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The British Are Staying, the British Are Staying
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13298 |
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Section : |
MODERN THOUGHT
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| Issue
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10 / 1987 |
2,524 Words |
| Author
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Judith Chettle
Judith Chettle is a South Africa-born writer, now living in
the United States, and a frequent contributor to The World &
I . |
The appearance of Prince Charles as main speaker at Harvard's 350th birthday was as good a pointer as any. It followed his warm reception in Texas for its sesquicentennial and his personal imprimatur on the National Gallery's celebration of noble clutter--the Treasure Houses of Britain. It is tempting to conclude, and certainly enough evidence is around, that the Revolutionary War is being fought all over again. Only this time the British are winning.
Royal princes, penurious lords, actors, producers, musicians, designers, and manufacturers, armed with pedigrees, old names, raincoats, sweaters, bolts of fabric, and television series, are cleverly establishing beachheads in the hearts and minds of the American people. The local population is not only uncertain how to fight back, but is indeed unsure whether it really wants to. The British are no longer coming but staying and staying. Perhaps recognizing the futility of legal dominion, subtler but no less effective methods of exacting continuing tribute and respect have been devised.
The task has been almost effortless, for protective resistance has been tempered by a phenomenon that Robert Hughes, the Australian-born art critic, in an effort to describe the Australian reaction to everything from abroad, once called the "cultural cringe." It is a term equally appropriate to describe the American response, for the United States, though less unsure of itself, is hardly less deferential, even obsequious at times, in the face of anything British. Despite the dismantling of empire, and the weakening of ties, cultural imperialism still remains as an arbiter of manners, taste, and fashion, and a generator of insecurities.
Intimidated by ancient traditions, by seemingly effortless self-assurance, and by accents that confer authority on the most banal utterances and unexceptional products, otherwise intelligent men and women suspend their normal critical faculties and native pride.
It may seem humorless, foolishly chauvinistic perhaps, to object to admirers of things British, dressed in Harris tweeds or cashmere, inhabiting rooms inspired by Laura Ashley, reviving themselves with Twining tea, and genuflecting before the cultural nourishment of Masterpiece Theater. There is nothing wicked in preferring imported clothes, especially if you can afford them. Snobbery about dress is probably one of the more venial sins, but cultural snobbery--and snobbery is the public face of personal insecurity -is somewhat more insidious and has less desirable consequences. It distorts perceptions,
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