Wednesday, August 12, 2009

List of Movies/Television Programs where the Characters go Abroad


I’m starting to compile a list of movies and television programs where the young characters (roughly 14 years of age to somewhere in their early 20’s) go abroad and I need the help of IHEC Blog readers. While I’m primarily looking for movie and television characters from the United States who go abroad I would also like to learn of characters from any nation travelling to another country. Here is my very, very brief list:

- The Olsen twins
Passport to Paris (1999)
Winning London (2001)
When in Rome (2002)

- The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003) - middle school trip to Rome

- Beverly Hills 90210
Brenda and Donna go to Paris

- Toot & Puddle which will be a topic of a future IHEC Blog post! (see photo above)

If you know of any movie or television characters who traveled abroad please let me know by adding the information to the comment section. This IHEC Blog post is in many ways a continuation of my most popular post entitled “Portrayal of Exchange Students in Movies on TV in the U.S.” which you can read here as well as a related post about Matthew McConaughey’s upcoming comedy film called Exchange Students which you can read here.

It should be noted that the above list of Olsen Twins and Lizzie McGuire movies and the 90210 television show does not reflect my personal viewing habits. Well, Toot & Puddle are enjoyable to watch with my children! I simply heard a colleague mention these at a
session during the recent NAFSA: Association of International Educators conference in LA.

123 comments:

  1. I've always thought that one of the best and funniest television shows about cross-culture communication was "Third Rock From The Sun" -- the ultimate "abroad" show because aliens came to earth trying to understand our weird customs and traditions. The writing and the cast were excellent.

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  2. Off the top of my head:

    - L'Auberge Espagnole (Erasmus students from around Europe studying in Barcelona)

    - The Real World: Paris (the MTV series goes to Paris, where Americans live in a chateau and only interact with locals when the show format pushes them to do so!)

    - Before Sunrise (American tourist and French student spend a day in Vienna together)

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  3. A few more:

    - Sabrina (A girl of indeterminate age - but probably in her late teens or early 20s - goes to Paris and "finds herself" (through cooking in the Audrey Hepburn version and photography in the Julia Ormond one), gaining the confidence she needs to win the hearts of two millionaire brothers)

    - What A Girl Wants (Amanda Bynes' character hops on a plane to London to find her long lost father, Colin Firth)

    - The Princess Diaries (Anne Hathaway's character discovers she is the heir to the throne of "Genovia", an imaginary country in Europe. I can't remember if she actually travels to Genovia in the movie, but I think there might be a sequel. Surely she must go there at some point!)

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  4. Dave,

    Isn’t “Gotcha” that movie about American teens in a spy/espionage situation about guys who were studying abroad? Or, were they only back-packing around Europe?

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  5. - Daddy Long Legs (Leslie Caron as a French orphan sponsored by Fred Astaire to go to college in the U.S.)

    - Mean Girls (Lindsay Lohan's character grew up in Africa and finds it difficult to adjust to American high school culture)

    - National Lampoon's European Vacation (I think there are teenagers in this - I haven't seen it myself)

    - Anastasia (Animated film - Anya/Grand Duchess Anastasia travels from St Petersburg to Paris to meet her grandmother)

    - The Joy Luck Club (I think one or two of the women in the movie were teenagers or young adults when they came to America from China)

    - A Room With a View (Haven't seen/read it, but I think it's about English people in Italy?)

    - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Students from Beauxbatons Academy in France and Durmstrang Institute somewhere in northern or eastern Europe visit Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Scotland)

    - The Wizard of Oz (Okay, now I'm stretching...)

    - If we're willing to go a little younger, the protagonist of The Secret Garden is sent from India to England when her parents die. This may be the case with A Little Princess, too - I can't remember if she and her father start out in India and he takes her to England for her schooling, or if he leaves for India AFTER she's put in school. They're both younger than 14 though... probably more like 8-10.



    I'm noticing a trend: Either I just watch a lot more movies with young female characters than young males, or there are a lot more movies with young females going abroad than young males. Of course, I didn't include all the movies I could think of where young men are in another country in order to fight a war there. Maybe I should have?

    And, of course, there's the more obvious trend that young Americans in movies are going to Europe more than anywhere else.

