I was trying to figure out what’s been Great Britain’s greatest cultural contribution since The Beatles, and all I could come up with was Harry Potter. That’s a giant 40+ year gap. Of course everyone loves the Brits, but they’re not the kings they once were, quite literally. Americans are constantly copying their television shows, like American Idol, The Office, etc., but they’re copies, meaning the Americans prefer to buy American. They’re not above stealing talent like Simon Cowell, Hugh Grant, or Ricky Gervais to make their own Americanized product, which is strange. Americans tend to “Americanize” British culture because they don’t understand the subtle nuisances or accents, then they demand talent that represents both.
You can list hundreds of contributions Britain’s made, from Lady Di, to Monty Python, Dr.Who, the continuing James Bond movies, etc., but nothing’s rocked the world quite like Harry Potter. Harry Potter is as big as Disney. It even has it’s own theme park, for Christ’s sake. People will wait in line for days to read a new Harry Potter novel, or movie, but not necessarily Coldplay. The serious thing is: Harry Potter is over and done, completely. The biggest British thing in it’s wake is Dr.Who, and that’s a cult following at best.
Britain needs something big, and hopefully the Olympics represents that.
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