2.- Stereotypes.
However, you have to be very careful with stereotypes. National stereotype is a system of culture-specific beliefs connected with the nationality of a person. This system includes beliefs concerning those properties of human beings that may vary across nations, such as appearance, language, food, habits, psychological traits, attitudes, values etc. When we stereotype someone, we assume that they will behave in a certain way. That is what we are doing in the joke that illustrates the beginning of this section. Do you agree with the stereotypes that Andalusians are lazy or Catalonians stingy? Of course not. So don't stereotype people from other nationalities. Keep an open mind and remember that we all are individuals.
What is British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)?
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the first and largest national broadcasting network in the world, headquartered in the United Kingdom. BBC became a publicly funded company in 1922 and grosses billions of dollars a year. The corporation's primary sources of funding come from fees imposed on British viewers and government grants. BBC provides a multitude of media resources including publications, radio and television broadcasts. Most programs produced by the company focus on global news and are translated into various languages to reach countries across the world.
If you want to know more you can visit the following link: BBC
Fawlty Towers is a famous British sitcom produced by BBC Television and first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975. The setting is a fictional hotel of the same name located in the seaside town of Torquay.
The series focuses on the misadventures of hotelier Basil Fawlty, his wife Sybil, and their employees, porter and waiter Manuel, maid Polly, and chef Terry. The episodes typically revolve around Basil's efforts to succeed in improving the quality of his hotel and his increasing frustration at the numerous complications and mistakes, both his own and those of others, which prevent him from doing so.
Around the time the series was created British hotel owners often employed foreigners who could not speak English, which often resulted in communication problems with the guests and the rest of the staff. Manuel was included as a representative of these foreign workers. He is a Spanish waiter, well-meaning but disorganised and constantly confused. He is from Barcelona and has a limited grasp of the English language and customs.
Manuel is a less than flattering stereotype. The character's nationality was switched to an Italian from Naples called Paolo for the Spanish dub of the show broadcast in Spain. In the Catalonian TV3 channel, Manuel's origin was changed from Barcelona to Mexico. The version dubbed into French also gives his nationality as Mexican.
A step ahead
Watch the extremely funny Manuel in action.
Here you visit Fawlty Towers at BBC Online.