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  6. - Chasing Liberty (A Secret Service agent chases the First Daughter all over Europe, as I remember)

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  7. @Ruth Marie Sylte, @Sarah McNitt, & @Anonymous ~ Many, many thanks for your comments! Very much appreciated. I’ll do some research on these.

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  8. Continuing on Sarah's comment on MTV's Real World Paris here are some additional Real World seasons as well as several from MTV's Road Rules:

    Real World: London (1995), Sydney (2007-2009), and Cancun (2009).

    Road Rules: Europe (1997), Islands [the Caribbean] 1997, Down Under (1998), Latin America (1999), Semester at Sea (1999), The Quest [Spain & Morocco] (2001), and South Pacific (2003). Are there others?

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  9. The Simpson's when Bart goes to France.

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  10. Okay, here's one that I am not proud I know - America's Next Top Model always sends the finalists to a different locale - Brazil, Spain, India, etc.

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  11. "Two Days in Paris" is my favorite-it really nails intercultural relationships.

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  12. Just read (Reaching the next generation with 'Muppet diplomacy') on CNN.com at http://tinyurl.com/l6m2mk. I will add Sesame Street to this list and perhaps include it in my future IHEC Blog post on Toot & Puddle!

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  13. The Prince and I
    Just Married
    Au Pair I, II and III

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  14. Everybody Loves Raymond (Season 5 episode 1 and 2)...the family go to Italy to visit relatives

    Gilmore Girls (Season 7 episode 7) "French Twist"

    Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (one of the characters spends the summer in Greece)

    The Holiday (two women switch houses (London & Los Angeles)

    P.S. I Love You (the female lead had studied abroad in Ireland and returns)

    That's all I have for now...

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  15. Well, there's a couple of episodes of Friends when they go to England for a wedding :)

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  16. L'auberge espagnole - A French student goes abroad through an Erasmus program in Barcelona.

    Motorcycle Diaries - The young 'Che' embarks on a journey throughout Latin America

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  17. Also...I Love Lucy...a lot of season 5 is a trip to Europe.

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  18. You can do a lot with the travel channel too:
    "Passport to...Europe, South America," etc.
    "No Reservations"

    A great old one is "The Quiet Man" with John Wayne returning to his parents' home of Ireland.

    "An American in Paris" with Gene Kelly

    "Mama Mia"

    "Vicky, Christina, Barcelona"

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  19. There was the recent Liam Neeson movie: Taken. Neeson's daughter goes to France and he goes over to rescue her.

    Dave

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  20. Amazing Race -- TV series

    Lost in Translation -- movie

    Those come to mind immediately.

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  21. Iron and Silk (China & US) A US martial arts student learns a lot about the cultural differences through his interactions with his language tutor. It has been a while since I saw it so my memory is fuzzy.

    The Simpsons have an episode where the family goes to Australia. I think there were other trips as well that view the cultural differences in a comedic way.

    I just saw In the Loop and it was an hilarious comparison between US vs British (don't call them English, whatever you do) politicians. It is filled with expletives though so recommend with caution.

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  22. - Aliens in America (sitcom about a Pakistani exchange student in the US)

    - The Amazing Race (I think they've had family competitions that might include teenagers and young adults)

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  23. One of my favorite one-season sit-coms was called "Aliens in America" ... now available on iTunes ... in which a teenager from Pakistan spends his senior year in Wisconsin. The show is a mixture of teenage angst and cross-cultural interactions. Really well done!

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  24. The Namesake
    L'Auberge Espagnol
    Lost in Translation
    The Joy Luck Club
    Dora the Explorer

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  25. Many of the short films that make up Paris Je T'aime feature young ex-pats, visitors and immigrants. The sequel, New York I Love You, is supposed to come out soon (fall?), but I've heard it isn't anywhere near as diverse (or good).

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  26. BEVERLY HILLS 90210. There were a couple of episodes featuring Brenda studying abroad in Paris.

    BEYOND BORDERS with Angelina Jolie and Clive Owen is a film where crossing borders is central to the plot.

    And to think outside of the box a bit, why not BATMAN BEGINS? Bruce Wayne escapes Gotham and crosses a few geographic and mental borders before he becomes Batman!

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  27. BEVERLY HILLS 90210. There were a couple of episodes featuring Brenda studying abroad in Paris during the summer.

