Hi, my name is Allyson, and here you will find all my posts relating to British Literature/Culture
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Queen is probably the most talked about British 70’s rock band at the moment. Queen has had a huge impact on not only England but also the entire world. Queen even just had their own movie come out recently which was a very great movie. The movie was very close to the truth. Queen has had a huge impact on many peoples lives. Even today they are still making an impact. I am sure everyone loves Queen. I have never met someone who did not like Queen. Freddie Mercury is one of the most iconic people of all time. It has been proven that he had perfect pitch. His real name is Farrokh Bulsara. There are many things about him that he liked to keep private or did not like to speak about. Not only did he keep his name private, he never really spoke about where he was from. And one major thing he never spoke about was what later cause his death. Freddie Mercury died from AIDS-related complications.c He did not announce that he was sick up until the day before he died. No one knew he was sick. It is said that he and Elton John were really good friends. Freddie Mercury was friends with many important people. He was such an artistic man who touched many people’s lives. Queen had their own movie recently. For a band to have their own movie, is quite impressive. It has been many years since he has died, yet so many people listen to their music still. Queen’s legacy still lives on even today. There is no denying that Freddie Mercury is the most well-known member of Queen. Honestly, I really did not even know the names of the other members until I had to look them up. I only knew Freddie Mercury because he is the face of Queen. Queen was so iconic because of the impact they had on music and entertainment. Queen was a very flamboyant band. They were always dressing up and putting on a great show. In their music video I Want To Break Free, every member dressed up in drag. The most well known Queen performance was when they performed at Live-Aid. The opening credits in the movie was of Freddie Mercury getting ready for it. I remember seeing a video of this concert when I was younger. It was probably the first memory I have of Queen. Seeing Freddie Mercury dance on stage in that white tank top. The setlist was only twenty minutes long, however, it turned out to be one of the most iconic performances ever. In the movie, there are a lot of things different from real life. Queen never split up. Honestly, I would argue that Queen is more iconic than the Beatles (maybe even more iconic than One Direction but I would never admit that). I think Queen would mop the floor with the Beatles. Freddie Mercury has a better voice. I do not think there is any person on Earth who could outsing him. There is no debate that Queen definitely put on a better live performance. I mean, seriously, Live-Aid. Need I say more? Of course, this is opinion based. But really there is no comparison. One of my favorite facts about Freddie Mercury was that he loved cats. I actually read that he had cats, and while he was touring, he’d call his girlfriend and talk to his cats. It is probably the most relatable thing about Freddie Mercury that I have learned about him. Can’t relate to him being an amazing singer, or being in the most iconic British band. But his love for cats and speaking to them over the phone? Who hasn’t done that? Anyone who says they do not like Queen is probably lying. Queen had a huge impact on the world, unlike any other band.
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Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is considered a British classic. Everyone has heard of it. There are so many movies based on this book and even a TV show. My personal favorite remake was Bridget Jone’s Diary. There was also Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which was not as great as it sounds. As far as the original Pride and Prejudice, this book is still so popular. We are still talking about this book and making movies, and TV shows based on it.
Bridget Jones’ Diary is filled with great actors and actresses, such as Hugh Grant (of course), Colin Firth (the second most popular British actor, right behind Hugh Grant), Renee Zelleweger.
This movie is about a spinster who loves alcohol and flirting with unavailable men. Hugh Grant is her boss, and Colin Firth is some guy she grew up with. This movie is loosely based on Pride and Prejudice, but you can obviously tell in some ways. In the end, she obviously goes with Mark Darcy. Now, the first movie was great. But the second two movies? They were really bad, but if you loved Bridget Jones in the first one, you sort of had to say something nice about the second ones. The second two movies have absolutely nothing to do with Pride and Prejudice. They were just written and filmed for money, it did not even matter if they were bad or good. But that is just how movies usually go.
Jane Austen has written many books, but Pride and Prejudice is the most well know book she has. I remember in eighth grade my teacher told us if we read Pride and Prejudice or Moby Dick, then she would buy us McDonald's for lunch. Obviously I wanted the McDonald's, but unfortunately, I never finished the book. But to be completely honest, it was probably above my reading level at the time anyway. I was only thirteen when I attempted to read this book, so everything I read went right over my head. Now that I am older and have a higher reading level, rereading this book would be very beneficial to me. Not only would I have read what it considered to be the most timeless romantic novels, but I’d also be able to say I actually understood what I read.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was a movie that came out in 2016 based on the book that came out in 2009. I never read the book so I don’t know if the book and the movie were similar in any way. The movie was lame, but I think it was different which is why it was so popular. It was just very boring for a zombie movie.
