History Main / AmericansAreCowboys

* Despite the name and theme, the ''VideoGame/KantaiCollection'' fanfic ''Fanfic/PacificWorldWarIIUsNavyShipgirls'' has only one character playing this straight: Houston.

** Creator/KarlMay [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_May might have had something to do with this]], as his WildWest books had left an indelible impression that many in German-speaking Europe had of the United States in general. In fact, one fan of his, upon assuming political office, drew inspiration for his vision for Germany from May's novels. Unfortunately, that fan was UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler, who was prone to liken the conflicts between Germans and Slavs (especially Russians) of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII to UsefulNotes/ManifestDestiny and CowboysAndIndians.

* The reason for this stereotype seems to be that, way back when, the majority of early American entertainment media that made it to other countries had a Western theme. Westerns were hugely popular in the U.S. at the time, but they weren't exactly SliceOfLife storytelling (most Americans back then didn't live on the frontier; otherwise it wouldn't have been a frontier), something many non-Americans at the time could not have known. This phenomenon predates motion pictures; Buffalo Bill's Wild West performances made [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Bill#Buffalo_Bill.E2.80.99s_Wild_West_Tours_Europe many successful European tours]] and were perhaps many Europeans' first exposure to American culture and media (and Americans in general).
** Creator/KarlMay might have had something to do with this. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_May]]

* In ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'' the one American character, Quincey Morris, is a wealthy Texas cattle rancher who carries a large bowie knife. In one moment, Morris leaves a meeting with other heroes where they're trying to figure out how to cope with vampires; a few seconds later, bullets come flying through the window.

* ''Series/NinjaSentaiKakuranger'' featured Jiraiya, the Japanese-American Black Ranger. When not transformed, he wore a cowboy outfit, dual [[RevolversAreJustBetter six-shooters]] and all.
* ''Series/ShurikenSentaiNinninger'' ramps it up further with Kinji Takigawa aka [=StarNinger=], who not only wears a cowboy outfit when unmorphed but his ''Ranger form'' has a built-in cowboy hat and poncho ''and'' his mecha is modeled on a bison (but he's still played by a Japanese actor). His [[Series/PowerRangersNinjaSteel American counterpart]] Levi was made a country-western singer in order to justify the outfit.

* In ''Series/TheLeague'', Taco landed a role on an Algerian soap opera called ''Sands of Passion'' as Buck, an American pastiche and self-described "rapper-slash-cowboy-slash-cautionary tale" dressed like a cowboy and whose catchphrase is “Bang bang, what’s the hang?”

* The German BigBad of the first ''Film/DieHard'' film mocks John [=McClane=] as being a "cowboy" several times throughout the movie, hence [=McClane=]'s "Yippie ki yay, motherfucker" catchphrase. It morphed into meaningless {{Magic Franchise Word}}s in the many sequels, but in the original context, it served as a punchy InsultBackfire against the snotty, elitist European BigBad in the first movie:

* The German BigBad of the first ''Film/DieHard'' film mocks John [=McClane=] as being a "cowboy" several times throughout the movie, hence [=McClane=]'s "Yippie ki yay, motherfucker" catchphrase. It morphed into meaningless {{Magic Franchise Word}}|s in the many sequels, but in the original context, it served as a punchy InsultBackfire against the snotty, elitist European BigBad in the first movie:

Hans: "You have me at a loss; you know my name, but who are you? Just another American who saw too many movies as a child? Another orphan of a bankrupt culture who thinks he's John Wayne? Rambo? Marshal Dillon?"
John: "Was always partial to Roy Rogers, actually. I really like those sequined shirts."
Hans: "Do you really think you have a chance against us, Mr. Cowboy?"
John: "...Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker."

* The German BigBad of the first ''Film/DieHard'' film mocks John [=McClane=] as being a "cowboy" several times throughout the movie, hence [=McClane=]'s "Yippie ki yay, motherfucker" catchphrase.

[[caption-width-right:294:[-You really can't get more American than that.-] ]]

* Tina from ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'' had a [[SexyWhateverOutfit sexed-up cowgirl outfit]] in the first game, and her dad Bass has a full cowboy getup as his default costume in the second. They're both American, in case you couldn't tell.

* Despite the name and theme, the ''Videogam/KantaiCollection'' fanfic ''Fanfic/PacificWorldWarIIUsNavyShipgirls'' has only one character playing this straight: Houston.

This is a case of SmallReferencePools, where America has become so synonymous with cowboy culture that people overseas use it to characterize the entire country. This is, of course, partially TruthInTelevision: TheWestern is a distinctly American genre (unless it's a CanadianWestern), and a lot of stereotypical cowboy traits are also stereotypes of Americans as a whole. Plus, cowboy fashion and culture ''is'' still idealized in certain parts of America, particularly in rural areas (especially in western states), and in CountryMusic. In fact, Americans from these regions are frequently stereotyped this way by ''other'' Americans; what this trope categorizes as a stereotypical American would, for example, be recognized by most actual Americans specifically as a stereotypical [[UsefulNotes/{{Texas}} Texan]] or more broadly as a stereotypical [[DeepSouth southerner]].

* ''WesternAnimation/MollyOfDenali'' applies this to Texas in "[["[[Recap/MollyOfDenaliS1E6CultureClashPartyMoose Culture Clash]]." This episode is a WholeEpisodeFlashback that tells the story of when Trini Mumford moved to Alaska from Texas. Molly and Tooey then watch a bunch of westerns that lead them to assume that the Mumfords lived on a ranch in Texas and rode horses all day. Then Molly and Tooey pretend to be cowboys to impress Trini. It doesn't go well.

* A rare western example from Creator/BlizzardEntertainment's ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}''.
** [=McCree=] is one of two [[spoiler:actually, three]] American characters in a game starring a MultinationalTeam. He also looks and acts like a cowboy, complete with the iconic hat and a six shooter. He even says "It's high noon" when activating his [[ImprobableAimingSkills ultimate]]. Keep in mind that this game takes place in the ''future''.
** And now one of [=McCree=]'s former gang members, Ashe, joins the cast. She too is sporting the classic outlaw look, complete with a lever action Winchester and a sawed off shotgun.

[[quoteright:293:[[Characters/SegaHardGirls https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/96b957ac_a1dd_4aa2_9d20_f73c712bba15.png]]]]