US v UK

Over on Formspring,Twitterpal and blogger PhillyRadioGeek posed an interesting question:

What does the UK do better than America? What does America do better than the UK?

That’s a question that seemed simple so I was going to go with the obvious.

The UK does these better -

Tea
Cake
Chocolate
Doctor Who
Sarcasm
Having the hardest special forces this side of the Mossad
Healthcare
A certain type of comedy

- while the US does these better -

Coffee
Muffins
Pizza
Most science fiction series that aren’t Doctor Who
Thinking they have the hardest special forces this side of the Mossad
Talking about healthcare
A different, broader type of comedy

- while everything else is pretty much split evenly depending on personal opinion.

This was, of course, a blithe answer designed to dodge the actual question – but I started to wonder what I felt the real answer was. Obviously there are differences, but those differences are embedded deep in the cultures of each country and they’re not so easy to break down.

There are a lot of things – a lot of things – that I currently think the US does ‘better’ than the UK, but I’m very aware of the fact that my current thinking is heavily influenced that I’m living in the US, and that if it weren’t for family, I wouldn’t even consider moving back to the UK. As a result, I’m fairly certain that my view point is biased here.

Still, if there’s one word that I could use to describe the US, it would be ‘aspirational’ while if there was one that I could use to describe the UK, it would be ‘resentful’.

As an example, there’s a difference in feel between UK talent contests and US ones. The UK ones seem to be full of people almost apologizing for being there, while in the US people expect to be there. They expect to be told that they’re good. Since an early age, they’ve been told they can do it, that they’re special. That’s why it comes as such a soul crushing defeat when they’re told they stink. The British on the other hand, seem resigned to it already.

Another example can be found in the difference in TV shows, and soap operas in particular. In the US, soaps are relegated to daytime TV, while in the UK they’re mainly primetime shows; Coronation Street, Eastenders and Emmerdale regularly draw the highest viewing figures of any show, are on the air several times a week and maintain a huge rotating cast of characters and multiple ongoing story arcs at any one time.

That’s not the main difference though; while the US soaps are generally stocked with beautiful people, the UK ones are generally stocked with, well, people like you. Sure, there are attractive people in there, but you’re more likely to see a fat middle aged man or woman than you are a a ripped, buff twentysomething. The stories are also a little more grounded (some of the time, anyway). It’s another example of the US being aspirational – watch these beautiful people; don’t you want to be like them? – while the UK soaps are more realistic (well, generally speaking).

The exception to the beautiful people rule is Hollyoaks, aimed at a younger demographic, set around a college where genetics seem to be a defining entry requirement. I mention this only so I have an excuse to run this:

Another example – a specific one this time – showed up a few weeks ago in the online Daily Mail. Now, you may have heard people disparaging the Daily Mail. Historically, the paper’s readership are incredibly conservative (both big and little C), and the impression is that the editors and readers tend to not like things that offend them. The equivalent would be the far right in the US – people who take the moral high ground on issues and want to impose their opinion on others.

I don’t necessarily subscribe to that. For one thing, I was a Daily Mail reader. Hell, so is Mark Millar, and his work is exactly the kind of thing that the traditional Daily Mail reader tends to dislike. It’s a stereotype – but I digress.

In any case, this story focused on twentysomething UK actress, Adele Silva. Silva had had a pretty successful run for a few years in Emmerdale, did some lingerie shoots for some UK magazines, then headed over to Hollywood seeking fame and fortune as so many soap actresses tend to do. And like so many before her, she hasn’t found it.

Last month the Mail ran a story with the headline “Former Emmerdale pin-up Adele Silva heads to Hollywood… and finds work as a shop assistant” which starts with this:

She was once a household name, best known for her role in soap Emmerdale and reality cooking show, Hell’s Kitchen.

But after leaving Britain for the dizzy heights of Hollywood, it seems that Adele Silva’s dreams of stardom have taken a downward spiral.

Miss Silva, 29, has, in fact, made it in Hollywood – but only as a shop assistant for British fashion chain Ted Baker at their Melrose Avenue store, the Daily Mail has learned.

The story continues:

Our exclusive pictures also show her cleaning the glass counters at the shop with her cloth and a bottle of ‘Glass Plus’ in hand and serving customers.

Oh my god. There are pictures of her actually working? The horror.

And in a bid to make some more money, Miss Silva has also launched her own dog walking service called ‘Walkies of Fame’.

And she has the nerve to launch a small dog walking business in a bid to make money?

The article goes on, detailing how Silva promised to return to Emmerdale but didn’t, did some reality TV stuff, then went to LA to find acting roles and pulls some quotes of the dog walking website (dog walkers aren’t as common in the UK as they are in the US).

The article notes that UK soap actors and actresses don’t often make it in the US.

Miss Silva joins a raft of British soap stars whose bid to find fame in Los Angeles has fallen on deaf ears.

The closest any soap star has come to making a name for herself in the States is Anna Friel, who started her career on Channel 4 drama Brookside, but went on to get a starring role in TV comedy Pushing Daisies.

The show was axed despite criticial praise, but Miss Friel has continued to win film roles, including appearing with comic star Will Ferrell in The Land of The Lost which was released last year.

It closes with a quote from Silva

Last night, Adele told the Mail: ‘I’m a jobbing actress and in this climate you can either sell your soul or do an honest day’s work.’

There are a couple of things to take away from this: first off, the UK really doesn’t have any sympathy for people who leave the UK to try and further their careers. Secondly, there’s a certain amount of delight to be taken when people fail.

The main thing though, is the inclusion of Silva’s quote at the end of the article with no further comment. She sounds like she’s auditioning for roles, but she’s realistic enough to know that she needs to work while she does that. That’s like pretty much every actor ever.

The difference is how it’s reported.

UK – actress tries to make go of it, fails, has to work in a store to get by. That’ll teach her.

US – actress holds down two jobs while chasing auditions. Working hard for her dream.

That, right there, is the fundamental difference between the US and the UK.

Or at least that’s how it seems right now. There’s a bitterness that’s buried deep inside the British culture, an anger and resentment. The state of the NHS, the huge immigration problems, the erosion of a national identity that’s been co-opted by the worst elements in society, problems with schools, social problems with rising crime levels and unemployment, a tendency to believe the best is behind the country, growing discontent with a Government that many believed would change things – all of these contribute towards a feeling of national discontentment.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate Britain. I love what it was, and what it could be. I just don’t like what it is.

Tags: Ask Rich, blogging

This entry was posted on April 13, 2010 at 11:47 am and is filed under Archive, Random-Archived. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.