Editing I'm Afraid of Americans (section)

==Reception and legacy==
Reviewing ''Earthling'' on release, ''Mojo''{{'}}s Andy Gill considered "I'm Afraid of Americans" the "most direct" track on the album.<ref name="Mojo" /> In another review for ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', [[Mark Kemp]] considered the song "a stuttering rocker" that "seems detached from the other songs".<ref name="rollingstone review" /> Upon release of the single, ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' writers Larry Flick and Shawnee Smith praised Reznor's remix as an improvement on the "already deeply moody and largely sharp" original. They further opined that the Ice Cube remix could provide a successful foray into a [[hardcore hip hop]] album.<ref name="Billboard">{{cite magazine |last1=Flick |first1=Larry |last2=Smith |first2=Shawnee |title=Singles: Rock Tracks |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |issue=109 |date=18 October 1997 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1997/Billboard-1997-10-18.pdf |page=80 |via=worldradiohistory.com |access-date=30 November 2021}}</ref> Reviewing the maxi-single for [[AllMusic]], Christian Huey criticised it as "too derivative of ''[[The Downward Spiral|Downward Spiral]]''-era Nine Inch Nails" to please Bowie's fans. He argued that it acts better when viewed as a Reznor project rather than a Bowie one. He nevertheless praised Reznor's work on the remixes as well as Photek's contribution.<ref name="AllMusic" />

In later decades, Pegg describes the track as "terrific" while Spitz considered it Bowie's finest single since 1984's "[[Loving the Alien]]".{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=128–129}}{{sfn|Spitz|2009|pp=370–371}} Following [[Death of David Bowie|Bowie's death in 2016]], ''Rolling Stone'' named "I'm Afraid of Americans" one of the 30 most essential songs of Bowie's catalogue.<ref name="RS essentials">{{cite magazine |last1=Edwards |first1=Gavin |last2=Weingarten |first2=Christopher |last3=Spanos |first3=Brittany |last4=Newman |first4=Jason |last5=Vozick-Levinson |first5=Simon |last6=Johnston |first6=Maura |author6-link=Maura Johnston |last7=Doyle |first7=Patrick |last8=Sterling |first8=Scott |last9=Greene |first9=Andy |last10=Sheffield |first10=Rob |author-link10=Rob Sheffield | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/david-bowie-best-songs-33438/im-afraid-of-americans-1997-3-151698/ | title=David Bowie: 30 Essential Songs | magazine=Rolling Stone | date=11 January 2016 | access-date=26 September 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411024605/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/david-bowie-best-songs-33438/im-afraid-of-americans-1997-3-151698/ | archive-date=11 April 2021 | url-status=live }}</ref> That same year, ''[[Ultimate Classic Rock]]'' placed "I'm Afraid of Americans" at number 23 in a list ranking every Bowie single from worst to best, calling it the best song on ''Earthling'' and Bowie's best song in over a decade, further commenting: "It would be another decade and a half before he was this good again."<ref>{{cite web |title=Every David Bowie Single Ranked |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/david-bowie-singles-ranked/ |website=[[Ultimate Classic Rock]] |access-date=19 September 2021 |date=14 January 2016 |archive-date=24 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724234336/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/david-bowie-singles-ranked/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A year later, ''[[Consequence of Sound]]'' placed "I'm Afraid of Americans" at number 66 on their list of Bowie's 70 best songs, writing:<ref name="CoS">{{cite web |last=Phillips |first=Lior |title=David Bowie's Top 70 Songs |url=https://consequence.net/2017/01/david-bowies-top-70-songs/ |website=[[Consequence of Sound]] |access-date=19 September 2021 |date=8 January 2017 |archive-date=20 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920212659/https://consequence.net/2017/01/david-bowies-top-70-songs/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{blockquote|Many aging rock stars may have been sunk by toying with industrial electronic or having a song feature in the ''Showgirls'' soundtrack, but David Bowie excels in even the most theoretically ill-fitting suits, looking sleek and charming. He’s telling tales of humans in ruin, of futility and idealism, and while the original version that appeared in the schlocky midnight movie was afraid of 'the animals,' the eventual final take changed it to 'Americans,' an electro-crunchy slab of sardonic delight.}}

In 2017, ''[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]]''{{'}}s Jill Krajewski commented on the song's relevance during the [[First presidency of Donald Trump|presidency of Donald Trump]], stating: "'I'm Afraid of Americans' has a darker resonance today not through its chorus, but in a context that gives it unnerving prescience: a snapshot of the [era we live in today]."<ref name="Vice" /> She argued that the "working-class everyman" (Johnny) were responsible in sharpening the political divide and widespread hate on the internet, presenting a sense of unease living in America as she concludes, "I ''am'' afraid of Americans".<ref name="Vice">{{cite web |last1=Krajewski |first1=Jill |title=David Bowie's "I'm Afraid of Americans" Has Become An Unfortunate Reality in the Age of Trump |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/david-bowies-im-afraid-of-americans-has-become-an-unfortunate-reality-in-the-age-of-trump/ |website=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]] |access-date=30 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228170059/https://www.vice.com/en/article/533bwz/david-bowies-im-afraid-of-americans-has-become-an-unfortunate-reality-in-the-age-of-trump |archive-date=28 February 2021 |date=20 January 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> The same year, Lior Phillips of ''[[Consequence of Sound]]'' said "The title is a picture-perfect distillation of what it means to live in this world."<ref name="CoS" />