author_by_night | The Dangers of Americana and other members of the Patrioticus family (Reply)

I was reading the FAP forums, and I saw a thread on why American OC's are automatically written as Sues.

Well... here's my take.

Her name, as the cut title says, is Americana Patrioticus.

She appears in several stories in which an American ventures another country - it's usually somewhere in Europe.

So Americana's plane lands, and as soon as she steps off, she is brought to her destination in a horse-drawn chariot. The aristocratic "Old Worlders" are astonished to see her blue jeans. Only men wear them! And she's wearing a sleeveless t-shirt... what a plebe!

Americana snaps her fingers, and sings:

You don't have to be this way

Embrace the American way

For we are new

Land where prudism died

Land that's not snobified

Oh wave my flag in your face

The American way*

Everyone claps, goes home, and soon, the Queen of England is surfing in a bikini singing to Britney Spears.

The sad thing is, these stories frequent bookshelves, blockbuster shelves, and fanfic archives. People don't seem to get some very crucial things:

1. Americans are actually the prudes. Sexual stuff, to many of us, is to shock or humor.

2. Bridget Jones was English, and come on, can we really call her a prude?

3. Yes, people fled various countries to America for freedom. We've had people from America go to other countries for freedom too.

4. They are not all of noble blood. Oh, and a lot of European countries are Constitutional Monarchies.

5. Not everyone has to be American.

And it's not just Americans; I think JKR wrote Fleur as condescending towards Britain for a very satirical reason. People like to think their ways are better.

Again, not all person-moves-to-another-country stories are bad.. and I'm living proof that it happens IRL. However, people tend to write it so that Their Country is the better one... and that's when those stories go wrong.

So, all of you who feel the need to write such a story - go ahead; just make sure nobody turns into one of the Patrioticus relatives.