You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘British’ tag.
Lydia Leith Copyright © 2011
In just about six days, the world will experience a royally induced economic blip, because every television channel will be tuned into the royal wedding. The sponsors of channels that will not be carrying the wedding will shell out millions for unwatched television ads. Shoppers will not be spending money in malls or grocery stores. Lack of productivity in the workplace will cause millions of dollars of waste. Royal wedding viewers who are madly snacking on Doritos, ice cream and heavy fried foods will add to the health care crisis when their arteries suddenly clog and they are rushed to the emergency room to await clot buster treatments. Perhaps the only business that will make more money than usual will be pizza delivery and take out—or as our UK friends say “take away.”
Not be too rude, but the whole royal family reminds me of high school. The royals are The Popular Group and the thousands of Hanger-On-ers (the royal bread maker, the royal toe clipper, the royal garbage bag changer, the royal dog bowl washer…) are all the kids who are hoping against hope that if they hang out with the Popular Group, they might just magically also be accepted. The Popular Group does nothing to earn their status—they just fall upon their status, or happen to have older brothers and sisters who were also in the group. Occasionally, one member of this high caste turns their eyes to one of the members of the undesirables and finds that person somehow worthy, and Lo and Behold! that undesirable miraculously becomes a member of the Popular Group.
Supposedly, Ms. Middleton is a commoner and as the British say, “one of us.” I’m not sure what the British consider a commoner, but usually when someone is from a multimillion dollar family, attends an elite and affluent school and lives in a £1.2 million apartment in Chelsea, I wouldn’t consider that person “one of us.” I’m not sure what separates the commoner from a non-commoner, but this is one of the problems I have with the British elite. There is an attitude of disrespect for humble and honest hard work. For some reason, a middle class hard worker is seen as less than desirable. Money and a false sense of gentry take precedence over talent and hard work. To me, the British royal family, represents the epitome of a society which promotes a snobbish and elitist class system.
A few interesting facts: The royals do not bring in the most tourist dollars. Visiting one of the royal sites barely makes the top tourist attractions in UK. Buckingham Palace is not even listed on the most profitable tourist attractions, “The Tower of London is revealed as the most popular paid for attraction in 2007 with over 2 million visits, followed by St Paul’s Cathedral (1.6 million visitors) and Pleasure Beach in Great Yarmouth (1.4 million visitors). Xscape Milton Keynes becomes the country’s most visited free attraction with 6.9 million visits in 2007, followed by Blackpool Pleasure Beach (5.5 million visitors) and the British Museum (5.4 million visitors)”[1].
While the Queen employs three chauffeurs to drive her one body around (how she could possibly be in three places at once is beyond me) and Prince Charles has a team of four valets to “to squeeze his toothpaste on to his brush, and another who once held the specimen bottle while he gave a urine sample”[2], at a cost of £38.2 million or $631 million, the citizens of the UK are experiencing a 10% unemployment rate and a national debt that has risen above 70% of GDP[3]. In the midst of this, Will is spending £30 million or about $48 million on his wedding. Because the day is an official holiday, forecasters predict it will cost another whopping $9.84 billion in lost productivity[4]!
I, for one will be doing my part to keep our global economy moving forward. My television will not be tuned to the “wedding of the century.” I will be contributing to growing the economy while shopping for dinner ingredients at Shop Rite and going to work as usual. As a rule I love weddings—the idea of two people coming together surrounded by family and friends while they express their love for each other, always brings tears to my eyes. But this is not a wedding; it’s a production, complete with script, set, directors and a producer. Oh sure, supposedly this wedding is somehow more genuine because Welfare Will dared to fall in love with a…(gasp!) Commoner! (Oh, the wonder of it all!) But to me—it’s just another silly and expensive event that is even more ludicrous, in light of all the challenging global events with which we; the commoners, must cope.
1] “Top UK Tourist Attractions,” Visitbritian, 16 November 2008, <http://www.4hoteliers.com/4hots_nshw.php?mwi=5197>.
[2] “Spoiled Prince has a flunkey to squeeze his toothpaste.” The Sun Herald, Stuart Millar and Jamie Wilson, 7 November 2002, <http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/11/16/1037080965729.html>.
