Being the Bad Guy

For many years, as I watched movies and television programs, I wondered about the "bad guys" that were portrait. As I was growing up it was the Indians, the Russians, or generic Communists, the Germans always make detestable villains, and of course now we have the Muslims.

As I have sat in dark theaters I have wondered what it must be like to be Native American, or Russian or any of the other nationalities who we use for our villains, to sit an watch their ethnic group used in such a way. Are they offend by the portrayal? Are they hurt? Do they feel discriminated against?

This comes to mind because I have just watched a British drama set just after World War 2 in a small British coastal town. In this episode a local girl is involved with a black American soldier. The local British community doesn't bat an eye but the American soldiers and their commanders are up in arms - white woman, black man - the nightmare of American racists.

The Americans are portrayed in a very negative light - arrogant, sneaky, pushy, willing to do anything to get things their way, cold, money hungry, willing to walk over anyone who disagreed with them.

The racial malice and intolerance were hard to watch. As one of the British characters said to the main black character, " I still don't know why you would fight for the Americans after the way they treat colored people." He said he did it because it was his country and he hoped that one day things would change.

At first I did feel offended and hurt that Americans would be portrayed in this light, yet I know this behavior, and worse, has been too common in some areas over the years. I think it was seeing it from the British perspective and how ugly it made us look. I wanted to say,"Hey, there may be some who act that way but not most Americans, not ME!"

This is actually the second program I have seen where America is the villain. They may not yet have us as evil terrorists holding innocent people hostage a'la Diehard, but they certainly seem to have our stereotypical national arrogance and superiority complex to a T.

I hope that the perception of the US changes over the next few years to one of people who care for each other, all the peoples of the world and the planet. To those who are given much, much is required.