Europe vs America: Cinema and Television

Captain Sasha May 27th, 2011

A reader, Chris commented here that while he likes Europe for what it offers, there are also some areas which he finds Europe lacking in. He uses France as an example and points out the apparent lack of variety in media, languages and culture in France as the ‘cons’ of living in Europe. While his criticism makes sense from his viewpoint as an American, an understanding of the European perspective would help one appreciate why things are that way in Europe. For better comprehension and readability, I will deal with each of these topics in a seperate article, starting with media (Cinema and TV).

Dumb and Dumber: Thats how American films look in Europe

The reader points out quite accurately that European cinema is not sensationalised enough as compared to American cinema. Which is understandable considering that the average American is used to sensationalism in films and media - in the form of slapstick comedies, stylised acting and over-the-top special effects with very little concern for realistic or artistic value. In mainstream American cinema, films never challenge the audience, never force them to think beyond their comfort levels and never contradict that values that Americans believe in or hold dear. Movies like Dom Durakov (Russia), A ma seour (France) and Sara (Poland) would be too uncomrtable for the typical American audience who prefer simplistic plots that center around their rigid concepts of of right-vs-wrong than the complexities of human mind and behaviour. This works for the American audience for whom films are not about art or understanding life, but a way to escape the boringness and durdgeries of the American lifestyle. Whil such movies appeal to teenagers in Europe who are yet to develop their full congnitive abilities; most adults find these films extremely over-the-top and an insult to their intelligence. Hence, European studios shy away from making such films for the European audience.

As for TV, France and other European countries have a lot fewer channels and shows than the United States. For an American, this seems constricting and lacking in variety. However, for Europeans this is quite acceptable as they watch far less TV than Americans; they’d rather spend the time bonding with family and friends. Watching TV for more than 3 hours a day would make you a sort of outcast in Europe (except during the Football World Cup season) while in the United States, it is quite normal to watch TV for 5 hours or more everyday. Americans watch TV so much that a lot of them base their judgements of the world and people around them by what they see on TV. As a result, a large number of TV shows have come up in United States, to cater to American tastes and to shape their public opinion on world events, foreign policy, ethics, fashion, sexual behaviour and every other topic that humans are interested in.

As a personal example, I don’t have a TV and watch around 4 - 5 films a month. In the United States, I’d be labelled a crazy and have a difficult social life given how TV and films dominate conversational topics in United States. In Europe, I am just a normal person like everyone else - we talk about news, travels, literature, people we have met and funny anecdotes in social sitatuations.

Further Reads:

The Guardian: Dumb Hollywood is Forever in debt to Europe
Hub Pages: French TV is not US TV.

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Possibly Related posts:

America , Europe , Myth Busters , Opinions , World Culture
Comments(4)

4 Responses to “Europe vs America: Cinema and Television”

# Joe on 18 Jul 2011 at 7:42 pm

In what Europeans say about American media is by in large true. In addition to American and international news being biased and very anti-American, most American movies and television shows are crap. Yes, most adults (Americans as well as Europeans and Asians) find these films extremely over-the-top and an insult to their intelligence. One of the major problems with Hollywood is that they are in the entertainment business so they have to make money on the worst common denominator – stupidity/ignorance/vulgarity/inaccuracy. This is done to fit a 30 minute plot, an hour plot, and a two hour plot that has for the most part a beginning, middle, and end to the story. Like that really happens in real life.

That is why a lot of Americans (35 years old and older) are shying away from these shows/movies more and more. They are tuning more and more to history/science/documentary/travel shows for entertainment and enlightenment. As for movies, the same age group is turning more and more towards realistic drama and crime movies, which also is in small numbers.

To add more insult to injury, most Hollywood producers have to put in a negative political message or a politically correct statement and assume most Americans are dumb and ignorant.

However, Americans like Europeans and Asians do want to escape sometimes with real stupid comedy. I saw the movie “Paul” and loved it. But movies like these for sheer entertainment are the exception and not the norm. The audience knows that movies like Paul, Harry Potter, Lords of the Ring, and 2001: A Space Odyssey take place in the framework of fantasy and not reality. While movies like Dumb and Dumber are supposed to take place in the framework of reality and it does not really work as entertainment because the plot cannot really occur in the framework of reality without displaying the real world consequences.

My advice to you Europeans, do not watch American shows or movies. Read a book or go out with friends.
# Ed on 08 Nov 2011 at 2:48 pm

I like American movies and TV shows. Sure, European movies are the (way) more sophisticated, mind-bogglin’ ones but when I watch movies I would like to be entertained in the first place. So yes, give me a bunch of multi-million-dollar-blockbusters please.
# michijo on 09 Sep 2012 at 9:24 pm

When I was younger, I liked European films and art, but as I grew older I less and less respected them. I am an American, but don’t really like American culture. I am more fascinated with Asian culture and study Chinese literature in university. I feel like Asian art has such a more refined view of life than Europe or America.
# je1156 on 11 Nov 2012 at 6:04 am

Thank you for your post…I found it to be informative, if a bit simplistic. That is perfectly understandable, though, given that you have probably very little exposure to the TV programming that the average American is exposed to. With your permission, I’d like to shed a bit of light on a few things:

1) Most Americans receive their programming via standard transmission (ie, “rabbit ears” or external ariel antenna), and so are quite limited in their viewing choices, usually local network affilliated programs (which are without cost). An increasing number, though, are opting for subscriptions to satellite dish providers (which vary in cost depending on the amount of additional programming provided). Therefore, economic factors are the main consideration as far as American’s viewing habits are concerned, NOT programme content or quality.

2) Programming in America is geared (as it is in the rest of the world) to “target audiences”, based on age, class, or ethnicity. This pretty well guarantees that some shows or movies will appeal to the youngest groups of viewers, who historically watch more silly, inane, and sensational stuff. These are the programs that receive the most “hype” in the press, simply because younger people watch more TV. However, with the gradually increasing average age of Americans, this trend is beginning to change.

3) The advent of internet-based video rental sites (ie, Netflix) is beginning to make inroads on traditional TV viewing habits (broadband internet is more commonly available and cheaper than satellite dish or cable TV) is exposing Americans to movies and shows that they may have never been aware of, and an ever-increasing fan base for international programming is forming.

There are several other points that we could bring forth (the over-simplification and stereotyping of Americans, for instance), but this should be enough to help give some understanding of some of the factors contributing to the viewing habits of Americans.

Thank you.