England vs. Germany – Reactivation of Old Stereotypes

England and Germany have a very special relationship – especially from a cultural and historical point of view. However, it seems that particularly England or the UK, respectively, retains certain stereotypes, myths, and legend about the alleged traditional competitor. They are not always dominating every discourse in the UK involving Germans but become relatively often visible. Sports events like a football match – the classic arena for both nations during peace time – show how fast misconceptions of contemporary Germany are reactivated. Though one of the most advanced Western European societies, she is frequently depicted as an anachronistic, crude mixture of a prussain-militaristic Kaiserreich and a Nazi-Dicatorship. Especially the so-called yellow press nurtures these decontextualised stereotypes with sensational headlines. Daily Mail, The Sun etc. are thereby constantly ignoring the multi-ethic composition of the German team , for instance.

A cursorily glance at the discourse shows, however, that the reactivation of stereotypes is a rather unilateral issue, limited to the UK. It seems that most of the Germans do not really care about what some of their insular neighbors might think about them. To the contrary, the almost satirical exaggerations cause a certain amusement in Germany. Find some of the most interesting British press reaction to the outcome of yesterday’s game here on the Guradian’s website.

Author: Dr. Dennis Nguyen

Media and Communications Researcher with particular interest in online media, transnational discourses, crisis communication, public sphere theory, and empirical methods. View all posts by Dr. Dennis Nguyen