[3] “UK Economy: UK Economy 2010, UK Economic Forecast.” Economy Watch, <http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/united-kingdom/uk-economy-2010-forecast.html>.
[4] “Royal Wedding to Cost UK Economy $7.9 Billion.” Newser, Rob Quinn, 24 November 2010, <http://www.newser.com/story/106064/royal-wedding-to-cost-uk-economy-79-billion.html>.
Mostly Fiction, 1998-2010
A few years ago I read a wonderful book called The Book of Salt by Monique Truong. In this novel, a Vietnamese servant named Binh recalls his experiences of living in French colonized Vietnam. His employers are the writers Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. There comes a point when the writers presume to narrate Binh’s life story for him. Upon discovery of this Binh becomes enraged, “My story, Madame, is mine. I alone am qualified to tell it, to embellish, or to withhold…the story, it belongs to me.”
The world is yet to hear the stories from many other Binhs. When India, the Pacific Islands, the countries of Africa and other lands were colonized the world saw them—their natural resources, foods, culture, language, value systems and governments, only through the eyes of the colonizer. Things were seen from the western point of the view. Coffee and chocolate became known as European specialties and tea became an English drink. The crown jewels in the Tower of London while drawing loud “oohs” and “ahhs” from tourists, were taken from India during the British Raj. The jewels can only be seen from inside their European settings. The British Museum and The Louvre hold treasures such as The Kohinoor Diamond, Elgin Marbles, Benin Bronzes, Rosetta Stone and The Seated Scribe—the list of such thefts is longer than anyone can compile. These treasures can only be seen in surroundings that are foreign to their origin. If these works of art were returned to their rightful owners, would they become less artistic? My appreciation of art is greatly enhanced when it is seen in its country of origin. Anyone who has seen Italian art in Italy, Egyptian art in Egypt or Kenyan art in Kenya would say the very same thing.
Many would say to let sleeping dogs lie and that one can’t undo the damage of the past. The debate over the return of stolen artifacts goes on. But I would argue that this discussion is only a symptom of a much bigger problem:
The word does not yet recognize or acknowledge the Binhs of the world. It can only hear their voices when they are presented from a western point of view.
For example, there was a huge mass appeal for the movie Slumdog Millionaire. A movie that portrays the brash and often ugly life of poor Indians—written and directed by two British men, Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy. It was an entertaining movie, but what bothered me the most, was that it was shot completely from a western perspective. While I sat in the theatre it was amusing to hear the “Indian” and “American” reactions. During particularly graphic scenes, the Indians laughed and the Americans gasped in horror. An Indian would not have created the same movie. At the same time, movies such as Water and The Namesake directed by Deepa Mehta and Mira Nair barely created a blip on the movie radar. These two films gave an infinitely superior and authentic view of India than the Danny Boyle perspective. It was interesting when The Sixth Sense, directed by M. Knight Shyamalan, was passed over at the Academy Awards for best picture and best director. Instead American Beauty, a rather pedestrian movie about a tiresome middle aged pedophile, won an Oscar in both categories. Perhaps the Academy was not ready to see America from an Indian-American perspective.
Literature seems to be coming along at a better pace. Indian English writers such as Rushdie, Adiga and Roy who write about life in India have received global acclaim. At the same time, many do not. Rohinton Mistry is a prolific and beautiful writer who writes about real life in India. All of his books including A Fine Balance have been passed by for any awards. R.K Narayan wrote many magnificent short stories and novels but many who call themselves well-read cannot recall one of his works. It was most distressing to learn that Yann Martel, a Spanish writer who had not had much success in the literary world, had won the Booker Prize for his novel Life of Pi. He chose to tell the story of an Indian boy named Pi Patel. Pi is born in India to parents who are from Tamilnadu in South India. An Indian would have never given life to such a character. Any Indian will tell you that it is almost impossible for a native South Indian to have the last name of “Patel.” Patel is a distinctly Gujarati name. Martel uses India as the backdrop for his novel, but fails to provide even an authentic Indian name for his protagonist.
