COME ON AMERICA!

Lecture with Jesper Steinmetz 07.05.12

It´s a few minutes past 7.30 p.m. and the exited listeners are sitting on the edge of their seats. They all stretch their necks to catch a glimpse of the Danish, well-known reporter, who has travelled all the way from America to “Kulturøen” in Middelfart on his forty-fifth birthday. The view from the room is absolutely fantastic; outside the big windows the two bridges over the Little Belt girdle the beautiful sunset. Jesper Steinmetz is introduced by the Danish American Canadian Friendship-association, and begins his lecture about his life as the American reporter from TV2. It is a country that he is very fascinated by, but today he also knows that it is a lot more nuanced that he thought.

Jesper lives in Washington during his time as a reporter, and he tells us that his job cannot be separated from his private life, it is a lifestyle. He thinks of his job as a possibility to tell stories about the posterior America and he makes it a point of honour to study different dialects and states. His ambition is to make different portraits of American lives, to visit private homes and especially to explode false myths about America. As a journalist he sees it as his duty to take a look at his stories from different angles. About that he shows us a clip from the demonstration against Obama in connection to the approaching election in America. Jesper interviews the demonstrators, but not all of them actually know what their arguments are, but they are many people assembled, and therefore they have a lot of influence. As he says, the Americans are born to be on TV, they have a lot on their mind, only hear themselves and love to get attention. Jesper tells us that the Americans´ motive power is “I will, and no one can control me!”

“It is a country without any quiet places or moments, everybody introduces you to their life for a moment, and you cannot get rid of it, it is fantastic!” Jesper says. “It is the whole spontaneity, the enthusiasm and the kindness”, he continues.  

But even though he is so impressed by America, he also sees the mistakes and imperfections. No one in America wants to make the unpopular decisions about reductions, and he thinks that America is going to have bigger distinctions between poor and rich people in the future. In that way America is a lot more behindhand in the development than for example Europe. As he sees it, the American spirit results in an ineffective country.

Jesper loves his job, and he travels around America with his two photographs Peter and Thomas. The three most important things to carry all the time, is mobile phones, the TV2-microfone-“hat” and makeup. It is absolutely impossible to make plans ahead, and he must be available at any time. Jesper reveals some of the reporter-methods; for example that every time he is reporting live from The White House, he is sitting in his own room in front of a TV screen with a non-moving picture of The White House.

Even though Jesper loves his job, he could not imagine himself living in America for the rest of his life. Actually he has been more impressed by Denmark and its society after moving to America. The listeners are glad to hear that, and leave the room with a smile.  

-Isabella