blamebrampton (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
blamebrampton) wrote2011-01-08 04:37 pm
blamebrampton) wrote2011-01-08 04:37 pm
A case in point ...
So, there we were, having a chat on a friend's LJ about the differences between the US and the UK for purposes of a self-Britpicking list, with participants from both sides of the pond and beyond and frequent diversions into baiting and comedy from all sides, and apparently it has become a source of Flocked Drama.
Consider the argument very carefully: At least one American is very upset that British people prefer to be depicted in accurate ways.
And if you can't see why that's a bit dodgy, replace the word British with any other nationality.
I don't want to overstate the case, because really, it doesn't culturally oppress us the way that some other cultures have been oppressed by this sort of thing, since we don't deeply care and we had an Empire first. And while the original source of the complaint is a preference, it's certainly not a sine qua non, and we read heaps of stuff that gets us wrong, and some of it is good and some is crap, and really, at the end of the day we still pronounce and spell aluminium in ways that are scientifically logical, which in itself is enough. But, honestly ...
Interestingly, one of my points of difference was a tendency to soap-opera-like over-reactions in fiction. Clearly I drew the line too narrowly.
AND I left off the fact that it the entire United States has been the subject of mass-brainwashing to accept caffeinated flavoured beverages as coffee. Though I see Starbucks has dropped the word from their logo, truth in advertising at last!
Consider the argument very carefully: At least one American is very upset that British people prefer to be depicted in accurate ways.
And if you can't see why that's a bit dodgy, replace the word British with any other nationality.
I don't want to overstate the case, because really, it doesn't culturally oppress us the way that some other cultures have been oppressed by this sort of thing, since we don't deeply care and we had an Empire first. And while the original source of the complaint is a preference, it's certainly not a sine qua non, and we read heaps of stuff that gets us wrong, and some of it is good and some is crap, and really, at the end of the day we still pronounce and spell aluminium in ways that are scientifically logical, which in itself is enough. But, honestly ...
Interestingly, one of my points of difference was a tendency to soap-opera-like over-reactions in fiction. Clearly I drew the line too narrowly.
AND I left off the fact that it the entire United States has been the subject of mass-brainwashing to accept caffeinated flavoured beverages as coffee. Though I see Starbucks has dropped the word from their logo, truth in advertising at last!
no subject
It took me about two days, but I continued on and I'm glad I did. They were REALLY well written, so that's something. Idk idk, all the not- so- subtle superiority coming off EVERY SINGLE BRITISH CHARACTER in ~waves~ pissed me off something rotten. It's super annoying when all these characters you LIKE and IDENTIFY WITH also act like supremacist dicks when it comes to every other country ever. The worst part was that it felt really one dimensional, you know? I mean I realise that there's this stereotype of the typical Empire Builder, but COME ON. It's not like they shared a hive mind. Almost all the history I did in high school included one chapter or the other about the British Raj in India, and there were any number of accounts about patriotic AND sympathetic English men and women, many of whom actually supported the independence movements in various colonies. I loved the books in every other regard, but I wish she'd fleshed out their political affiliations instead of just making them all mindless servants of the Empire.
Sorry, none of the above has any relevance to your post. I'll shut up now.