Non-Americans Are Sharing The Things From American Movies They Were Shocked To Discover Are Actually Very Common Here In The US
“I thought it was a Hollywood construction for sitcoms.”
Witnessing something in real life for the first time that you only imagined in movies is one of those unforgettable life moments.
So when Reddit user u/Unlikely_Praline9442 asked the question, “Non-Americans of Reddit, what is an American thing you see in movies that you thought was fake but is actually real?” In r/AskReddit, I knew it would have some hilariously mind-blowing discoveries:
1. “Cowboys. I mean, I knew they were real and that some people dressed like the Hollywood version of cowboys, but I did not realize it was still a present-day job and that people still dressed that way to do it.”
2. “Fireflies are pretty wild; you sure do just have swarms of glowing bugs.”
—u/WehingSounds
3. “All the smoke/steam coming out the vents on the road in New York in the movies.”
4. “The length of a CVS receipt.”
—u/OptimistPrime527
5. “High school football. I thought the crowds were always exaggerated in movies to make the games seem important. Turns out you guys actually do really care about high school football.”
6. “Had family come to visit from Guatemala and ended up taking them to a major junior hockey game, and there were a decent number of fights that broke out. Asked my cousin how they liked the game so far. They responded with, ‘It’s just like I see it on shows/movies.'”
—u/PraiseTheBeanpole
7. “The over-the-top Halloween parties where everyone took a large amount of effort to dress up. Yep, that is accurate.”
8. “The size of portions. I used to see massive portions served at diners or hole-in-the-wall restaurants in the movies. I went to Texas on a work trip and realized there that it was real. I had a lot of leftovers that trip!”
—u/CurrentRooster4800
9. “A stressful tax filing deadline. We don’t really have that in my country, especially not for worker wages, so I thought it was a Hollywood construction for sitcoms.”
10. “‘Have a nice day’ everywhere all the time and blueberry muffins.”
—u/AlfredLuan
11. “Garbage disposals in sinks. I only ever saw one for sale over here, and it was very expensive. Still kind of seems like a sci-fi thing to me.”
12. “The fraternity/sorority scene in college. I was an international student at UT Austin, and it was a crazy realization that the movie depictions of college life are actually underwhelming. I witnessed shit that could not be legally portrayed in movies. You people are wild.”
—u/lucas14qr
13. “The yellow school buses that have a flip-out stop sign.”
14. “The insane medical advertisements with a million side effects said in rapid fire at the end. We visited my husband’s bestie in 2019, and when we were watching something on TV while eating dinner, we saw our first one. Genuinely turned to him like, ‘That’s satire, right?'”
—u/Myhandsarecold11
15. “The moss hanging from the trees in the south. I went on the train from Memphis to New Orleans and was really surprised to actually see it. I know that sounds really daft, but it’s something you don’t see in the UK. They looked really beautiful.”
16. “Manhattan. I remember my first trip and was like, ‘Oh my God, this is all fucking real.'”
—u/fenton7
And finally, here’s one that just feels like IYKYK:
17. “Red Solo Cups. I thought they were just a Hollywood prop used to hide alcohol brands or signify a ‘party scene.’ I went to a college party in Ohio, and they were literally everywhere. I was shocked.”
Are you a non-American who wants to share something from an American movie that you thought was fake, but turned out to be totally real? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments, or if you’d like to remain anonymous you can fill out the form.