ago. It seems to me that even if sometimes Americans seem arrogant about their own country, I don't think they do it on purpose, but because they don't know much about the world outside of the US.
On the other hand, Americans are the friendliest and nicest nation I have ever met. They might not know much about where you come from, but they are willing to hear more from you and find out.
Another stereotype: in my country Americans were often seen as a stupid nation. I don't know where that came from but it's far from the truth. As in any culture, there are various people, some are smart, some are not, some are educated, some are not.

I have spent a little time in Europe and working with Europeans, and I want to share one comment a European once made to me about America. He said that if a foreigner from anywhere moves to America, of course many things would be difficult, but he would be welcomed as part of the community, and no one would be surprised if he called himself an American. In my European friend's opinion, the same would not happen in Italy, for example, where an American would always feel like an American living in Italy. I do not know whether this is true of Italy, or of France for that matter, because I have not spent enough time there. But I do think it is true that in most of the large cities in America (though perhaps not everywhere else), foreigners truly become part of "America".

@Lissy:

I was also kind of confused when I came for the first time in the USA. I thought that movies are at least close to reality but it wasn't very true. I don't think that Americans are superheroes or have superpowers, none of us does. However, there are a lot of habits that people here have established that I admire. For instance, I still enjoy it when I enter a store and I am asked 'Hi! How are you doing?' almost every time, with those people not yielding at me, but smiling friendly. Also, due to the huge diversity that one finds in America, Americans are very tolerant and less discriminative I think.

Heroes that save the world are not exactly what these people I have met are. But they still possess a lot of good qualities, as well as some bad ones of course. No one is perfect.

I would say that American media and television tend to over exaggerate actual lives americans. For most television shows, there is a lot more drama to keep the show interesting. There probably is some degree of truth in some of the media, but not all of what is portrayed is what americans are really like. 

@ Erica Gralla :

Il est vrai que les grandes villes Américaines sont cosmopolites et qu'il est plus facile de s'intégrer dans de grandes villes que dans de petits villages conservateurs, mais n'y a-t-il pas aux Etats-unis une prédominance de la notion de la communauté (Irlandais, Italo-américain, "Black", "Hispanique"...)?

Hi, I'm studying at the MIT but I'm not American.  It was hard to me to find some words to define either US or France.  I don't believe in steriotypes.  Not all americans are Homer Simpson.  Not all french dresses Dior.  Not all Argentineans dance Tango in the streets with a rose in their mouth.  What's important is to understand which values are more relevant for a society.  So, when you want to understand a society, ask what is relevant for them, what makes them angry, what makes them happy, what world will they leave to their kids.  Again, steriotypes are a simplistic average that don't represents anything. 

@Lissy:

In reality I've found that while Americans will never be Jack, a lot of them are heroes in their own ways: They are generally big hearted, and many of them will take time to help improve the community in some way through community service with the church, a charity, or a school, or just offer help when they see something bad had happened to a stranger (and not feint ignorance and walk away).

@Ahmed:

Speaking from my experience living in New York City, it is somewhat easier to integrate because you live/work or go to school with various types of people so you learn more about them. At the same time there are communities of people based on a common culture all over the city. Some have specific names such as Chinatown, Little Italy and others are just collective groups. There are some neighborhoods that are very well mixed, but I think instead of being a melting pot it is more like a tossed salad. The groups are mixed up but each have their own set of people.

@Hoyin, Yoana

Je savais que ces héros des films n'avais rien à avoir avec la réalité américaine juste des images pour bien vendre le film.

Les État-Unis incarnent quand même bien le pays où les gens sont jugés sur leurs qualités et par sur autre chose mais est-ce que les stéréotypes ont complètement disparu? Est-ce qu'on fait autant confiance en un noir qu'en un blanc ou en un jaune? Il y a quand même une petite différence non?

@Lissy, 

A big part of the American dream is the belief that you can be anyone you want to be as long as you work hard. This is made possible because you are judged by your qualities instead of your background. Yes, like every society, there are prejudices. However, there is also a large push to transcend those stereotypes and accept people based on themselves. It would not be possible to have an African American president 50 years ago for example. 

@Frances

I'm not from US so there are a lot of things I don't know and I was very curious about your response. You said that people are not judged by their background, but isn't it true that poor people in US don't get the same opportunities as people who have some money.

As far as I know, since private high schools and colleges are so expensive, majority of poor people is forced to go to public high schools and then later, since their parents can't afford good universities like MIT, they don't get the chance to be a part of it. Few of them do because of financial aid, but there are only few universities that are need blind to start with.

So basically, isn't it true that on average, poor people get much worse health care and education than richer people, which directly leads to them not qualifying for competitive jobs and not having lives as good as people who were born in more fortunate families.

Wouldn't that mean that US in some ways discriminates against poor people and that background is then very important. Correct me if I'm wrong please.

As far as I understood, in France things are quite different. Education is much cheaper right? Does that mean that actually, France brings more equality than the US?

It is impossible to say that any place on earth is completely and fully accepting of all people from all backgrounds, and there are definitely predjudices in the United States, but I feel that in at least some areas the culture here is very accepting.  I don't really know, as there are many places in the country I have not been, but the way I was raised has certainly led me to see cultural differences between people as a good thing.  Of course, now I go to MIT, which also gives me a biased view because MIT has so many people of diverse backgrounds.  I actually often find myself wondering how the rest of the U.S. compares to my experience.

@ Jovana :

Pour ce qui est de l'enseignement en France, les grandes écoles d'ingénierie sont en grandes parties publiques, et les frais d'inscription dans ces écoles sont très raisonnables. Toutefois d'après les statistiques, la majorité des étudiants des écoles d'ingénierie sont issus de milieux favorisés : Le père et la mère sont cadres, médecins...Je pense que l'état Français fait pleins d'efforts pour favoriser une égalité des chances en offrant des bourses, mais j'ai l'impression que l'environnement dans lequel a grandi l'enfant est aussi déterminant et pour ce dernier en ne peut garantir l'égalité.

La France a effectivement une bonne politique de redistribution ce qui permet à l'Etat d'intervienir dans l'enseignement, de financer les grandes écoles ... de sorte à rendre l'enseignement de qualité accessible à tous aussi bien aux français qu'aux étrangers. Cependant malgré un bagage intellectuel consequent il reste difficil pour quelqu'un qui n'est pas d'origine française de monter dans la hiérarchie. Par exemple plusieurs postes importants aux États-Unis sont occupés par des gens de couleur et ça ce n'est pas prêt d'arriver en France.

@ Frances Chen

Le fait de voir New York ne drevrait pas te surprendre car c'est une ville très représentative des Etats-unis ne serait ce qu'à cause de la promotion faite par le hip-hop américain. Je voudrais savoir si tu serais d'accord avec la réforme du système éducatif américan pour le rendre un peu français afin que les personnes de basses classes puissent avoir la chance de rejoindre des universités comme MIT.

@Pape Dione

In my opinion, there is no need for a reform in the university system of the US, as long as people are smart there is no need for things like "Affirmative action". There are both Public and Private schools, which suit the needs of any person, also, even if the prices for education are much higher, there are Financial Aid systems that can help the ones in need. 

:) And most importantly, at MIT, I think most people get Financial Aid, which proves that people with lower incomes can jump high bars.

je voudrais bein poser des questions sur le système éducatif en USA,Quelle différence existe t-elle entre les écoles privées et les écoles publiques?est ce que que les étudiants dans les deux types d'universités peuvent passer les meme concours,avoir les meme diplomes?

Et propos de l'aide financère que vous pouvez avoir,est ce que il ya des critaires ou c'est accessible à tous le monde?