Brian from United Kingdom - The Genius of America
Dear America,
I'm traveling to New York and Washington for the first time in a few weeks. The prospect of going to New York is thrilling. For my whole life I have watched American films and here will be my first chance to see the many landmarks featured in these movies.
I recently saw Saturday Night Fever a wonderful evocation of 70s life in Brooklyn. I saw The Squid and the Whale, too, which is an evocation of Brooklyn in the 1980s. I love the sense of place these films create. The dialogue, and the observations of aspirations and fears, I find fascinating.
I've booked my Sopranos tour, which will take me round all the settings I have grown familiar with, watching six series (or is it seven?) of that amazing drama. I'm looking forward to seeing the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and the kind of streets that are featured in The Godfather, Sex in the City and Woody Allen films.
Having had the reputation of being a low-brow culture, the Americans in the last decade have redefined television and its possibilities. I'm a fanatical fan of Alan Ball's Six Feet Under. It's a wonderful series which confronts viewers with all the really big questions. It's funny, profound and moving.
I particularly enjoy the ethnic mix which series like the Sopranos and Six Feet Under explore. For seven years I lived in Bayswater in London. It was a tough place to survive, and the English were a community among many other communities.
London is America these days. The idea of a nation state, an England that is for the English, is defunct. As a culture we are not very good at expressing or depicting this new world we live in. The Americans do it beautifully.
About the Author:
Name: Brian Jenner
Age: 39
Country: United Kingdom
City: Bournemouth
State: Dorset
Gender: Male
Income: Medium
Occupation: Speechwriter
Experience With US: Visited the United States
Website: http://www.brianjenner.typepad.com
0 Comments
Published on Wednesday, February 27, 2008 at 11:40 PM. I'm traveling to New York and Washington for the first time in a few weeks. The prospect of going to New York is thrilling. For my whole life I have watched American films and here will be my first chance to see the many landmarks featured in these movies.
I recently saw Saturday Night Fever a wonderful evocation of 70s life in Brooklyn. I saw The Squid and the Whale, too, which is an evocation of Brooklyn in the 1980s. I love the sense of place these films create. The dialogue, and the observations of aspirations and fears, I find fascinating.
I've booked my Sopranos tour, which will take me round all the settings I have grown familiar with, watching six series (or is it seven?) of that amazing drama. I'm looking forward to seeing the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and the kind of streets that are featured in The Godfather, Sex in the City and Woody Allen films.
Having had the reputation of being a low-brow culture, the Americans in the last decade have redefined television and its possibilities. I'm a fanatical fan of Alan Ball's Six Feet Under. It's a wonderful series which confronts viewers with all the really big questions. It's funny, profound and moving.
I particularly enjoy the ethnic mix which series like the Sopranos and Six Feet Under explore. For seven years I lived in Bayswater in London. It was a tough place to survive, and the English were a community among many other communities.
London is America these days. The idea of a nation state, an England that is for the English, is defunct. As a culture we are not very good at expressing or depicting this new world we live in. The Americans do it beautifully.
About the Author:
Name: Brian Jenner
Age: 39
Country: United Kingdom
City: Bournemouth
State: Dorset
Gender: Male
Income: Medium
Occupation: Speechwriter
Experience With US: Visited the United States
Website: http://www.brianjenner.typepad.com
Labels: 30's, culture, europe, male, medium income, music, pop culture, united kingdom, visited the US
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