American Life » Learning to speak 'merican

The pursuit of fun

Oct 242010

I knew I was back in the US when a neighbour greeted me with ‘Hey travelling girl’ and proceeded to tell me about a new activity he’d taken up – disco bowling. Now, there’s a combination for you. One of the things that’s slowly dawned on me is that the American pursuit of happiness might be better described as the pursuit of fun. No, let me restate that – the pursuit of FUN – because I’m talking about fun in a big way.

Some Americans have rooms in their houses devoted to recreation. We lived in living rooms in the UK, and dined and dining rooms, but I don’t think I ever came across a British rec room. I met an American on my travels and asked her what she missed most about home. ‘Playing’, she said and I knew what she meant. Americans seem to have some kind of special facility for it.

On a trip to Orlando, we once checked ourselves in for a dinner and joust – yep, a real live joust with medieval knights on horses. I use the term ‘medieval’ very loosely though. The 13th century event took place in a 20th century cement block structure, the horses performed to early 19th century Strauss waltzes and the battles were enacted to the theme music of Ben Hur (circa 1957?). The location had me foxed as well. The building was decorated with the names of Spanish towns but the MC spoke in a quasi-British accent and the horses looked like they’d come straight from Vienna to me. And then I realised it was pointless to be troubled by these questions. Nobody else was, and heck, they were irrelevant. I had to be in 21st century America because nobody around me was allowing any historical or geographical facts to get in the way of having a good time.

So all in all, it’s very nice to be back in the US and if anybody wants to invite me disco bowling, I’m ready to play. And if you’d like to combine any other pursuits as well, like glass-blowing-on-roller-blades or karioke-skydiving, I’m prepared to give it a whirl – just so long as you think it might be FUN.

Why Brits are baddies

American Life, Politeness 26 Responses »

Oct 202010

No doubt you’ve noticed. Lots of the baddies in American movies are Brits.

And if it’s passed you by, think of the villains you’ve seen in American movies – the best ones were British, weren’t they? The Matrix Reloaded, Mission Impossible, The Bourne Films, Spiderman 2, Catwoman. Oceans 12 and 13, and who could be more evil than Anthony Hopkins as Dr Hannibal Lecter? Then there are the baddies in Mel Gibson’s films, but let’s not bother going there. Thing is, cast a Brit as the evil-doer and you raise your odds of having a blockbuster hit.

So I’m wondering, what is it that gives British actors the edge as villains in ‘merican movies?

I just watched an oldie – Wall Street – and there’s a line in it where Gecko comments on some British Lord who’s visiting NYC. He says, ‘Like all Brits, he thinks he was born with a better pot to piss in.’ So I’d hazard a guess that arrogance and aloofness are key. And to build my case, someone who once employed me here commented later that he was relieved to find I was willing to ‘muck in’. ‘Why did he think I wouldn’t?’, I wondered. So I’d wager that a key trait associated with Brits is unwillingness to join in achieving a common goal.

By: Trev Grant

And what is it exactly about us Brits that exudes our baddy aura? Is it just our accent or our British visage, posture, eye contact, clothing, dental work or something? Or is it stuff in our speech patterns, turn taking styles, how we structure our thoughts etc. that makes us seem unhelpful and aloof. I think differing US/UK styles of politeness are playing a large role. We’d rather appear standoffish than intrude.

And one last point about this. I don’t think Brits give a hoot. Cast us in baddy roles and we find it pretty amusing. But perhaps I’m wrong about that, so let me ask: fellow Brits, does the frequent casting of Brits as evil-doers offend you, or is it water of a duck’s back? (And if it’s the latter, might that also signal arrogance and aloofness somehow?)

‘Choices, choices’ means ‘decisions, decisions’

American Life 5 Responses »

Aug 032010

I’ve noticed that it seems to be fine to make a lot of requests when you’re ordering food in the US. Sally (Meg Ryan) provides a demonstration of how to do it here (starts at 8 mins 17 seconds in – ends at 8 mins 51).

(Ah sorry folks! Since posting this, the video has disappeared from Youtube. It was that scene where Sally was being very precise and picky when she was ordering in a restaurant)

Ha! Well, being a picky customer is not totally OK here of course, but it does seem to be more acceptable than it might be in the UK.

Nevertheless, when I’m playing host, I’ll want to offer my guests say eggs for breakfast – so it’s ‘Boiled, scrambled, easy over, or sunny side up?’ And once those choices have been made, would they like soft or hard, dry or runny? Then we start on how they’d like their toast and bacon. There are a lot of decisions to be made, and the day hasn’t started yet.

