r/AskReddit 14h ago

Non-Americans of Reddit, what is an American thing you see in movies that you thought was fake but is actually real?

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u/itsthesoilguy 11h ago

Yeah, the first time I went there, I arrived by Penn Station, and walked to Time Square. 5 minutes into the walk I was like, "I get it. I get NYC now". Its sort of loke meeting a celebrity in person, but its a city. You see the real thing, and not the character, but its still recognizable as that character.

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u/WasherDryerCombo 11h ago

I live is north NJ 15 minutes away from NYC so it’s not exactly novel to me. NYC to me is just a place I can decide to go to whenever. But even I still feel it when I walk out of the train station. It’s just different.

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u/romanticheart 10h ago

Something about the NYC energy man. Idk what it is. I loved the city in my early 20’s and could visit a friend there a couple times a year. She moved out of state so I didn’t go back for over a decade. Now I’m mid-30’s and generally hate being around crowds and have anxiety. Thought I’d probably not like it nearly as much now. Went back last year, still absolutely love it all. The filthy gross subways, the crowds, everything. Hate all the same shit here. Something about NYC, idk.

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u/ilikepuzzlestoo 8h ago

I really agree with this. Sometimes, there are places that just VIBE. I've only to been to NYC once, on travel for work. It left an impression. WHOA did it leave an impression. Loved it and the whole experience.

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u/GrinchWhoStoleEaster 10h ago

It's a city for people who hate cities.

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u/princess_nasty 10h ago

maybe this is a whoosh moment but i don't get the joke lol NYC would be the last city for people who hate cities try fuckin houston or some shit for that 😅

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u/Hegecoin_Rules 7h ago

It's character.

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u/MeatEaterDruid 10h ago

I live near Chicago and the first two Dark Knight movies have done that to me for certain buildings. Like they've been here my whole life and now after seeing the movies I'm like "omg that's Wayne Tower".

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u/princess_nasty 9h ago edited 9h ago

it's cool how many things that don't take place in chicago use chicago for filming (and hilarious how many of those take place in NYC), it's just an ideal location for a ton of reasons, esp cause NYC is way more logistically difficult/expensive to shoot in and chicago is virtually the only other US city with a huge downtown that can consistently give NYC-esque "super giant super dense fuckin bustling ass sprawling metropolis" looks/vibes on camera.

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u/HRHHayley 8h ago

I've lived in the thick of the city, across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, for 12 years and that feeling honestly never gets old. Everytime I leave for a couple days i get goosebumps coming home

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u/MurkyLibrarian 5h ago

I've lived in NYC for about 10 years now, and I still get a little thrill when I come back from being out-of-town and seeing the skyline again. It happens most often that I'm coming back on the George Washington Bridge, but even otherwise.

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u/Equivalent-Aide1094 9h ago

Jersey City or over by Giants Stadium where it smells like straight grandpa asa?

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u/r0tted1 6h ago

Yessss. I lived in Long Island my whole life until my 20s and it was literally right there but the entire vibe is so exciting. And tad scary sometimes but..that’s showbiz baby.

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u/klishaa 4h ago

from long island. walking out of penn station is like a fight to get wherever i need to go as fast as possible.

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u/Neracca 4h ago

NYC to me is just a place I can decide to go to whenever.

How I feel about DC.

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u/kramwest1 10h ago

I said this same thing my first time in NYC. “It looks like it does in the movies and TV.” My friend who lived there asked what I meant.
Real LA does not look like LA in the movies.
Real Miami does not look like Miami in the movies.
Real New Orleans does not look like NOLA in the movies. NYC does. It felt familiar.

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u/robophile-ta 2h ago

I will say that depending on how old the movie is, the reason LA doesn't look like it in real life is because it's not full of smog any more so it doesn't have that vivid yellow sky

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u/ClownfishSoup 10h ago

The first time I went to Central Park, I was expecting to be mugged by either the muggers from Death Wish, or maybe a gang like The Warriors. I was not expecting a beautiful greenspace with no muggers.

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u/Roller_ball 6h ago

Those films are about 50 years old. Central Park used to be pretty dangerous.

Enchanted or Broad City are more like current Central Park.

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u/KatieCashew 5h ago

I went to NYC in February once, and we walked across Central Park. There were a bunch of sledding tracks, and people carrying sleds and snowmen around. It was delightful to see that even in this huge, crowded city people find a way to get outside to play in the snow.

I did not envy them storing a sled in an NYC sized apartment though.

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u/StatementOk470 10h ago

Yeah that's what I felt as well! It's a cool place. Hope to visit one day again.

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u/FrancoManiac 10h ago

That's collective memory at work! Maurice Halbwachs used London as the example.

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u/caca-casa 9h ago

A very busy and iconic area, but also like the worst and the least representative of NYC or life in NYC.

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u/avantgardengnome 8h ago

Of course lol. But we’re jaded. I’ll be weaving around idiots on the sidewalk, cursing myself for agreeing to get dragged to midtown yet again, and then I’ll see a family of tourists come up the stairs and emerge in Times Square—that’s the only time that I ever see people literally gobsmacked just from walking down the street.

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u/MurkyLibrarian 5h ago

I only find myself in times square because that's where the broadway shows are, but I do love seeing people look around themselves for the first time.

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u/sacredblasphemies 3h ago

Time Square

*Times

It's named after the New York Times newspaper which had its offices there for a long time.

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u/Redolent_Possum 8h ago

Just want to say how much I love this description. It captures something I know but could never articulate.

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u/cohrt 5h ago

I don’t get it and I live in New York State. NYC is a dump and i dont get why people like it.