A pilsner is indeed defined by its hops. One thing that donfreenut doesn't touch on while slamming pilsners is that all popular commercial beers use adjuncts like corn or rice. This, along with weak hopping contributes to the lack of flavour in popular American beers.
While Canadian Beers also have adjuncts (corn is popular) which lead to the lack of flavour, they are typically hopped stronger, leading to a marginally better beer.
But Joe Consumer still has no taste when it comes to beer.