You sometimes see Americans online who obsess over specifically Japan and Britain, holding them up as wholesome utopias that do everything far better than the US and are all incredibly polite. How prevalent are these views?

28 comments

1. They exist, but it’s not something I’d really call “prevalent”.

2. The UK is definitely not viewed as a wholesome utopia, at least not in my experience. Japan on the other hand is, mainly because of their scientific advancement.

3. Um, definitely not Britan. Japan, its typically just the weebs/anime nerds.

4. They exist, but are by no means prevalent or even common.

5. These views aren’t that prevalent. They are fringe obsessions. So sure you find some people that hold those opinions but we are a country of 330 million so you are definitely going to have some fanatics.

6. Japan more than Britain, but in my experience neither. In fact I’d say where I live at least Japan is shit on more than anything.

7. These are definitely minority positions. Some people are quite enchanted with other cultures – and there’s no harm in that – but most adults with the capacity to think critically wouldn’t believe that everything those countries do is perfect.

8. I definitely know people who are aspirational English gentry but it’s a weird branch of upper middle class affectation and not terribly common

9. Like the other posters, I don’t hear of Britain mentioned specifically online. Maybe Europe as a whole, or the Nordic countries specifically.

   I want to say it’s more of an online thing. In daily life, the topic of foreign countries doesn’t come up very much, at least for me. If someone has some knowledge or experience about another country, that will be considered interesting regardless of which country it is.

10. All of the aboos aren’t particularly common, but they tend to travel in packs. Weeaboos, Teaboos, Wehraboos, Freeaboos.

11. I’ve never heard of people be super into being British – ever.

    I know some people that are into like Anime and Manga being into Japan. I’m not into that stuff but there are some pretty cool aspects about Japan. And some shitty ones, too — just like here.

12. It’s a huge country (330million) with many, many different world views. But I’d say overall there are two man viewpoints: people who love the US and think things are just better here and that our systems are the best in the world…and those who think the US is falling behind other global north nations and that our healthcare and educational systems and our infrastructure just don’t stack up with Europe and parts of Asia.

    Me personally? I’m a rare exception who’s somewhere in the middle haha. I don’t think anywhere is perfect. And I think the US is far from it. But I think there are good parts of nearly every country on earth that we could all learn something from.

13. Not at all. People who obsess over japan are typically referred to as “weebs”. I’ve never heard Britain or Europe(except for the small Uber rich ones) get romanticized

14. I think that just as Donald Trump made a lot of non-Americans question their stereotypes on us, Brexit and Boris Johnson had the same impact outside of Britain.

15. Super super uncommon. I think most Americans have a positive view of the UK and Japan because we consume a lot of their media.

16. Never heard of either. If anything Britain is viewed as a little trashy or gross with some old elegance that may be slightly desired. Japan is really not talked about much in general.

17. Uh I don’t think anybody is that into the UK. Maybe in the 60s/early 80s at the height of british musical influence, some people really liked the UK a lot, but I don’t know anyone who is superrrrr into the UK or cares about more than a couple singers/celebs from there

18. I’ve never encountered this.

    In my interactions at least, Britain is viewed like the US but with healthcare availability, and Japan is viewed as a country with a very poor work culture.

    The countries I typically see viewed as much nicer than the US are Switzerland, Germany, and Norway.

19. I never hear anyone online claim the UK is a utopia, especially post Brexit. Japan is mostly seen as a utopia by weebs and is liked by some Conservatives for their immigration and criminal justice systems.

20. Not very. I doubt the majority of Americans even consider other cultures.

21. I wouldn’t say it’s prevalent for the UK. I’ve lived there for 6 years now and while it’s one of the top countries for Americans to immigrate to, I don’t think most of us view it as a utopia. There’s pros and cons to every country and while I prefer living in the UK, it’s by no means perfect.

22. There’s a subset of racist jerks who see Japan as a “successful ethno-state.” They overlook that ethnic issues in Japan are far more complex than they seem at a casual glance.

    For example, the Japanese agricultural sector is dependent on Chinese and SEA labor for field work.

23. The average American spends exactly 0% of their time thinking about stuff like this. Those are foreign countries thousands of miles away that have zero relevance to everyday life here.

24. 99% of Reddit, 1% of overall Americans.

25. I mean utopia no, people are aware of issues with bith countries but living/visiting would be a great experience

26. Almost nonexistent. the Average American is well aware that they are better off in America.

27. I’d say they’re prevalent in teenagers who are just learning about globalism. 12-14 I’d say is the typical age. Then, they do more research, 15+, and go “oh nevermind it sucks there too.” That’s about how old I was, how old my friends were, more distant acquaintances, and so forth.

28. Legit no American is saying this about Britain lol