Posted on 04/07/2013 10:03:06 PM PDT by beaversmom
T-shirts. Guidebooks. Snow globes.
These are the usual souvenirs of the tourist.
But Tim Harnett is anything but usual, or a casual tourist.
The Cleveland IT professional brought home a subway sign -- a wall-size one -- when he visited London.
And pint glasses from pubs, autographed band posters, menus, CDs and more.
Harnett, 43, is an Anglophile -- a lover of all things English. Not only did the native Ohioan cart home a massive London Underground sign to his West Park home. He used it to help re-create an Underground station and English pub in his basement.
The pub is stocked only with English beer and crisps, purchased from Gaelic Imports in Parma. Posters of British bands such as Madness and soccer flags line the walls, along with oversize subway maps, a Carnaby Street road sign and a warning to "Mind the Gap" (the recorded phrase repeated ad nauseam on the Underground).
Upstairs, a Union Jack is painted on the ceiling; a hallway is dedicated to Mini Coopers; a room dedicated to 1990s Britpop and '60s British Invasion bands features autographs from Shaun Ryder of the Happy Mondays, the Charlatans UK and a fez from ska greats Madness. In the garage sit three Mod scooters (a 1965 Lambretta and 1966 and 1980 Vespas) and a British cafe-racer-style motorcycle. A red English "post" box greets visitors at the front door.
"It's that whole grass-is-greener effect," Harnett says of his attraction to England, where he has traveled five times. "It's not where you are every day. I just love the music, the clothes, the booze . . everything that makes life there different from over here -- and better, in my opinion."
Was it punks or PBS?
Harnett's passion may be extreme, but he's far from alone in his devotion to England. Americans have always had a special relationship with British popular culture -- and vice versa -- from the days of Dickens' rock-star tours of the States to the British Invasion bands to long-running shows such as "Upstairs Downstairs" on PBS.
But the Anglophilia bug is on the rise, in large part thanks to the runaway success of the 1920s-set soap opera "Downton Abbey," also on PBS (9 p.m. Sundays); the high-profile wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011; Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee last year; and the 2012 Summer Olympics bringing daily glimpses of English life into our living rooms.
Not that being an Anglophile necessarily means being a royalist. An Anglophile could just as much be a fan of the anarchic punk bands the Sex Pistols and the Clash; British Invasion rock; the '90s Britpop scene; the Manchester postpunk movement; the swinging Mods of the '60s; the British humor of television shows, such as "Monty Python's Flying Circus" or "Absolutely Fabulous"; Edwardian tea and crumpets; or, yes, the queen and her family.
Harnett credits the genesis of his Anglophilia to PBS.
"I remember discovering 'Monty Python' on PBS when I was 14," he says. "It's my most vivid childhood memory."
PBS also hooked Andrew Samtoy, a 33-year-old Cleveland attorney who makes frequent trips across the pond to feed his Anglo addiction.
"Growing up, my sister and I discovered 'Blackadder' and 'Fawlty Towers' on PBS and became huge fans. I guess we were nerds," he says. "The humor was more cerebral than anything you could get in the U.S. . . . The jokes are not just funny as jokes, but as references to things in history that are funny.
"It seems to me a very particular British trait that one knows one's culture and history in a way that can be referenced even in humor. People there have more in common with each other, a shared culture and knowledge. I like that." Carnaby_Street.jpg Chris Morris, The Plain Dealer
The influence of imports
Public television deserves much of the credit for exposing Americans to modern British culture, says Robert Thompson, professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University. For a long time, it was the only place we could glimpse scenes of life in London, from the gritty East End to posh Belgravia. And PBS is still driving the Anglo trend.
" 'Downton Abbey' is a real cultural phenomenon," says Thompson. "It's on PBS but is approaching network-sized ratings. . . . It's getting 9 million viewers a week."
The show that began in 2010 has even inspired cookbooks, fashion trends and thousands of dinner parties.
"It's got the perfect combination of the 'Masterpiece Theatre' Anglophile drama with good old-fashioned costume drama and soap opera."
Other influential imports Thompson cites include " 'The Avengers,' because they were on a network; 'Benny Hill,' because it did so well in syndication; and 'The Prisoner,' because of its cult appeal."
But he says the impact of "Monty Python," which aired on PBS in the mid-'70s, can't be underestimated -- and not only because of the ratings. It made the viewers who discovered it feel they were in on something special.
"I remember 'Monty Python' from when I was in school," Thompson says. "The next day, the ones who discovered it would be reciting the jokes to one another, always in a British dialect."
This feeling of being in on the joke, or knowing about something most Americans haven't discovered, can partly explain the Anglophile psyche.
"It's like with 'The Office,' " says Thompson. "When the American version came out, I first thought it was not as good. Then I came around to thinking that the American version was better. There is an element of snobbishness to it, the sense that you treasure the fact that you discovered something original."
Anger, angst in music and movies Underground_logo.jpg Chris Morris, The Plain Dealer
But while television first brought us the everyday sights of English life, English bands have provided the soundtracks to our lives since the British Invasion of the '60s. You don't have to be Anglophile to like the Beatles or Rolling Stones, though if you are one, you probably will. But most Anglophile music fans dig a little deeper.
