Romania

I hear you there, but you must understand that Romania is easily ridiculed with no consequences as there are no interest or lobby groups looking out for Romanian interests where this sort of media is produced (the United States).

Here's something else: people want to be seen as "sensitive" and "not prejudiced," which is admirable. Unfortunately, people respond greatly to humor at others' expense. Back in the days when racism wasn't seen as the evil that it really is, people easily made jokes at the expense of immigrants, racial and ethnic minorities, etc. Nowadays, people realize (and rightly so) that such "humor" is cruel, demeaning, etc. But they still need to make jokes looking down upon, and making fun of, other people-- especially when those others can easily be lumped into groups. That is, unfortunately, how people think all over the world.

Enter Central and Eastern (and even Southeastern) Europe. Americans do not know much about these regions other than what they were raised to believe, especially during the Cold War, or what they saw on the news recently. Much of the news coming out of this part of the world is negative; most people think of the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s when they think of the Balkans, even long after those wars were over. Despite the fact that the communist government was overthrown twenty years ago, people still associate Romania with communism, and thus poverty, backwardness, political repression, etc. It is the same with Slovakia: I can think of two movies in the past nine years in which Slovakia received mention (Euro Trip and Hostel) and this mention was not only negative, but also wildly inaccurate.

So while the people of those countries complain, the receivers of those complaints brush them off. Admittedly, it's easy to see why: humor mocking Romanians, Slavs, etc. is not seen as being as harmful as humor mocking African-Americans, Jews, Latinos, etc. It's not racist or anti-semitic, so it's alright, no matter whose feelings get hurt. People are more sensitive in America about some types of discrimination than they are others. It so happens that Romania is one of those countries it is alright to mock, because many in America don't bother to learn more about it. Furthermore, Romania is an "easy" target that American TV and movie producers can ridicule without feeling bad or worrying about social repercussions.

I'm not saying that "if they make fun of Romanians, they should make fun of Blacks too" or anything of the sort. Rather, I'm saying that generalizations based on stereotypes and outdated views remain generalizations based on stereotypes and outdated views, no matter who the target may be. "Amos 'n Andy" was criticized as relying on racist views of African-Americans, just as "Borat" was criticized for portraying an inaccurate version of Kazakhstan (and Kazakhs, and the many other ethnic groups and nationalities that live there). But in America, making fun of some nationalities, ethnic groups, and so on, is more acceptable than making fun of others.

As for the Dracula thing, as I said, Americans watch a lot of movies, so they are more aware of "Romania" being the home of "Dracula" (despite the fact that Romania did not acquire Transylvania until after WWI, and the real Dracula was from Wallachia).

Because Americans are stupid. That's why. They have no knowledge of geography, I mean they think Canada is a STATE!!!! wtf? Pula mea de prosti.