An American family is getting their regular
fix of news from all of their favorite news channels. Of course, after a good few doses of international
news they are left paranoid and angry, contemplating as always the chaos that is just around the
corner. From one part of the world terror looms. The local news shows them a terror meter with
the dial set to high, even though their town is so remote it still holds an annual scarecrow
festival. From another channel, a giant superpower that
just keeps getting bigger covers the TV in a red mist. As for those Russians, well, they’re always
up to no good. News about North Korea has been somewhat quiet
for a while, but one thing’s for sure, thinks the family, evil lurks in that secret state
and it’s only a matter of time before the proverbial poo hits the fan. It’s just a regular day in front of TV,
enough to raise someone’s blood pressure. The Soviet Union is a thing of the past, but
it’s interesting if you look at how the Soviets depicted their enemy number one – the
USA of course – during the Cold War. While the U.S. was talking about reds under
the bed and showing countless movies where it seemed every Russian character was innately
evil, the Russians had their own creative lies about Americans. Back in those dark days there was the Soviet
union’s “Central Committee’s Department of Agitation and Propaganda” and one thing
it wouldn’t allow was any mention of peace between the nations. If you were a journalist in Soviet Russia,
going against this could have landed you in serious trouble. Still, many people did have pro-American sentiments
just as in the U.S. many people didn’t fear the beast from the East. Some people just saw a lot of grey areas,
rather than a Good vs. Evil scenario. That kind of thought was suppressed as much
as was possible, and the Russians tried their best to stop any radio content coming through
that might not mirror what the government told its citizens. Meanwhile, in the US the government made sure
people were aware of the “Red Scare” and a possible communist takeover. In Russia, things were a little different. In movies and books the KGB was not the baddie,
the CIA was, and Britain’s MI6 didn’t come out looking too good, either. Under Stalin, any kind of movie that was deemed
not sufficiently patriotic was banned. That went for a lot of music, too. Just like in American movies, if they wanted
a villain then they chose an American. In fact, from the years 1946 to 1950 almost
half of all the bad guys and girls in Soviet movies were American. In some films in the West, the Soviet forces
were depicted as engaging in war crimes, but you could watch content about the same topic
in a Soviet film and it would show the opposite being true. Still, it’s said a lot of people watching
those movies weren’t exactly convinced and there were Russians who still had some amount
of admiration for American culture, a culture which by comparison was very free. After Stalin popped his clogs, things changed
a bit. No longer was artistic content under strict
guidance by the government, although movies still tried to depict Soviet life as wonderful
and American life not quite the wonderland it was advertised as being. That’s old news and the Cold War is over,
although according to one analyst the relationship between the two countries is still somewhat
frosty. In fact, in 2018, the Atlantic asked, “Is
China or Russia America’s Defining Rival?” So, is there still such a thing as anti-American
propaganda in Russia? That’s hard to say, but since Russia is
such a powerful nation it may have interests around the globe that don’t exactly gel
with American interests, so sure, there’s some amount of conflict between the two countries. There’s also the fact that Russia gave political
asylum to Edward Snowden, a wanted man in the USA, a hero to some Americans and a criminal
to others. “I was very much a person the most powerful
government in the world wanted to go away,” Snowden once said about the country where
he was born. Just last year Russia granted him citizenship. What we’re trying to say is unlike the old
days there’s no overt propaganda going on, although you are going to get two different
takes on stories depending on what media you read. You won’t hear these things said about the
U.S. in Russia right now, but they were commonplace in the past:
“Monopolies feed fascism on American soil.” “Myth of universal equality and equal opportunities
for everyone in US.” Another favorite in the media back then was
to talk about the decaying West, or the rotting West, and at times you might have heard the
degeneration of the West. Those terms might have fallen out of fashion,
but only in 2017 after Russians were polled, 78 percent of them said the U.S. meddles with
Russian politics. On the other hand, when Americans were polled
the same year, 68 percent of them believed Russia was meddling in American politics. 31 percent of Russians believed their government
was meddling with U.S. domestic affairs, while 55 percent of Americans said their government
was meddling in Russian affairs. But, did those Russians have a negative view
of the USA? 76 percent did in fact have a negative view
and 81 percent said that the USA wanted to undermine Russia regarding the world stage. Still, a year later was the Russia–U.S.