    BEYOND BORDERS with Angelina Jolie and Clive Owen is a film where border-crossing is central to the plotline.

    And to think outside of the box, why not BATMAN BEGINS? Bruce Wayne escapes Gotham and crosses geographic and mental/spiritual borders before returning to Gotham as Batman!

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  28. Reverse study abroad...."The Color of Friendship", a movie about two high school students - one a white girl from the US who is hosting a black south African student.

    "That 70's Show" has a hilarious character who is an exchange student from Morocco.

    "I Love Lucy" is one of the very first to deal with cross-cultural marriage and issues in tv.

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  29. Well among brand new movies: Julie & Julia (Julia Child goes to Paris)

    Last King of Scotland
    Constant Gardener
    The Gods Must Be Crazy
    Mississippi Masala
    Coming to America
    A Far Off Place
    Beyond Borders
    Out of Africa
    Chocolat (the French movie, not Johnny Depp's)

    Can you tell there's a theme here....

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  30. Haven't seen the movie, but American Desi's plot summary seems to fit the bill somewhat:

    College freshman Krishna Reddy, who has never cared for his Indian-American cultural heritage, looks forward to a new life on campus but is surprised to find that he has been assigned Indian roommates. Through his new experiences, he struggles to understand the side of himself he has always turned his back on in order to fit in

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  31. The Ramen Girl- Brittany Murphy follows her boyfriend to Japan.. they break up... and she finds herself learning the art of making ramen, and Japanese culture.

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  32. Good luck with your project! Here are my recommendations, in no particular order.

    The Namesake- Involves a scene where an American brother and sister of Indian descent visit their parent's homeland as teenagers. Great tale of the American immigrant population.

    God Grew Tired of Us- Story of four Sudanese Lost Boys who come to the United States to live and go to school. Great documentary of the refugee experience.

    The Science of Sleep- Involves a young man from Mexico, who grew up in the United States, who moves to France after his father dies. A bit art house, but entertaining and easy enough to understand.

    The Motorcycle Diaries- Story of 2 young medical students (one of whom is Che Guevara :D ) who travel from Argentina to Venezuela. Nice journey of self discovery tale.

    Everything is Illuminated- A young Jewish man from the United States visits his grandfather's native Ukriane to trace his roots. Wonderfully funny and moving tale of culture shock and cross-cultural maturation.

    Last King of Scotland- A brash young Scottish med student decides to go to Uganda- and ends up Idi Amin's personal physician. Historical drama.

    Midnight Express- American student makes a big mistake when he tries to bring drugs into Turkey and ends up in a Turkish Prison. Warning tale.

    Hajime no Ippo- anime series that revolves around very young professional boxers in Japan. Several characters travel internationally to train or to compete. Some very meaningful cross-cultural exploration in this excellent series.

    Beck- Mongolian Chop Squad- anime series, a young Japanese-American teenager and his sister move to Japan with their grandmother, make friends, and try to form a band. Incredible coming of age story- begins in high school and runs through the end of college, some interetsing tension between the American and Japanese chraters when they first meet.

    Neon Genesis Evangelion- anime sci fi series. Involves, at some point, a German high school student who moves to Japan and involves some culture shock conflict.

    I think the latest Legally Blond film involves British students coming to the United States.

    The two latest Van Wilder films involve an Indian student who comes to the US, who subsequently goes on to the UK.

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  33. The Bad News Bears go to Japan.

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  34. American Werewolf in London --- classic horror flick.

    Hostel --- which I haven't seen, nor am I inclined to see.

    Le retour (2007) --- about a student returning from a year in France.

    I did a search for "study abroad" at imdb.com and came up with tons of titles.

    I've seen see the episode of Toot and Puddle, which is a lot of fun.

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  35. Seven Years in Tibet
    Captain Corelli's Mandolin
    Empire of the Sun
    Around the World in 80 Days
    Any and all of the James Bond movies
    The Mission

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  36. On "That 70s Show", the exchange student's home country is actually never identified. His name comes from the abbreviation for Foreign Exchange Student (FES, but usually spelled Fez).

