The Ugly American

The Ugly American

Infobox Film
name = The Ugly American


caption = original movie poster
director = George Englund
producer = George Englund
writer = Stewart Stern
starring = Marlon Brando
Eiji Okada
Pat Hingle
music =
cinematography = Clifford Stine

editing = Ted J. Kent
distributor = Universal Pictures
released = 1963
runtime = 115 min.
language =
budget =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0056632|

"The Ugly American" is the title of a 1958 political novel by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer. It became a bestseller, was influential at the time, and is still in print.

The novel describes how the United States is losing the struggle with Communism—what was later to be called "the battle for hearts and minds"—in Southeast Asia, because of arrogance and failure to understand the local culture.

The book takes place in a fictional nation known as Sarkhan. In the novel, a Burmese journalist says "For some reason, the people I meet in my country are not the same as the ones I knew in the United States. A mysterious change seems to come over Americans when they go to a foreign land. They isolate themselves socially. They live pretentiously. They're loud and ostentatious." The phrase "ugly Americans" came to be applied to Americans behaving in this manner.

Ironically, the "ugly American" of the book title actually refers to one of the heroes, a plain-looking engineer named Homer Atkins, who lives with the local people, comes to understand their needs, and gives genuinely useful assistance with small-scale projects such as the development of a simple bicycle-powered water pump. It is argued in the book that the Communists are successful because they practice tactics similar to Atkins'.

According to an article published in Newsweek in May 1959, "The Ugly American," himself, was identified as an ICA technician named Otto Hunerwadel, who served in Burma from 1949 until his death in 1952.

Another of the book's heroes, Colonel Hillandale, appears to have been modeled on the real-life Air Force Lieutenant General Edward Lansdale, an expert in counter-guerrilla operations.

1963 film

The book was made into a 1963 film starring Marlon Brando as Harrison Carter MacWhite. The film was directed by George Englund.

The late Kukrit Pramoj, a Thai politician and scholar, played the role of Sarkhan's Prime Minister Kwen Sai. Later in 1975 he became the 13th Prime Minister of Thailand.

See also

* Ugly American


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Ugly American (album) — Infobox Album | Name = Music for Courage and Confidence Type = Album Artist = Mark Eitzel Released = 2002 Recorded = Genre = rock music Length = Label = Thirsty Ear Recordings Producer = Reviews = * Rolling Stone Rating|3|5… …   Wikipedia

  • Ugly American — is an used to refer to perceptions of loud, arrogant, demeaning, thoughtless and behavior of American citizens mainly abroad, but also at home. [Richards, Erin (2006). [http://www.cnn.com/2006/TRAVEL/10/31/cultural.etiquette/ Are you the ugly… …   Wikipedia

  • Ugly American (disambiguation) — Ugly American may refer to: *Ugly American, a term used to refer to perceptions of arrogant behavior by Americans abroad * The Ugly American , a 1958 novel by William Lederer and Eugene Burdick * The Ugly American (album), an album by Marc… …   Wikipedia

  • ugly American — ugly American, an American living abroad who presents an unflattering image of Americans, especially by his insensitivity to the culture of other peoples. ╂[< The Ugly American, a book of stories about America in southeastern Asia, written by… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Ugly American — noun Etymology: The Ugly American (1958), collection of stories by Eugene Burdick and William J. Lederer American authors Date: 1965 an American in a foreign country whose behavior is offensive to the people of that country …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • The Ugly Organ — Studio album by Cursive Released March 4, 2003 …   Wikipedia

  • The Ugly Little Boy — Author Isaac Asimov Original title Lastborn Country United States Language English …   Wikipedia

  • The Good, the Bad and the Ugly — Infobox Film name = The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Il Buono, il Brutto, il Cattivo) caption = Original American movie poster director = Sergio Leone producer = Alberto Grimaldi writer = Story: Sergio Leone Luciano Vincenzoni Screenplay: Age… …   Wikipedia

  • The Ugly Duckling — Infobox Book | name = The Ugly Duckling title orig = Den grimme Ælling translator = image caption = Illustration by Vilhelm Pedersen author = Hans Christian Andersen country = Denmark language = Danish series = genre = Fairy tale published in =… …   Wikipedia

  • The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (soundtrack) — Infobox Album Name = The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Type = soundtrack Artist = Ennio Morricone Background = soundtrack Released = 1966 (original album) 2004 (remastered, expanded) Recorded = Genre = Film score… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”