Just watched this segment on Australian TV… I think it typifies the stereotypical view most of the world has of what America represents. The people they interviewed all appeared to be “normal” people that looked to me like a valid cross-section of society. Anyway, here's a link to a realaudio feed of it, or you can read the goofy transcript below:
Interviewer: Look, I know a lot of people give America a bum rap for being stupid and knowing nothing about the world, but the reality couldn't be farther from the truth, as I discovered on the streets here, asking US locals about the very world their country runs…
Interviewer: Kofi Anan is a drink. True or false?
American 1: Coffee is a drink!
American 2: Coffee and WHAT?
American 3: It sounds like a law firm.
Interviewer: Who is Tony Blair?
American 1: I don't even know.
Interviewer: Any guess?
American 1: A skater?
American 2: Tony Blair is an actor!
American 3: Linda Blair's brother?
Interviewer: Which countries are in the “axis of evil”?
American 1: Um… I know Germany's one of them… I'm not sure about the other ones.
American 2: OK… California. New York? Florida …and I believe…. Mississipi?
American 3: Jerusalem.
American 4: Jerusalem.
Interviewer: There's more than one.
American 4: I think all of them!
American 5: Does it start with us?
American 6: OK, I'm a little mixed up over the Palestinians and the Israelis. OK… which one is throwing the rocks?
American 7: Oh, I can't think of the others… The name of the others… The fellow with the turban thing and … I call it a diaper head (laughs) really!
Interviewer: Who was the first man on the moon?
American 1: John Glenn.
American 2: Armstrong walked on the moon, but I think it was a Russian… I'm not sure.
American 3: Well, I've got to tell you. Some people don't believe that happened… they believe that was reincarnated in Arizona somewhere.
Interviewer: What is a mosque?
American 1: Don't have any idea.
Interviewer: You want to guess?
American 1: An animal?
American 2: I have no intelligent guess.
Interviewer: OK, do you want to make a stupid guess?
Interviewer: How many kidneys does a person have?
American: One.
Interviewer: What is 'collateral damage'?
American: Well, they just made a film about it, but that's definitely not what it is. It probably has something to do with what the movie was about… but not neccessarily related to the movie. Do you know what I mean?
Interviewer: How many world wars have there been?
American: Three.
Interviewer: Which state does KFC come from?
American: What, the chicken? I don't know… I really don't know.
Interviewer: OK, do you know what KFC stands for?
American: Kentucky Fried Chicken, right?
Interviewer: 'Star Wars' is based on a true story. True or false?
American: True.
Interviewer: What are Hiroshima and Nagasaki famous for?
American: Uh… What is it… Zudo Wrestling? Or whatever…
Interviewer: Where is the West Bank?
American 1: On the East Coast probably.
American 2: Uh… I'd say somewhere in New York.
Interviewer: How many Eiffel towers are there in Paris?
American: I'd say about ten.
Interviewer: What is al Qaeda?
American 1: al Qaeda is a group, a suicide group in Israel in the Middle East. They do suicide bombs and stuff. The president of it is Yassar Arafat. Everybody knows that.
American 2: al Qaeda is a wing of the Masonic order.
Interviewer: Where was the Berlin wall?
American: (long silence) Believe me, I don't know the answer to this question… But I'm thinking… Israel?
Interviewer: What is the main religion of Israel?
American: Muslim.
Interviewer: The language they speak in Latin America is 'Latin'. True or false?
American: The WHAT?
Note: Since there's been some confusion, I should point out that this is a CNNNN story; it's satire along the lines of the CBC's “Talking To Americans” show/segment.
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