    From Wikipedia:

    "The reason that Fez's name and country of origin are never mentioned throughout the course of the series is that the creators could never decide on his origins, and eventually decided to leave it a secret. In an interview, Wilmer said he created an accent so no one would know what country he is from. Many theories about Fez's homeland have been produced by fans of the show, but since there is no answer that the creators can provide, it will not be known if these are true."

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  37. 'La linea del cielo' (aka 'Skyline', 1978ish) is a beautiful, funny Spanish/US movie about a Spanish photographer who comes to NYC to become famous; the culture shock goes both ways.

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  38. I don't remember the title, but Midnight Express reminded me that there's a movie where Claire Danes ends up in a Thai prison for either carrying drugs or traveling with someone who's carrying drugs.

    Along those lines, my colleague likes to bring this series up at orientation to scare anyone who was planning on breaking the law abroad: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banged_Up_Abroad

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  39. - Australia - refined English woman goes Down Under
    - Moscow on the Hudson - Robin Williams as a Russian immigrant
    - Last Samarai - Tom Cruise leaves America and goes to Japan
    - The Jungle Book (Live Action) - girl visits her father in India
    - Greystoke: the Legend of Tarzan - Tarzan returns to England to meet is grandfather
    - The Matchmaker - American woman goes to Ireland to find her politician boss's heritage so he can win the election
    - The Very Thought of You - American woman goes to England to make a fresh start and finds three English men fighing for her attention
    - Dances with Wolves - Kevin Costner finds himself while living with the Sioux
    - The King and I (Anna and the King)- English nanny in Siam
    - Coming to America - African prince (Eddie Murphy) comes to America to find a bride
    - Ladies in Lavender - two elderly women find an injured Polish sailor washed up on the English shore
    - Everything is Illuminated - young Jewish American man looks for woman who saved his grandfather during World War II in a Ukrainian village
    - Stargate the Movie - special ops team discovers ancient Egyptian settlement on another planet

    Just for silliness:
    - Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third - Ogre meets parents in law and tries to make it in Far Far Away
    - Madagascar - Friends: Hippo, Giraffe, Zebra and Lion get lost in Madagascar and the lion discovers that he's really a carnivore (does hunger beat out friendship?)

    And, of course, I haven't seen anyone mentioned the one that no one probably wants to mention because it is embarrassing (and probably in poor taste) - Borat

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  40. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
    CASABLANCA
    THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY 2
    GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM
    THE KARATE KID II
    THREE KINGS
    TRAFFIC
    AN AMERICAN TAIL
    BABEL
    BEYOND RANGOON
    BORAT
    THE DARJEELING LIMITED
    THE DEER HUNTER
    APOCALYPSE NOW
    THE ENGLISH PATIENT
    ALL JAMES BOND MOVIES
    IN BRUGES
    THE KING AND I
    THE LAST SAMURAI
    THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU
    MADAGASCAR
    THE MISSION
    THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA
    COMING TO AMERICA
    THE PAINTED VEIL
    THE PEACEMAKER
    ROMAN HOLIDAY
    THE RUNDOWN
    RUSH HOUR 2
    THE SAINT
    SEVEN YEARS IN TIBET
    THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY
    AUSTRALIA

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  41. Eurotrip - a horrible movie, but very much on the list nevertheless..

    Scoop - an American jounalism student spends a summer in London trying to find a good story, then ends up in a woody allen murder mystery

    the Grudge - SMG somehow ends up working in Japan, but then things don't go so well.

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  42. TV Shows
    Stargate Atlantis
    Stargate SG-1
    Lots of Star Treks

    Movies
    Stargate the Continuum
    Rushhour
    James Bond Movies
    Born Identity
    Maria Full of Grace
    The Motorcycle Diaries
    Spanglish
    Balseros
    Carol's Journey
    Cocktail
    The Da Vinci Code
    Eurotrip
    Ocean's Twelve

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  43. The two-part series finale of "Sex and the City" depicts Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) depressed and lonely in Paris.

    A few more:

    Love Actually (one of the characters visits Wisconsin in hopes of finding better romantic prospects)

    The Da Vinci Code (Paris & London)

    Angels and Demons (Rome)

    Under the Tuscan Sun (Italy in general; great Diane Lane movie!)