summit in Helsinki and that might have softened things a bit, especially with young Russians,
because another poll said 57 percent of Russians aged 18 to 29 held a positive view of America. Even now, if you watch what might be called
state-sponsored Russian TV news, you’ll most likely hear that anyone who opposes the
Putin government is being paid by the US or in league with the US. So, while Facebook and Twitter release reports
about Russian propaganda being purged from their respective platforms, Russian news is
warning folks about how American propaganda infiltrates their country. In one documentary, a Russian official warned
that the US was actively trying to create extremist groups in Russia to cause chaos. Politicians in the US have said exactly the
same about Russia. Talking about Facebook, one thing it did to
try to cut down on propaganda being disseminated by what it calls “bad actors”, was to
create more transparency around ads. Russia did a similar thing not long ago, creating
the Russian foreign agent law. It’s not so much about ad spending, but
anyone receiving foreign donations will have to report it. This has led to summary raids and even Human
Rights Watch coming under the radar. After that, Putin came up with the Russian
undesirable organizations law. This gives prosecutors the power to say that
an organization is undesirable. In short, if you are found to be a threat
to national security you could end up in jail, and we all know how vague the term threat
to national security is. As for movies, just in 2000 there was a Russian
film released that had some amount of Good Vs. Bad in it. The Russians were good of course. The movie, called “Brother 2”, had a hardcore
Russian guy bring down a corrupt American business tycoon. This wasn’t blatantly showing Russians as
the out and out good guys, similar to “Rocky 4” for the American side, but it tried to
show that Russians believed in the strength of national identity more than mere money. It would be hard these days for Russia to
decry American-style consumerism and talk about cultural degeneration, because many
of the leaders and business tycoons in the country are ridiculously rich and aren’t
shy about their fondness for luxury goods. The days of bashing consumerism are done,
but Russia still pulls the “we’re all in this together” card. Americans on the other hand, might be depicted
as more individualistic and so more capable of selfishness. So, is there anti-US sentiment in Russia now? Yes, is the answer, but it’s not on the
scale as it once was and it seems a lot of young Russians don’t buy into the fear. Ok, moving on to Asia. Not North Korea, but China. We’ll save the secret nation until last. Is there anti-American sentiment in China,
just as some Americans would have you believe that China is a threat that just keeps getting
bigger? Anti-American sentiments go back a long way,
but let’s skip communism because we’ve touched on those days and let’s not bother
with the notorious Mao Zedong. What about anti-Americanism of late? Well, in 2011, half a million Chinese people
responded to an online poll that asked them about the death of Osama Bin Laden. 60 percent of them said it was a sad day,
with some people saying Bin Laden was “an anti-US warrior.” Others feared that after his death the US
would get tough on China. In short, much of this had to do with China’s
support of Pakistan, and the fact the Chinese government took a dim view of the US operations. To give you an idea of what some Chinese people
thought, here’s what one person wrote on a web forum, “American logic is the logic
of a gangster, Pakistan! You hold on, China is behind you.” Another person wrote this, “The US politics
of power and hegemony demonstrates that in order to serve its own interests, the US will
achieve these by hook or crook showing utter disregard for others.” That’s not something you’d hear on CNN. Ok, so you have that word hegemony, which
relates to authority and domination. When we are talking about sentiments of a
powerful nation, there are always going to be some people who fear the Big Other. For Americans, China and Russia might be the
Big other, but that works both ways. Whether the media supports that outlook depends
on which media you are reading, but for sure there is some anti-American sentiment in China
just as there’s anti-Chinese sentiment in some American media. Under the presidency of Donald Trump things
heated up a bit because he began a trade war with China. It was around this time that China suddenly
started showing old Korean War films again. The US doesn’t come out looking too good
in those movies. One such movie that was recently aired was
“The Battle on Shangganling Mountain.” That came out in 1956, but suddenly Chinese
people were watching it again. The basic premise is evil imperialist Americans
invade the Korean peninsula because that’s what good-for-nothing evil empires do. The big-nosed American troops you won’t
be surprised to hear are defeated by the Chinese. Newspapers in China were also quick to remind
people about the general badness of the USA, as seen in the movie. The general message is, the USA will do anything
to stop the rise of China. The imperialists want to remain imperial. This is how a Chinese blogger put it, “On
the surface, this is a trade war. However, it is actually a larger battle to
protect the life and death of new China.” We should also remind you that China, like
the USA, is a diverse country and of course not all people share this opinion. Some people wrote that the US is behind the
pandemic. Others call America a country of outlandish
behavior and shaky morals, and a lot of crime. As the trade war was going on China’s Culture
and Tourism Ministry started putting out fresh travel warnings about the rampant theft and
shootings in the US. Like Russia has done, China at times paints
a picture which exposes the underbelly of America, as if everyone walks around with
a gun and a bad attitude and respects nothing but themselves. The Chinese theme on the other hand is everyone
working together like honey bees in a hive. There’s also the fact that China didn’t
censor the Tarantino movie, “Django Unchained”, which was very usual given the graphic violence
and China’s heavy-handed censors. It’s thought the reason China left it alone
was to show citizens that America was a brutal place where rich white men oppressed minorities. Hmm, we’re not sure if China shows movies
about its own long history of brutal slavery… We are sure there’s a lot of anti-American
sentiment among the Chinese people, but then every country has a section of bitter, flag-waving,
folks who have chosen to dislike other cultures without much thought. That’s exactly why most Americans were gung-ho
