I often ponder on the differences in character between us Americans (specifically USians) and those across the pond. Having lived in London, I would have described those who lived there as “charmingly self-deprecating”, and I wonder how much of that is the legacy of having lost so much of their Empire after the Great War. “We’ve got loads of potential! But we’ll probably never reach it.” Bill Bryson would make some sort of pithy (and astute) remark about the psychological effects of living on a small island perhaps, but I’ve got nothing. Observations with no real insight.
Americans have found it unbearable that Posner turns into what they call a loser. An English audience simply expects it! I had an email from a very smart American friend saying, "But he's put up with all this teasing at school, he's popular with the boys, surely he would turn into a TV director."Nicholas Hytner, in an interview about The History Boys
One Response to “Look You’re British, So Scale It Down A Bit*”
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English people are self-deprecating because our society has always been class-based, even though class issues have gone underground in recent years. Historically, so few people have been in charge of so many that it was necessary – nay, decent – to obscure that power with self-effacement.
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