I think everyone likes this book and it is still relevant today because it has a happy ending between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. And also between Mr. Bingley and Elizabeth’s sister. This was like a romantic comedy with a happy ending and who does not love romantic comedies with a happy ending? I do not know if there were other books like this one when it came out, but it definitely is one of the most famous and overshadows all others.
Pride and Prejudice is still relevant today even after all the changes in technology and life. People still love a good romantic comedy, no matter what.
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Sherlock Holmes is a very popular name that everyone knows. It all started as a book by Arthur C. Doyle. Sherlock Holmes is the most popular British detective, if not the most popular detective ever. There have been two movies with Robert Downy Jr which were alright movies (who am I kidding? I enjoyed them). Robert Downy Jr is not even a British actor but he still played Sherlock. Even Will Ferrel and John C Reilly are making a funny version of Sherlock Holmes, and you best believe I am going to see that when it comes out. And they even have the TV show Sherlock with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. The TV show is a huge hit. I personally love the TV show. Everyone has heard of Sherlock even if you have not seen the movies or the TV show. Everyone knows he is a detective that solves mysteries that are probably impossible to solve, yet he still solves them. Sherlock has impacted today's culture and society. There is even a Sherlock Holmes English class here. The first Sherlock Holmes book was published in 1892, over a hundred years ago. The Sherlock Holmes series must have been very good to be popular even now. I have actually never read a Sherlock Holmes book, but I have seen the TV show and both the Robert Downy Jr movies, and I enjoyed both. Even though the first movie came out when I was ten years old and I knew absolutely nothing about Sherlock Holmes I really enjoyed it (but I am sure any ten year old says that about any action movie they see). Every person I talk to who has seen the TV show with Benedict Cumberbatch has really enjoyed it. I do not blame anyone for loving this TV show either because it is an amazing show that really captures who Sherlock is. For a really long time, Sherlock had many fans who called themselves sherlockians. It was like another Doctor Who. One of the writers for Doctor Who actually is a writer for Sherlock as well, so of course, Sherlock was going to be a success. Each episode is over an hour long, so sometimes it can be difficult to just sit and binge watch it (or maybe it is just difficult for me). In London, there is even a Sherlock Museum. It looks like a little house and has a bunch of things Sherlock Holmes would have used. Of course, there are also souvenirs because what museum would be complete without selling souvenirs? If I ever got the chance to go, I probably would. Even though this museum is meant more for the book Sherlock Holmes and not the TV show or movie Sherlock Holmes. I have never read the books. I know nothing about them, but before I even watched the TV show or the movies, I knew who Sherlock was. There is alway TV shows or movies that have Sherlock Holmes in them as a minor character or like a cameo. Like for example, the second Gnomeo and Juliet movie. It was about Sherlock Gnomes. I am not sure if this movie qualifies to be considered an actual Sherlock movie, or not. But anyway, the point is, kids have no idea who he is, but when they see him in movies or TV shows they do. And for a character to be so well known that he’s in children's movies, and pretty everyone knows who he is, you know he has to be a huge deal.
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This post will contain spoilers. Shaun of the Dead is a great British zombie movie. It has great actors in it, such as Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Bill Nighy. Martin Freeman actually makes a quick cameo in this movie as well. This movie is a part of the three flavor cornetto trilogy. Which means Simon Pegg and Nick Frost had this ongoing joke in three of their movies: Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and A World’s End. The whole purpose was to say a different flavor of Cornetto ice cream in each movie. I thought this was very interesting when I was told this, but I also thought it was useless information I would always remember every time I saw a poster from these movies. Fortunately for me turns out this information would come in handy for this exact moment.
Apart from being in the Cornetto trilogy, this movie is a comedy about zombies. Simon Pegg’s character, Shaun, is a twenty-nine-year-old who really has not done much with his life. His girlfriend, who he loves, dumps him for having no ambition and his roommate is always on him about his best friend who mooches off of him. Shaun really had a boring life until the zombie apocalypse happens. Then he becomes the leader of the group somehow and leads everyone to the Winchester, which is a pub that Shaun is always at (another reason why his girlfriend dumped him). Unfortunately, everyone in his group dies or becomes a zombie except for him and his ex. They get back together in the end, and somehow the military cleans up the zombie apocalypse. They actually use zombies for entertainment, or to do jobs.