Compare this with Japan where, as I understand it, it’s the host’s task to consider what’s most likely to please their particular guest, and place it before them. The guest will exercise ‘enryo’ (restraint, reserve) about expressing their individual preferences, which has some attractive benefits. With life’s small decisions lifted from their shoulders, their only responsibility is to settle back and enjoy.

Sheena Iyengar has done research into differing cultural attitudes to making choices. In this delightful TED talk she presents some interesting angles on the pros and cons of living life a la carte, along with some entertaining anecdotes.

Positive thinking

American Life 8 Responses »

Jul 252010

When we turn on the news in the morning, we see upbeat, perky news commentators who greet us with happy smiles and cheerful laughter. This is despite the economic meltdown, the vast numbers of unemployed, the BP oil spill, hurricane season starting etc, etc. It seems the sentiment of this old song is still flourishing in the US.

A positive attitude is generally valued on both sides of the Atlantic, but I think it’s more prevalent and deemed more important here. I sometimes hear Americans self-monitoring and saying, ‘Now how can I say that more positively?’ And something similar often goes on in my head when I’m trying to translate my British thoughts into ‘merican. Eliminating the negative, or at least toning it down, is often a big part of the restructuring.

There’s a book called Brit-think, Ameri-think by Jane Walmsley in which she entertainingly maintains:

The single most important thing to know about Americans – the attitude which truly distinguishes them from the British, and explains much superficially odd behavior – is that Americans think that death is optional. They may not admit it, and will probably laugh if it’s suggested; but it’s a state of mind – a kind of national leitmotiv if you like – that colors everything they do. There is a nagging suspicion that you can delay death (or who knows? avoid it altogether) if you really try.

Well, daft as it sounds, maybe there’s some sense in thinking that way. After all, positive thinking can have some surprising benefits, as some researchers at the University of Cologne recently discovered. They took a group of golfers and told half of them that they were going to use a lucky ball. The other half were told nothing. Can you guess which group performed better on the putting green? Yep – the ones who thought they had luck on their side. It’s not first time this sort of effect has been observed and it’s led psychologists to suggest that optimists might approach life with a positive frame that makes them more open to spotting opportunities, and hence they really do become ‘more lucky’.

So how far should we engage in positive thinking? Should we all start pretending that death is optional, for instance? Jane Walmsley maintains it’s the secret of America’s fundamental optimism, but she also goes on to point out the downside:

Your life is in your own hands… and the quality of that life as well. You owe it to yourself to be beautiful, clever, skinny, successful, and healthy. If you fail it’s because you’re not trying hard enough… (you didn’t jog regularly, you should’ve eaten more bran). Death becomes your fault.

There’s a terrific video below in which Barbara Ehrenreich also explores the downside of positive thinking and argues instead for a hefty dose of realism. Very interestingly, she points out that a requirement to ‘think positive’ can operate as a form of social control. When cheerful optimism is mandatory, people who foresee problems get told to shut up or get fired. And if we imagine that problems like extreme inequality, discrimination or poverty can simply be fixed by individual victims ‘thinking positive’, it removes the pressure to solve them.

Barbara is American, and she’s talking about the dangers of positive thinking in the US. But I think a lot of what she’s saying relates to the UK and elsewhere as well. Any thoughts?

(Many thanks to Karenne Sylvester for sending me that great video link)

The fourth of July

American Life 7 Responses »

Jul 042010

Someone asked me the other day, ‘Do you celebrate the fourth, Vicki?’ Well, actually that’s a very good question.

Obviously, like all Brits, I view the Declaration of Independence as an act of treason. And yes, I’ve listened to the ‘no taxation without representation’ excuses, but what about the fact that the poor British taxpayer had to cough up to defend Americans in their French and Indian war? And once saved, would they chip in? So I ask you, where’s the gratitude?

So it’s going to be tough because it’s hard to escape the 4th when you’re living in the middle of Philadelphia where it all happened. I’ll be forced to contemplate the sorry events of 1776 with my significant alien and friends who will be partying on the deck tonight. I expect the weather will be gorgeous as it usually is on the fourth, but fortunately we Brits are made of stern stuff. No doubt I’ll manage to maintain a stiff upper lip as I tuck into thetraditional barbecue feast. And then I’ll have to suffer through the very best firework display in America.

So it’s a tough life, but as we say where I come from, mustn’t grumble.

Here’s wishing American’s everywhere a spectacular fourth of July.

How will you/did you celebrate?

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