    Forget Paris (Billy Crystal movie)

    Once Upon a Time in Mexico

    Under the Same Moon (story of a Mexican mother who comes to the U.S. to earn a living to support her son, who still lives in Mexico and tries to find his mother in Los Angeles after his grandmother passes away)

    Any Indiana Jones movie

    Blood Diamond (Africa)

    Hooligans (a.k.a. Green Street Hooligans) - England

    EuroTrip (various parts of Europe)

    French Kiss (Paris and southern France)

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  44. Brokedown Palace
    God Grew Tired of Us
    Darjeeling Unlimited

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  45. There are a lot of good ones on here already!

    All the Bourne series (The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum)

    Love Actually

    The Visitor (more about crossing borders into the U.S.)

    Just Married

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  46. The Claire Danes movie mentioned in another post is Brokedown Palace: Alice and Darlene, friends since birth, have just finished high school. They are planning a summer vacation in Hawaii, but they hear Bangkok is even better. They leave... without telling their parents about the change in plans.

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  47. Oh, and The Prince & Me: Danish prince comes to study in Wisconsin and falls in love with an American. In The Prince & Me II, American goes to Denmark for the wedding preparations.

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  48. Perfect Strangers -- television series, 1986-93
    The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles -- 1992-93
    Indiana Jones -- 1981, 1984, 1989, 2008
    The Terminal -- 2004
    Shanghai Noon -- 2000
    Shanghai Knights -- 2003
    Kandahar -- 2001
    The Kite Runner -- 2007
    Invisible Children -- 2006
    War Dance -- 2007
    Mardi Gras: Made in China -- 2005
    Intimidad -- 2008
    Fiddler on the Roof -- 1971
    Funny Face -- 1957
    My Big Fat Greek Wedding -- 2002 (cultural borders)

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  49. I didn't see any mention of the movie Eurotrip, probably because most of us would be embarrassed to admit we've seen it. However, you can bet your students have seen it. I was with a group this summer and overheard them quoting it incessantly (especially in Bratislava!)

    An oldie but a goodie - Local Hero, a movie that came out in the late '70's, about an American oil executive who is sent to a tiny town on the Scottish coast to negotiate for his company to buy the whole town to built a refinery. He is totally transformed by the experience. Probably my all-time favorite movie.

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  50. The Red Violin -- 1998

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  51. LOST -- television series, 2004-10 :)

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  52. The Simpsons also go to London once.

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  53. I think some of the commenters have lost sight of the "14 to early-20s" age limitation from the original post (although it's hard to tell how old people are supposed to be in Hollywood, where you've always got 30-somethings playing high schoolers!).

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  54. "Big Bird in Japan" is a funny adventure story. Big Bird and Barkley take a guided tour in Japan, but they get separated from the tour group. They try to manage to survive in a country where they don't even understand the language.

    "Lamerica" (1994) will teach international students what will happen if they lose a passport in a foreign country..:D

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  55. Americans Abroad or Study Abroad
    1. City of Joy (India)
    2. Local Hero (Scotland)
    3. Not without My Daughter (Iran)
    4. L’auberge Espagnole
    5. The Prince and Me

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  56. Breaking Away- A young man, collage age but not a student, becomes obsessed (to an unhealthy level)with Italian culture through his admiration of an Italian Cylcing team. When they come to his Wisconsin town to compete in a race, he quickly experiences culture shock upon meeting the Italians, and becomes temporarily disillusioned with the culture he had idolized.

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  57. iCarly goes to Japan. Nickelodeon channel series.

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  58. “You must include Oxford Blues!” was e-mailed to me from a colleague in Georgia

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  59. You Don't Mess With the Zohan, the story of an Israeli moving to New York

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  60. A great documentary about an American student in Iran, Iran: Hot Tea Cool Conversations.

    Not a Hollywood movie, but a great portrayal of citizen diplomacy.

    Here is the link: http://www.iranthemovie.com/

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  61. Little Women - The sister Amy studies abroad. I remember reading that when I was a little girl and not knowing what "abroad" meant. I asked my mother and was determined to do the same when I got older. Since then, my life has been all about international education!

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  62. King of the Hill had an episode in Japan, as I recall.

    A bit young for your needs, but there's a great animated show on Nickelodeon called "Ni Hao Kai Lan" about a little Chinese-American girl and her friends and Grandpa. There is one episode where they travel to China (my daughter's favorite).

