Although I've been trying to keep up with the ups and downs of today's election in Britain by far my most frequent interaction with British culture is watching the children's show "Thomas the Tank Engine" with my son.Although in the United States there are some socioeconomic differences between Democrats and Republicans, America, relative to the rest of the industrialized world, is renowned for its lack of class consciousness. Britain, on the other hand, is infamous for the enduring, centuries old divisions within its society that are dictated by class.
I was looking online for some Thomas episodes for my son to watch and was reminded of these social and political differences. I was intrigued to learn there are some interesting differences between the U.S. and U.K. versions. Most striking is that the head of the railroad on the Island of Sodor is called Sir Topham Hatt in the U.S. version and the Fat Controller in the U.K. version.
I have no experience working or living in the U.K. but my impressions of the role of class and hierarchy in the U.S. and U.K. was shaped by a Slate article I use with my AP Government class to initiate a discussion on political culture.
The article compares the U.K., U.S., French and German version of the show "The Office" to see how each show illuminates the differences between the four cultures. The interesting difference between the U.S. and U.K. versions revolved around the different personalities of the two bosses.
As opposed to the British boss who gets angry when his underlings focus on their work instead of his antics:
...to an American viewer, a boss who fails to project at least an outward appearance of seriousness would not be credible. And, perhaps because every American thinks he or she can be the boss one day, given the right circumstances, we tend to identify with our employers. By American subconscious logic, even a stooge must have the possibility of professional growth, because who knows—one day we may be that stooge.
These differences between the U.K. and U.S. reminded me of a cartoon I saw many years ago that presents a split screen depicting British and American chauffeurs driving their bosses around. The thought bubble above the American chauffeur's head imagines himself sitting in the back seat of the limo being driven around. In contrast the British chauffeur imagines himself keying his boss's brand new limousine while he's not looking.
Beyond the differences between the bosses the entire offices have a different feel:
But, more subtly, the base-line mood of David Brent's workplace (the U.K. version)—resignation mingled with self-loathing—is unrecognizably alien to our (well, my) sensibility. In the American office, passivity mingles with rueful hopefulness: An American always believes there's something to look forward to.
I am curious whose world view is right the dour British or the cheerful American? I think we could both learn from each other.
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3 comments:
An interesting question to consider is which is the better attitude to have, the American "delusions of grandeur" (great title by the way) or British bitterness and despair? Among many cultural nuances I noticed while living in northern England was the fact that the British are incredibly non-supportive of individual success, particularly monetary success. A common refrain from both the upper and working classes when referring to someone who had gone up in the social strata was to say with derision, "my haven't they come up in the world." I admire the striving aspect of American culture, as delusional as it may be, because it provides a pathway for personal incentive and adds to our collective sense of optimism. The dark side of that cultural imperative, however, is that success is married to a philosophy of materialism rather than intellectualism--witness the arguments of the Tea Partiers whose arguments are based not on Enlightenment thought but pure self-interest. The British, however, are exactly the opposite. I'll take my pint of bitter with a dash of John Locke any day.
I would just add that our optimism leads the middle class to support policies that discourage their ability to actually realize upward mobility. Another ironic aspect of America's political character.
I highly suggest you read through this site to understand the true "Thomas the tank engine" instead of the nonsense that is on television these days.
http://www.sodor-island.net/railwayserieshistory.html
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