Terribly cute and extremely honest: a father and son from England debunked the main myths about Russia
17-year-old blogger from London Theo Ogden recorded a video about Russia with his father (Ogden Sr., by the way, is sitting in the frame in a T-shirt with the Russian coat of arms). Conditionally, the video can be called "Expectations and reality", since the boy, together with his dad, analyzes the most common myths about Russia, which are actively replicated by the British media. Why all of a sudden? Yes, with the fact that the Ogdens came to Russia for the World Cup two weeks ago, visited Samara, Volgograd, Nizhny Novgorod, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad and ... did not find a single confirmation of what they "knew" before.
We won't lie if we say that the video turned out to be terribly touching and extremely honest. So be careful — tears can come at any moment.
The Ogdens counted eight myths about Russia — they vied with each other to talk about everyone and wonder: how did the media in London allow themselves to form such a terrible image of a hospitable, beautiful country with delicious cuisine and kind residents among the British? Let's analyze all the myths in turn.
"Russian hooligans will beat you as soon as you get into the country"
"Russians are always dissatisfied, never smiling people"
The father of a 17-year-old blogger also tells a story:
"Russia is a very gloomy, uninteresting, unremarkable country"
In this block, the Ogdens again post several video evidence debunking the myth: a father and son are walking around Samara, taking pictures of landscapes and admiring the Volga. And then suddenly they remember Peter.
"Taxi drivers will wrap you up to sticky"
British pragmatism came into play here. Ogden Sr. estimated (in pounds) how much a taxi ride in London costs and compared it with a taxi ride in St. Petersburg.
"Everything is expensive in Russia"
"The World Cup will be a real failure"
The Ogdens clarify that the British press has repeatedly mentioned the Russian inability to organize something at a decent level, especially if it was about international sports competitions.
The blogger's father says that in Nizhny Novgorod he met fans with experience — "professional" British fans who have been traveling around the world for 20 years. The Ogdens, of course, talked to them and recorded it on video.
"Russians hate the British"
"All Russian food is disgusting"
Immediately after this remark, the video begins to be full of a gastronomic selection — all the Ogden's favorite Russian dishes in a few seconds.
No, the Ogens admit: there is something in Russia that they did not like at all. These are flights by Pobeda Airlines: 17-year—old Theo was faced with a choice - whether to pay extra to sit on the plane next to his father. And when the guy refused, he and Dad were seated at different ends of the cabin, and there was an empty chair next to Theo the whole flight. And that's basically it. The rest in Russia — people, nature, the atmosphere of the championship, prices, the work of volunteers — all this caused only delight and joy.
The 16-minute video ends with touching words of Theo and his dad: "Thank you very much! Big, big thanks!" — and a cut of frames from the British travel to Russia: airports, crowds of fans, bars, rented apartments and genuine joy on their faces. All this is accompanied by the song of the group "Semantic Hallucinations", so familiar to each of us — "Forever young".
Keywords: Bloggers | Football | 2018 world Cup