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  63. Movies:
    The Gods Must Be Crazy
    The Holiday
    All the Indiana Jones movies
    Harry Potter IV had some exchange students at
    Hogwarts
    Sixteen Candles had an exchange student

    TV:
    Bones, Season 3 episode "Yanks in the UK"

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  64. Saved by the Bell made-for-TV-movie: Hawaiian Style
    Hawaii is almost abroad....

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  65. "The Inn of Sixth Happiness"
    "Our Man in Havana"
    "The Bridge on the River Kwai"
    "Gidget Goes to Rome"
    "The Mission"
    "The Piano"
    "Green Card"
    "Mr. Bean's Holiday"
    "Last Holiday"
    "16 Candles" (exchange student)
    "A Passage to India"
    "To Paris With Love"
    "The Year of Living Dangerously"

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  66. My colleague Michael Bittinger from Purdue University was having difficulty posting his comment so I have copied and pasted it from his e-mail message to me:

    Am I the only one who's seen FRENCH POSTCARDS? It's early '80s American SA students in Paris with all the clichés and stereotypes. Poor quality, but good fun. Look it up on IMDB.com.

    Don't forget about LOCKED UP ABROAD from the National Geographic Channel.

    Michael Bittinger
    Marketing Coordinator, Programs for Study Abroad
    Purdue University
    www.studyabroad.purdue.edu

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  67. Worth re-posting: Before Sunrise.

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  68. The Simpsons have traveled abroad in a number of episodes...

    The Crepes of Wrath (Bart is sent to France)

    Bart vs. Australia (Bart is tried in Australia for a crank phone call)

    Homer and Apu (they go to visit the Kwik E Mart headquarters in India)

    In the Name of the Grandfather (the family takes Grandpa Simpson to Ireland)

    The Regina Monologues (the family goes to England)

    Goo Goo Gai Pan (the family goes to China so Selma can adopt a baby)

    The Bart Wants What It Wants (Bart goes to Canada to win back a girl)

    Midnight Rx (various characters go to Canada for cheap meds)

    Blame it on Lisa(Simpsons go to Brazil to find a missing orphan Lisa sponsored)

    Bart-Mangled Banner (the family is exiled to France)

    The Italian Bob(the family goes to Italy and runs into Sideshow Bob, who is now mayor of a Tuscan town)

    Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo (the family goes to Japan after Homer discovers his likeness is being used for Mr. Sparkle detergent)

    There's actually a list online of all references to foreign countries in the Simpsons -
    http://www.snpp.com/guides/foreign.html. My favorite line in all of Simpson's history has to be when Homer learns that they will be hosting an Albanian student in exchange for Bart who is sent to France. Homer says "You mean all white with pink eyes?" Classic!

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  69. Vicky Cristina Barcelona: A great movie that involves two American girls in Spain. The narration is very clever.

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  70. Endless Summer is a classic and one of my favorites.

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  71. A great and inspiring documentary: "A Map for Saturday"

    A young man quits his job and embarks on a 2 year around the world trip.

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  72. Outsourced (2006) - a young man's department gets outsourced to India and he has to go train the new staff. Funny but sincere!

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  73. That 70's Show: Fez is the exchange student from some unknown country :)

    Euro Trip: the German girl Scottie (main character) is in love with goes on an abroad program to Italy, which will then go somewhere else... dont recall.

    The Distance Between the Apple and the Tree: New movie that I havent seen yet but is about a young man taking a journey to Cambodia (and the estranged relationship between him and his father)

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  74. The storyline for the TV sitcom “Home Improvement” sent one of the sons to Costa Rica on a student exchange when the actor decided to leave the series. Wikipedia says there was an episode devoted to his departure, but I missed it.

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  75. Catch Me if You Can - Leonardo diCaprio plays a con artist traveling the world trying to elude his would-be captor (Tom Hanks). Great movie!

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  76. TV: The West Wing Season 5 Finale and Season 6 Opener - A delegation is sent to Gaza

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  77. I think of Mississippi Masala (http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1800171560/info) as a crossing-borders movie regarding immigration INTO the U.S. Character development across childhood into adulthood is glimpsed through flashbacks, yet much of the action involves adults.

