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Uh Oh Canada?

I was sitting at home last night watching a show I don't watch very often called "King of the Hill." They were playing one of the very last episodes in their long TV run and I had never seen it before. The episode was entitled "Uh-Oh Canada." I often enjoy watching the almost offensively silly view that Americans have of Canadian's as little ninnies, wearing preppy vests, speaking in a Minnisotan accent, and ending every second sentence with a pronounced "Eh".

In this episode Hank Hill and his family and friends find their summer festivities being threatened by their new uppity Canadian neighbours. One of the group has decided to go away for the summer and thought it would be fun to switch homes for three months with a family from Toronto. Hank in his usual bid to be the best neighbour possible is left trying to convince his friends that the Canadians will be just like anyone else. To his surprise this family is rude and arrogant and only interested in everything related to Canada. They mock Hank's football, beer, and lifestyle. They even committ the ultimate blasphemy for Hank saying that he should be using a Canadian lawn mower since his grass was looking a bit chopped up.
This all ended in a drunken game of chicken aboard each Countries respective lawnmower. Of course the police show up right before they hurt each other and throw the both of them in jail for DUI. Hank being an American citizen has bail set immediately and is bailed out and we are left to believe that the Canadian will rot in jail for life. In true American style wannabe heroism, Hank comes to the rescue and is able to bail the Canadian out of jail and is even kind enough to let his family sleep on their outdoor couches while they wait for him. They end the show with the Canadian family driving off in a hurry without saying thanks. Everyone is angry about this except for Hank who just scratches his head and starts a speech about how Canada might be annoying but its America's job to protect us since we're helpless without them.

Usually I just laugh at this kind of thing, but this one actually made me kind of angry.

Comments

  1. MichelleMarch 15, 2010 at 8:54 PM

    That's strange... we're generally portrayed as being so "nice"!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AmandaMarch 16, 2010 at 8:49 AM

    I know...this might have been almost refreshing if the Canadians hadn't said "a" so often! The idea seemed to be that we are America's younger, less responsible brother that needs protecting

    ReplyDelete

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