This movie is still one of the most popular zombie movies. I would actually be surprised if anyone has not heard of this movie. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are very popular British actors who have been in many great films, British and American. They both co-wrote this movie together and co-wrote all the movies they have been in together.
Simon Pegg is not only huge in England, but he is also very big in America too. He was in the Star Trek movies, and even in one of the recent Star Wars movies.
This movie is really just about a man trying to survive the zombie apocalypse, and trying to win his girlfriend back. I wish there was a much deeper meaning to it, but there really is no deeper meaning to a zombie movie. People just love zombie movies.
This movie is one of the most popular British movies. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have always made great movies together. Their movies are always huge successes.
This movie is such a British classic. Usually, people think of movies like Love Actually, or any movie with Hugh Grant. But Shaun of the Dead is one of the most popular, and it really deserves all the recognition it gets. Don’t get me wrong, I think Love Actually is a great movie and Hugh Grant is also very great (I just realized Hugh Grant is actually in Love Actually). But Shaun of the Dead is very different and a movie I could watch over and over again. Which is why Shaun of the Dead is such an important British movie. It not only was popular in England, but it was popular in America too and I think it classifies as being a very important movie for British culture.
When I was younger, I went to comic con in New Orleans and there was a ton of Shaun of the Dead merchandise there. I actually bought a super cool poster that was a drawing of the cover of the movie. I think Simon Pegg and Nick Frost never expected this movie to be such a hit in America. This movie was actually supposed to go straight to DVD in America, but they got lucky and it was shown in theaters. This movie went from almost going straight to DVD to being considered an almost perfect movie. I think this movie is so successful because Shaun is so relatable and because who doesn’t love a good romantic comedy zombie movie? Shaun can be so relatable because he is so average. He has a job, relationship problems, roommate problems. Every normal human being relates.
Shaun of the Dead is one of the most iconic British movies out there. It is considered Simon Pegg's and Nick Frost’s best movie, and they have a lot of popular movies already out there.
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Black Mirror is a sort of new British TV show on Netflix. It is a very popular TV show. Each episode is always something different, but every episode is always in the future and with some kind of technology that is supposed to make life easier, but it actually ends up making everyone's life harder. Each episode always has some kind of futuristic technology and each episode kind of feels like a dystopian universe. Even I watch this show from time to time, and I enjoy it very much. The episodes always make you think at the end. Sometimes the technology in the episodes does not seem far away from where we are today. I feel Black Mirror has had a huge impact on the way we think about technology and the future because it makes people think about how close we are to this kind of world. Like the episode, we were watching in class the other day with the artificial bees. Today bees are dying at an alarming rate. We are going to have to come up with a solution to fix that problem. If we come up with artificial bees as a solution, people might be able to hack into them no matter how encrypted they are. I do not know if people would use them to murder other people, but I know artificial bees are not that farfetched as it seems. There is also a less realistic episode that has a lot to do with technology called Be Right Back about a woman whose husband dies and she is told about a website that can recreate your loved one. She ends up regretting doing it because she realized that this robot is not really her loved one. It has no real emotions. It just looks and sounds like her husband. I really could not see this kind of technology in the near future. There are robots out there now so maybe in the far away future, but who knows. There are some episodes that really do not have a lot to do with technology and probably not as realistic as some. Such as the very first episode with the prime minister and the pig. I really can not see that actually happening. I do think there was a deeper meaning than what it seems. Personally, I think the man behind the kidnapping and making the prime minister do what he did, did it because he wanted to see how far he could push it. He wanted to see how far he could go and see if society would still watch and joke about it. I do not think it was just because he did not like the prime minister. Even though I do not see this happening in real life. IF IT DID happen, how many people would watch and make jokes about it? It would probably be more people than anyone could expect. Not only that, but everyone was so focused on seeing it happen, they did not even notice that the princess was released. Everyone was so caught up in watching it. Black Mirror definitely makes people think. Personally, my favorite episode is White Bear, which is in season 2, episode 2. That episode had such a huge plot twist. It was the most memorable episode for me. This lady is forced to relive the same terrifying day over and over again because she was a part of a kidnapping and murder of a little girl. I think the purpose is to make her as scared and clueless as the little girl was. This episode is pretty dark but pretty much all of Black Mirror is dark in some ways. The impact of Black Mirror is huge. It has changed the way we think about a dystopian universe. It a bit scarier than a dystopian novel like Oryx and Crake, because it feels a bit more realistic. Don’t get me wrong, Oryx and Crake has things that feel very real and some things that might become possible in the future, but Black Mirror has a lot to do with technology and EVERYONE uses technology. Old people, little kids, adults, teens. Pretty much everyone. There are not many places on earth that have not been touched by technology. This show was originally a British TV show. But Netflix has actually taken over. This was very sad to me because I really enjoyed the first two seasons of Black Mirror, but you can obviously tell when Netflix took over. The Netflix episodes are not bad. It’s just I liked it better before. I personally think since Netflix took over, the episodes have not been as dark. I have not seen all the episodes with Netflix yet, so hopefully, things can return to the way they were before.