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  78. Okay, this one is pretty cutesy, but the theme is still there about origins and adapting to new circumstances: Muppets from Space!! See trailer: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA0ZZWD1uss] and the New York Times review: [http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/180245/Muppets-From-Space/overview]

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  79. The Great Muppet Caper takes place in England.

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  80. Many, many thanks to everyone who took the time to leave a comment listing a movie or television program where the characters go abroad! I will work to compile a more readable list and will summarize here on IHEC Blog as well as on many of the international education listservs and networks I posted to about this list in the coming weeks. This post is the most popular post ever (in terms of number of visits and the number of comments). THANKS AGAIN to all! ~ David

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  81. david - we thought of more, this past weekend!

    for kids:

    Phineas and Ferb (cartoon tv show, funny)

    Scooby Doo (cartoon)

    Suite Life on Deck (travel around the world on a cruise ship)

    on Sprout, which is a very young kids pbs channel, there is a short cartoon of a girl who travels in her imagination, depending on what shoes are brought into her family's shoe shop for repairs.

    we'll keep thinking! GREAT list.

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  82. The following list of movies is from my colleague Rosana Campbell from the Institute for International Studies at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania who was having difficulty leaving a comment.

    The Matchmaker
    Under the Tuscan Sun
    PS: I love you
    Ocean's Eleven
    The Spanish Hotel
    Bend it like Beckman
    In America
    Mamma Mia!
    The Constant Gardner
    Only You
    Lost in Translation
    The Secret of Roan Inish
    Breathful
    Notting Hill
    Wimbledon
    In Bruges
    A Good Year
    Once
    Bossa Nova
    An American in Paris

    Good luck with everything!

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  83. I may have missed it in the above lists, but "Better Off Dead" features a French student on exchange in the U.S.

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  84. Andy Bernard from "The Office" apprenticed with a fromagier in Toulouse one summer, according to a deleted scene from last week's episode.

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  85. @Sarah ~ Thanks for the additional comment. I LOVE Andy on "The Office" (perhaps my favorite character)! I didn't know one could be a "fromagier" but it sounds kinda fun! My plan for a summary is taking longer than I anticipated and it won't happen until late October/early November as I'm in the midst of the Fulbright season in my day job and my evenings are filled with answering applicant e-mails and reading proposals. Stay tuned...

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  86. Presumably one who works in a fromagerie is a fromagier (although I have never actually heard this word before from anyone other than Andy).

    I heard that on the show and thought, 'That's one for the list!'. I'll probably be back with other additions as I come across them.

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  87. Italian for beginners? I think that was the name of it... it was actually a Dutch or Belgian film?

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  88. Thanks for the list and all the other ideas from the comments.

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  89. Franny's Feet (animated TV series)

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  90. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  91. In a Feb. 2010 episode of the the ABC show The Forgotten, the Train Jain episode #14, a Chicago EL (elevated train) crash victim was British and one of the investigators relates to her because of her own study abroad experience in England. I’ve never seen the show but you can watch the entire episode at http://abc.go.com/shows/the-forgotten/episode-guide#

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  92. I think I scanned the majority of these, but did not see representation from the '80s and '90s high school movies with exchange students in the US. Off the top of my head:

    - Sixteen Candles
    - American Pie
    - Can't Hardly Wait
    - Better Off Dead
    - Grease (Sandy is from Australia, I believe Danny is there at the beginning of the movie, but on holiday)
    - Not Another Teen Movie

    Look forward to list on a wiki or something.
    -

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  93. [Glee Spoiler Alert] - An exchange student joins the Glee Club in the 2nd season (http://bit.ly/bOmPGj)

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  94. Paramount Plans Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick

    Source: Deadline August 10, 2010

    Paramount has won the rights to the young adult novel Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick from author Joe Schreiber, reports Deadline. The book features an Eastern European exchange student whose double life is that of an international assassin, assigned with bringing down five targets in New York City following her prom. Deadline alleges that Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage (of Gossip Girl fame) are likely to be involved with bringing the novel to the big screen.

    http://bit.ly/dwexhW (Thanks to @srah for this)

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  95. CULTURE SHOCKED—MY IDEA—WINDOWS 7 at http://bit.ly/9fywzH (via @srah on Twitter)

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  96. FedEx International Shipping Commercial: Exchange Student at http://bit.ly/abKpGk

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  97. ‎"Lifetime Amanda Knox Movie Set to Air Next Year, Hayden Panettiere to Star" more at http://bit.ly/cenU5r

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  98. "So you want to be an international student in Australia" coming to a TV screen near you (via @iambuttons on Twitter.

