see, germans are nice!

i've already mentioned the cute way germans create screenplays. and now after i gave my small screen debut last week, i've got further proof that germans are actually pretty nice people.

for years while i was in the US, i was watching WW II movies in which every single german character seemed to have a grim face and was generally shouting. which strongly supports the notion that germans are ugly people speaking an ugly language. but i don't think that's true at all. we might only smile once a month, first answer with a stern "no" to everything we're asked for and -grinding teeth- have a slight tendency to invade other countries, but you can't say that we haven't gotten any manners.

take this. in the american movie industry it is standard for the director to shout "action" to start shooting. but in germany the director calls "bitte" which means "please". and he's not shouting at all, he says it in an almost pleading manner. when i was working as an extra last friday, i needed about an hour to even figure out who the director was since he was all buried behind his monitor like a little mouse. so, what about that authoritative "action" in the US if you can also accomplish the work with a polite "please"? i mean, why make the effort to be polite in all other areas of life, when we treat actors and film crew like cattle?