Indian music and dance have only recently become popular due to artists who have reinterpreted these traditional beats and rhythms to complement their own music. Artists like Jay-Z, uses Indian artists in his music. He worked with Punjabi MC to produce a huge dance hit called Beware of the Boys. Timbaland also uses Indian singers, words and music in his song called Bombay and another called Indian Flute. Missy Elliot’s hit Get Your Freak On is written on an addictive beat with rhythms and instruments used in traditional Indian music and Sean Paul’s single Get Busy was on the billboard top 100 for 23 weeks. In this song Paul uses a sound called Diwali. It is a bhangra infected, hand clapping rhythm and sound that is heard all over the US dance floors. Sean Paul also uses samples from Indian artists in his song, Shout (Street Respect). It seems that even Indian music must be heard through the ears of a western artist before it is deemed valuable.
While it might be difficult to turn back time and undo the damages of colonialism, it is important that all of us as consumers and lovers of art and music seek to find and appreciate those artists that provide the most authentic and genuine voice, keeping our ears and eyes open for all the Binhs of the world.
Michael J. Totten, October 2007
Now that the war effort has shifted in focus to Afghanistan, it gives us a chance to stand back and look at Iraq through a different lens. When American troops first landed in Iraq, I remember the accounts about the poor conditions of the Iraqi soldiers and the suffering of the people. At first glance it seemed that the Iraqi people were quite joyful that they had been liberated from Saddam Hussein’s rule. I watched the American soldiers on Iraqi soil receive a warm welcome. By the time the first elections were over and the now iconic photos of women waving their purple dyed fingers began circulating, I noticed a subtle shift in the attitude of Iraqi sentiment—decidedly negative.Today, there is no mistake; Iraqis seem resentful, bitter and downright angry at the presence of Americans in their homeland. Rather than offer an over simplified or easy answer that throws around ideas like “stealing oil” or “imperialism” I suggest the real answer regarding the Iraqi sentiment is something much deeper.When Iraq gained freedom, there was an essential ingredient missing—It was the chance to win independence for themselves. When the noose around the necks of the pre-revolutionary Americans, grew so tight they could take no more, they fought tyranny with their own strength. General George Washington crossed the Delaware River on Christmas in 1776, and his men were demoralized, hungry and barely alive. Words by Thomas Paine boosted morale, “These are times that try men’s souls…Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph,” and inspired the historical victory.When India won their independence from the British, it was because the people of India decided to end the British exploitation for once and for all. Gandhi’s call for the British to “Quit India” rallied pride and a sense of dignity in every Indian. Each citizen had a chance to contribute to their own freedom–spinning cotton, making salt, or joining the march to boycott British goods.In the same way, Frenchmen while carrying a tremendous national debt and broken under the burden of over taxation, (sounds familiar!) achieved their own revolution which led to the establishment of their New Constitution.But the people of Iraq were denied this. They did not win their own freedom. Instead it was given to them, like a gift with a bow. There is no doubt that the people of Iraq were oppressed by Saddam Hussein. But it had not yet reached ignition point. This moment may have been a year or even ten years away, but when Saddam was overthrown by the Americans, the noose around the collective Iraqi neck had not yet reached the moment of suffocation. They were denied a chance to gather in the streets, circulate revolutionary papers, choose a leader and fight to overthrow an oppressive regime. When Saddam was brought to justice, the power behind the accomplishment was not organically generated, but came from an outside source. As many others who had felt tyranny before them, the people of Iraq at the time of their own choosing, would have overthrown Saddam Hussein in their own way and most importantly, with their own might.
The memory of the Iraqi people in relation to their independence is not one of ownership. Since their independence was given to them and they did not earn it for themselves, their momentary happiness, viewed retrospectively, has turned into shame. In many ways the global community asks Iraq to be grateful for a present they did not ask for and were not ready to receive. The Iraqis are resentful toward America because America is the source of their shame.
Politically, the independence of Iraq seems a success, but the collective consciousness of the people of Iraq has been deeply bruised. Shame is not easily erased and it will take time before Iraq can raise their eyes and look eye to eye at the rest of the world once more.
what people are saying