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  99. Bollywood Film Examines Student Racism in Australia [Chronicle of Higher Education] at http://bit.ly/cejEuU

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  100. The Exchange Student (1967) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060475/plotsummary

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  101. In the ABC television sitcom [U.S.] The Middle (episode 5) the family hosts an exchange student from Japan who turns out to be "a dud" [their words]. You can watch the entire episode at http://bit.ly/bXdWnS. Thoughts?

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  102. Foreign Exchange (2008) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1146283/. You can watch a trailer at http://bit.ly/ckmXOr

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  103. Foreign Exchange (2009) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1369499/.

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  104. Recently, while watching "Barney" (the purple dinosaur) with my two year old son in a sleep deprived state he took traveled to Switzerland. So far, my two year old hasn't asked to travel to Switzerland (primarily because he is only starting to speak) but I'm hoping my purple friend had an impact on my little guy!

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  105. Follow-up to my previous comment about Barney: I found a description of every Barney episode on Wikipedia (who has time to do this??):

    Season 13, episode 6
    "The Music Box: Switzerland"
    Air date on September 14, 2009
    The kids are having a yard sale, getting rid of old toys, books and clothes. Kioko shows up holding a prized possession which is a music box from Switzerland. By accident, Ben includes the music box in a cardboard box of yard sale items and the music box is sold. Kioko is sad and Ben wants to make things right, so he and Barney travel to Switzerland in search of a replacement gift. While there, they sample Swiss food, customs and games, but no music box. Luckily when Ben returns, the music box is returned.

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  106. The following episode of Barney:

    Season 13, episode 7
    "The Good Egg: Kenya"
    Air date on September 15, 2009
    When the kids find a mysterious, colorful egg in the park, Barney takes them on a trip to Kenya to try to find out what kind of animal could have laid the egg. While in Kenya, they meet Ayira who introduces them to many people, cultures and animals of Kenya.

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  107. Actually, during the entire 13th season of Barney, he travels to Mexico, China, Spain, Italy, Greece, Switzerland, Kenya, Hawaii, France, and The Rainforest (source: http://bit.ly/g9d4cM)

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  108. Related resource: The Pop Culturosity® Movie Guide at http://www.culturosity.com/Pop_Culturosity_Guides.htm

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  109. Jim Bob Duggar Defends Gun Photo (includes exchange student in photo)-- 'It's Our Constitutional Right' at http://bit.ly/hHILwG. In case you don't know about him and his family: http://health.discovery.com/tv/duggars/

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  110. The Birthday Girl starring Nicole Kidman, as everyone else has been extremely thorough.

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  111. http://americanstudentsinbritain.blogspot.com/2010/10/study-abroad-in-film-lauberge-espagnol.html

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  112. http://sarahmcnitt.tumblr.com/post/4406375901/fictional-characters-who-studied-abroad-1-in-a

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  113. More "fictional characters who studied abroad" posts are in the works on my Tumblr...

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  114. @Sarah ~ Awesome! Looking forward to it. Enjoying your new tumblr site!

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  115. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Carlo_%282011_film%29

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  116. Emma Watson from Harry Potter movie fame and current second year student at Brown clarifies that she was not bullied out of Brown and is considering studying abroad like many students do in their third/junior year. You can read her statement at on her website at http://bit.ly/lZ63og

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  117. Before Sunrise (movie) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112471/

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  118. Rome to Roma with Jordin Sparks [via @PeopleToPeople ] at http://p2psparks.com/

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  119. Habitación en Roma (Julio Medem 2010, Spain)
    A Russian girl met a spanish girl in Rome and had a love affaire during one night in an old and classic hotel in Rome. Beautiful film.

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  120. The Color of Friendship (2000 film)
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Color_of_Friendship_(2000_film)

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  121. Tween television show Lab Rats (Disney): https://youtu.be/kva2EfIEs9U

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