British and American Influences in our lifestyles.

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Films

America’s influence through movies is so big that only by the world Hollywood you can already imagine a whole world of stars, red carpets, and Oscars night. In one hand, American movies are so popular because even if motion pictures weren’t invented in the US, movies were perfected there. The figures show that in 2006, 64 % of all movies shown in the European Union were American. In comparison, only 3% of the movies shown in the USA were from Europe.Also, the twenty most successful movies of this year were either American or were in partnership with an American company.

These are only some of the reasons why the (by then) President Jacques Chirac decided to input a limit of films that could be shown in Europe he was afraid of “European culture sterilized or obliterated by American culture for economic reasons that have nothing to do with real culture.”

Something very interesting is how throughout this films, even if we’ve never lived in America we have a clear idea of what is like to live there. For example, after years of watching films like Sex and the city and American Pie you may have the feeling to know what it’s like to live in New York. This has caused a stereotype for Americans when it comes to travel abroad, but the truth is that they have only themselves to blame for that.

4.3 - Literature

American literature happens to be too extended to be all summed up but there are some authors that have made a difference, like Walt Whitman, Mark Twain, Stephen King and Edgar Allan Poe. These authors are known for various reasons and they are a representing figure for American literature.

Although American authors have a big influence, not only in Europe but in the rest of the world, in this case British authors can be even more recognized internationally.

The American response to the superior art of English literature took variety of forms: gestures of conciliation, indifference, fake humility, visible anger and claims of superiority. There was a good deal of Yankee posture.

This response was a literary nationalism, which began before the era of the Revolution and culminated in Emerson’s declaration of literary independence “We have listened too long to the courtly muses of Europe”

4.4 - Sports

Sports have always been essential in our lives and it’s one of the things that Britain have stuck national to instead of following America. In particular there are three of the most international British sports. Firstly, cricket. In 1600 English settlers had begun to play cricket in New England and it got spread so far until Calcutta and Bombay in 1700. Soon, countries like Kenya, Zimbabwe and Ceylon followed the British and developed their own cricket establishment.

Secondly, rugby. It was originated in 1820 and it’s played similar to football. In 1800 British migrants introduced rugby to Australia and New Zealand. By the 19th century rugby got spread all around the globe until it resemble the game as we know it today. Thirdly, and not least important; football. Football took place in England around 1200 AD. In 1863 the first rules of the game were established, but they are far from how the game is played nowadays. As we all should know, it was used to control people and distract them, but it’s also a way to bring people together. Now it is one of the biggest influences of all time and the world’s most popular sport.

When it comes to America it is different. It’s a country that loves sports and viewers and spends lots of money on games, but it hasn’t made such a big impact on the world as Britain. Of course, it dominates the field at the Olympics, but when it comes to international sports competitions, the United States doesn’t shine so bright. That’s because the two most popular games of the country aren’t played almost anywhere else, these games are baseball and American football. Both are quite similar to British games but they have developed in other ways. Another reason is soccer which American do not play much. Otherwise, basketball was invented in the USA and it is now a global sport. We just need to see if America joins the rest of the world in soccer or maybe we all end up playing baseball.

4.5 - Cuisine

The cuisine of the United States reflects its history and is often described as a melting pot or salad bowl, that is, many cultures mixing together, influencing one another as they assimilate. It counts with different ingredients and cooking styles that had developed later. Those styles can be defined because of the place or maybe traditions.

4.5.1- Barbecue (Place)

Barbecue is one of the traditional specialties of American cuisine, and there are many different styles of barbecue across the country. The region of “the barbecue belt” includes the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Missouri. Kentucky and Texas are both sometimes included. This tradition is known for bringing together different cultures. The slow cooking process is a reflection of the relaxed lifestyle of the rural South; pit masters spend many hours tending to the meat, and making sure it’s cooked properly. This is an old fashioned cooking method, but quite effective.

There are two main aspects when it comes to barbecue: meat and sauce. Normally, pork is the meat of choice because they are cheap and easy to raise. But the sauce has a huge variety and depends on the region it will be made in one way or another. This has developed a debate to determinate the best barbecue style. For example:

North Carolina

Barbecue in North Caroline is based on the whole hog style, one of the oldest barbecue techniques in the country. It consists on place the entire pig on the smoke pit to be cooked over the fire for many hours. It is served chopped or pulled because the meat breaks into small pieces. Their sauce did not include tomato because they believed it to be poisonous, so they use a vinegar-based pepper sauce. In the Western North Carolina, they serve a variation of it but including tomato sauce.

They generally serve it with mayonnaise and balls of fried cornbread named “hush puppies” because