Take Annie Zaleski, 33, a music journalist from Lakewood who recently drove to Pittsburgh and Columbus in a two-day span to see iconic English singer Morrissey.
"My parents were really into the Who, the Rolling Stones, the whole Mod thing," says Zaleski. "I grew up listening to that, and when I got older, I got into Britpop when [now-defunct indie-rock radio station] The End used to be in Cleveland.
"I just really love British music -- there's something very distinct from American music. I love XTC, Blur, the Smiths, the Jam, the punk stuff, Duran Duran and new wave. British artists have a way with a hook and are not afraid of being vulnerable and honest."
Zaleski said she "never really got into British TV -- the humor never resonated with me."
But she is a fan of British movies. Not surprisingly, her list includes the Britpop-heavy "Trainspotting," by lauded English director Danny Boyle.
"Trainspotting," a bleak but pop-filled look at Edinburgh's teen drug wasteland, is a prime example of modern British cinema. More often than not, these films delve into the harsh lives of the working class (see anything by Mike Leigh or "The Full Monty," for starters) -- sometimes with heartbreaking pathos, other times with a typical English wit and great soundtracks.
English cinema since the '70s is not that different from the punk-rock movement that started in the same era. It expresses the anger and angst sparked by modern social ills afflicting good old Blighty: racism, anti-immigration sentiment, sexism and high levels of unemployment and poverty.
And, of course, there's nostalgia
That's a far cry from the elaborate manners and elegance of "Downton Abbey." But perhaps "Downton's" nostalgia for a more refined era (of course, one built on classism, sexism, xenophobia and imperialism) is part of its appeal. And part of England's appeal for many Americans.
"From my perspective, the English culture represents a strong sense of tradition, a tradition of courtesy, manners and gentility in how one leads one's life," says John Rampe, 67, former president of the Cleveland branch of the English-Speaking Union, a group dedicated to the preservation of English language, literature and culture.
"Now is that true of the entire culture? Probably not. London I don't find a whole lot different than New York, and of course England has many of its own issues."
Mark Stephens, 45, moved to Parma from London in 1998. The Cornwall native says much of what Americans like about English popular culture is rooted in the past.
"I see a lot of nostalgia for a gone era: Mini Coopers, the Beatles and miniskirts," he says. "That view of England is a view of what once was, not how it is today."
Still, that idea doesn't stop Anglophiles like Harnett from importing a bit of English flavor into their lives.
"There's just something about British culture," Harnett says. "All the things in life that have meaning to me -- music, film, food, drink, TV shows and forms of pop culture. In Britain, it just has a delightful taste of the national character that inspired me from early on in life."
Have you ever seen the one that Baldrick from Blackadder (Tony Robinson) does on the worst jobs in English history?:
The Worst Jobs in History - The Tudor Age - Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69B7DWEKANY
‘The Tudors’: that Henry VIII was a real cut-up, huh?
I’m guessing by Catherine Howard he had pretty much decided he needed a nurse, not a wife.
I always enjoyed the radio play, “The Death of Mary Queen of Scots”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmMD4ij8GHk
“‘The Tudors’: that Henry VIII was a real cut-up, huh?”
:) Yes, I think so. I either read or saw in a programme that he smelled very foul in his later years because of the infections in his legs.
In part II of the Worst Jobs in Tudor age it talks about the person that got to wipe his bottom—The Groom of the Stool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va4vYnjqjfg#t=02m25s
The Worst Jobs in History - The Tudor Age - Part 2
I thought he injured his leg jousting, but my daughter thinks he was vain about his calves and the wound was a combination of gout and too-tight garters.
Recall More (?) flattering his “shapely calves”? I wonder if groom Culpepper was the weilder of the royal butt-swab. Seems only fair.
Yes, funny enough I just read about that two seconds ago trying to find more info. They aren’t exactly sure of the reason, but have several theories. Here’s what I found:
They said in the Tudor Jobs show that Groom of the Stool was a very coveted job, but one groom got caught up in the Anne Boleyn deal and it didn’t end up so well for him.
Weilder=wielder
As I recall, welding buttocks was reserved for north country rebels, certainly not King Hank.
Thanks for the info. I’ll share it with the kiddo.
LOL. Yes, very horrible torture.
I’m an Anglophile too, as a little kid with the Beatles, the Prisoner, classic Dr Who and many trips to the UK. And now, my current love, Alan Rickman. I feel at home in London — having read this article, now I want to go back!!!
I own a sonic screwdriver.
Oh how wonderful that you have been many times.
I have never seen the Prisoner, but saw this several years ago. Have you ever heard of it or been?
http://www.beautifulbritain.co.uk/htm/outandabout/portmeirion.htm
Okay, had to look up sonic screwdriver. Never seen Doctor Who either. I’m starting to think I’m not a true Anglophile.
Total anglophilic geek here.
This gives me goosebumps hehehe. Plus I have the components to build one, just not the space.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdrqdW4Miao
I have. Its like being in a drug-induced hallucination, much like ‘The Prisoner’ and a lot of British TV shows from that era.
And Portmerion is in Wales so ‘technically’ its not really anglo....
Tommy Cooper is the all-time best Brit comedian. Check out his routines on the internet.
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