for SL
February 2023
In Hollywood’s eyes, Russians are cold, inscrutable, and humorless. They are stereotyped as the mafia who drink vodka in the morning and keep a pet bear. In fact, when I first came to the US nine years ago, I remember repeatedly getting asked whether I owned a bear after saying I was Russian. In middle school, people began asking me about vodka, too. If Russians are seen as the perfect villains by Americans, it is fit to ask what Russians think of Americans. The answer is rather obvious: while Americans see Russians as evil, Russians view Americans as pretentiously suave.
That stereotype doesn’t actually come from the times of the Cold War. Rather, it’s because, for example, Americans smile at strangers in the streets. My first week in Madison, I remember driving to Walmart at 11 p.m. with my family. I tagged along with my mom around the store, and after a few minutes, my dad ran up to us dumbfounded. He told us that he was walking down an aisle and three gangster-looking dudes strolled past. To his horror, when they passed him, they SMILED. My dad tensed up, thinking they were about to demand to see the contents of his wallet. Instead, they simply walked past. Their smile was just that: a smile.
I had my share of such encounters as well. Responding to a smile, or even worse, a hello, became worse than a physics exam. Whenever I saw a person in sight when walking my dog, I would cross to the other side of the street to avoid a confrontation. I’m embarrassed to say that I still do that. Even with friends, unless I have any business or anything worthy to say, I don’t make any gesture towards them, which sometimes comes off as impolite. It's not customary to smile in Russia; not because Russians are all rude, but rather because people are more distrustful of each other. Historically, Russia has been distraught with poverty, wars, and terrors that have produced high levels of violence. Small, but dangerous encounters became common and rarely punished by law. By attracting any unnecessary attention to themselves, one was risking becoming a target. Naturally, Russians are terrified of “polite strangers.” Perhaps, instead of sanctioning Russia for the ongoing war in Ukraine, the US could have simply sent a few hundred Americans to Moscow to cause massive civil unrest.
The stereotypical portrayal of Russians in American films has long bothered my nerves. I couldn't stand the cliche plot Stranger Things fell into in Season 3. Evil Russians! The world has never seen anything as profound and creative. Russians don’t smile at strangers for the sake of being polite, but when we do, it's most certainly genuine and well deserved.
Now that Putin is waging an aggressive war in Ukraine, it's easy to fall for the old image of Russians. Under his unyielding power, the ordinary Russian is often overlooked as a political identity tramples one that is cultural or ethnic. It is important to remember that cultures aren’t defined merely by language, holidays or food, but body language and mannerism as well. It's important for every individual to recognize why other customs seem strange to them to lessen a source of unconscious xenophobia they might possess.
February 2023
In Hollywood’s eyes, Russians are cold, inscrutable, and humorless. They are stereotyped as the mafia who drink vodka in the morning and keep a pet bear. In fact, when I first came to the US nine years ago, I remember repeatedly getting asked whether I owned a bear after saying I was Russian. In middle school, people began asking me about vodka, too. If Russians are seen as the perfect villains by Americans, it is fit to ask what Russians think of Americans. The answer is rather obvious: while Americans see Russians as evil, Russians view Americans as pretentiously suave.
That stereotype doesn’t actually come from the times of the Cold War. Rather, it’s because, for example, Americans smile at strangers in the streets. My first week in Madison, I remember driving to Walmart at 11 p.m. with my family. I tagged along with my mom around the store, and after a few minutes, my dad ran up to us dumbfounded. He told us that he was walking down an aisle and three gangster-looking dudes strolled past. To his horror, when they passed him, they SMILED. My dad tensed up, thinking they were about to demand to see the contents of his wallet. Instead, they simply walked past. Their smile was just that: a smile.
I had my share of such encounters as well. Responding to a smile, or even worse, a hello, became worse than a physics exam. Whenever I saw a person in sight when walking my dog, I would cross to the other side of the street to avoid a confrontation. I’m embarrassed to say that I still do that. Even with friends, unless I have any business or anything worthy to say, I don’t make any gesture towards them, which sometimes comes off as impolite. It's not customary to smile in Russia; not because Russians are all rude, but rather because people are more distrustful of each other. Historically, Russia has been distraught with poverty, wars, and terrors that have produced high levels of violence. Small, but dangerous encounters became common and rarely punished by law. By attracting any unnecessary attention to themselves, one was risking becoming a target. Naturally, Russians are terrified of “polite strangers.” Perhaps, instead of sanctioning Russia for the ongoing war in Ukraine, the US could have simply sent a few hundred Americans to Moscow to cause massive civil unrest.
The stereotypical portrayal of Russians in American films has long bothered my nerves. I couldn't stand the cliche plot Stranger Things fell into in Season 3. Evil Russians! The world has never seen anything as profound and creative. Russians don’t smile at strangers for the sake of being polite, but when we do, it's most certainly genuine and well deserved.
Now that Putin is waging an aggressive war in Ukraine, it's easy to fall for the old image of Russians. Under his unyielding power, the ordinary Russian is often overlooked as a political identity tramples one that is cultural or ethnic. It is important to remember that cultures aren’t defined merely by language, holidays or food, but body language and mannerism as well. It's important for every individual to recognize why other customs seem strange to them to lessen a source of unconscious xenophobia they might possess.