about invading Iraq, and it’s why some Chinese will see America as the epitome of evil. These people are often a minority, though,
and most folks are way more discerning about who they dislike. We must not think everyone thinks a certain
way or we are the victims of propaganda. Do you remember when the late, great Anthony
Bourdain went to Iran? He said he met the warmest people there he’d
ever met after travelling the globe. TV in America had led him to believe Iranians
hated Americans. That wasn’t true, in spite of crippling
sanctions and the fact the Brits and Americans installed a dictator there in the past so
they could steal the oil. But if there’s any country in the world
where America is at the forefront of the axis of evil, it is in North Korea, a country where
Americans are depicted as ravenous, pot-bellied, big-nosed capitalists that will eat your children
and drop bombs on your grandparents all because you won’t open a McDonald’s on every street
corner. The ugly American has been a thing in North
Korea for a long time, especially after American troops were accused of committing war crimes
and massacring innocent civilians during the Korean War. We are talking women and children here, and
the women were often used by servicemen before they were executed. Even though you mainly hear that in the North,
there’s still a fair bit of anti-Americanism in the South. Just look at the South’s soaps and movies,
and like many countries in Asia, the white man is often depicted as a brute, especially
if he’s American. North Korea says those massacres included
35,000 people, although this is disputed. That many people may have died, but it’s
not ever been fully understood who was behind the massacre. Was it South Koreans, or was it ordered by
the Americans? That’s still a mystery, but for sure, terrible
things happened, and the US army has committed other war crimes in Korea. That’s the reason when school kids are taught
that US soldiers “hammered nails into victims' heads” and “sliced off women's breasts”,
they might believe it. In no other country is America depicted as
such an evil place. The country is the antithesis of everything
that’s good in the world, according to North Korean propaganda. To North Koreans, only one thing matters to
Americans, and that’s money. They worship money, and will do anything it
takes to get more. You can see posters in the country that show
American servicemen men putting bullets in children’s heads. You’ll also see North Korean soldiers easily
overpowering American soldiers. If you watch TV in North Korea you’ll have
to watch a lot of government broadcasts and be told time and again how happy you are. Like Stalinist Russia, there will be a lot
of clapping going on. If you read news, you’ll see phrases such
as “imperialist American invaders” and “bloodthirsty murderous American imperialists”. Basically, Americans are depicted as savages. The problem is, North Koreans can’t exactly
access history books or online resources. They can find North Korean websites, which
often blame the world’s woes on the US and talk about how North Korea is a principled
or even perfect culture. You can visit some North Korean websites today
and there’s no shortage of stories talking about “blessed people” but as we scanned
the latest news, we didn’t see any explicit anti-US propaganda. Nonetheless, go to the movie websites and
you’ll find your fair share of movies showing Americans as evil capitalists, such as the
classic, “Nameless Heroes'”. Look a little further, and you can find stories
right now that talk about North Korea’s “victories against global imperialism”
and the many “sanctions by the hostile foreign forces.” You can read about how in the past the US
used horrifying biological weapons against North Koreans, although these days it seems
the country has calmed down somewhat with its anti-American message. In 2018, North Korea even cancelled its hugely
popular “anti-US imperialism” march. Of late, it’s reported that the country
doesn’t push too hard in regards to calling the US a “rotten, diseased, pirate nation.” Still, sketches of missiles hitting the US
capital continue to exist and you’ll regularly hear about how the US is hurting North Korea,
which is partly true given the harsh sanctions imposed on the country. You can also go to the online bookshop and
find classics such as, “The US Imperialists Started the Korean War” and the 2003 book,
“US-The Empire of Terrorism.” If North Koreans have read those, we imagine
some of them see the USA as the big bad wolf that at any time could come and blow their
house down. Still, over the last couple of years Anti-American
propaganda posters have been taken down in the capital, Pyongyang. Defectors have said that when they were in
North Korea, the USA was painted as the “mortal enemy”, and as one young man put it, “basically
an evil being.” That same guy said he was taught to believe
all Americans had “hideous, huge noses” and “scary-looking eyes.” This is propaganda 101, making your enemy
look inhuman. Most nations have done it. The defector and others were taught in Kindergarten
that this evil must be smashed, and they even sang songs about that. He also said that when school sports day came
around one of the games was to run at a dummy dressed as an American soldier, stab it, and
run back. They enjoyed it, too, since they’d grown
up seeing posters of American soldiers hammering nails in helpless women’s heads. One guy said he was told in school that US
troops took the unborn babies out of mothers and gave them to hungry dogs. Some guys interviewed said when living in
North Korea they had no doubt at all that their own army was stronger than the USA’s
and if a war should happen, North Korea would be the winning side. One guy said he was surprised when he got
to South Korea and the Americans he met were friendly and joked a lot. It was nothing like he’d learned in school. Although, another guy said that while his
beliefs changed, he was surprised about the US’s high crime and gun violence and also
the conflict of races. He was actually scared he’d become embroiled
in that since he was Asian. In fact, another guy visited the US and after
watching news every day he was petrified that he might get shot. Still, he enjoyed his freedom. So, to end this, you will meet Russians and
Chinese people with very diverse opinions about the U.S. as you will meet Americans
with diverse opinions about those countries, but the problem with North Korea is that it's
very hard to get access to people’s real opinions. It’s very likely that they harbor a lot
of negative feelings towards the US. Now you need to watch, “What It Is REALLY
Like Living In North Korea?” Or, have a look at, “Real Reason Why China
Wants To Expand.”