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Doctor Who is one of the biggest British tv shows. It has been going on since 1963. It has been on the air since 1963, but there was a long pause in the show. In 2005, it started up again after a nine-year pause. It is about a time traveler, who you never find out the name of so they call him “the doctor”, and he time travels in an old police box. The police box was supposed to change every episode, however, that would have been too expensive. He only has 13 regenerations. I use to be a fan of the show, my brother was a fan, my mom was a fan when she was a teenager and my great grandpa was a fan of the show too. This TV show has been around for so long, and it is a British favorite. This show is huge in England. They have a huge store dedicated to it in London called “The Who Shop”. Many TV shows and movies have referenced Doctor who. It was no secret that even the creator of Futurama was a huge fan of the show. The character Leela from was actually named after one of the fourth Doctor’s companions. Recently people have been super upset with Doctor Who, and it’s creators because a woman was just made the thirteenth doctor, so for a little while Doctor Who was in the news again. It is the first time ever a woman has been allowed to be the doctor and not just a companion. The main characters have always been white men. Seeing it on social media made me think back on how this British TV show impacted my pre-teen years. Fans of Doctor Who would call themselves “Whovians”, which was kind of lame, but if you're totally invested in a show then its go lame or go home I guess. (I’m pretending like I never called myself a Whovian… But I did, unfortunately). It is crazy to think that a British Show grew so much that so many people from different places were calling themselves that name. There were things on the show that were made very popular. Like my favorite doctor was the eleventh doctor. He had a lot of catchphrases, that twelve years old me thought were the COOLEST things ever. His main phrase was “bowties are cool” which I had a t-shirt of him saying that actual phrase. I still have the shirt if you were wondering, and I make sure to only wear it to sleep in now. He also is a reason why people thought the combination of fish fingers and custard is a good combination. And of course, twelve years old me wanted to try fish fingers and custard, even though I HATE fish, all because of this man on a TV show saying it was delicious. Fish fingers are huge in England, and I actually have no idea WHAT custard really is. I just know its a yellow sauce. For the longest time, Doctor who was so popular even here in America. Someone actually told one of the actors that Doctor Who was a great show but would NEVER travel outside of England. That person was so wrong. Doctor Who was a HUGE success in the United States. I remember hearing about this bar is Seattle somewhere that was Doctor Who themed, and my twelve years old self though “OH BOY! I can’t wait to turn twenty-one so I have the option to go there!”. When I was thirteen my brother took me to this Doctor Who convention, which was a lot of fun from what I remember. We played a Dungeons and Dragons type game, except it was Doctor Who themed. There was a costume contest. There were so many people there. And it is so interesting that a British Show could be so big that there are conventions in New Orleans, Louisiana specifically for that show. I also went to Comic-con in New Orleans in 2014, and my favorite doctor (the eleventh), was there, and I got to see him on stage, talking to whoever was hosting. The room was filled with people. This show was a huge part of many peoples lives and impacted many TV shows and movies. Many people who never watched Doctor Who have no idea either. This show has had a huge impact on the world. It may not be that big in America anymore, but it is still huge in England.
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This is a very good point to bring up. I definitely agree with Evan because people do make snap judgments about everyone. It can be based on skin color, gender, attractiveness, etc. My grandpa is a dark skinned middle eastern man, and when he was younger and went outside more than he does now, he was constantly being judged. He was even stopped and frisked and asked if he was legal from time to time. Being unique in your own way makes you stand out, and makes it easier for people to discriminate.
Judged
In the novel White Teeth one of the most major themes is judgment based on appearance and class. Although it may seem that we have the choice to judge someone or not based on their appearance and vernacular, it is basically impossible not to because it is a true part of our instincts. Instinctually we immediately assess anyone that we encounter and physical appearance is the first part of that. In White Teeth we see many instances of judgment based on appearance such as the revelation of fake teeth and the realization that education is inherent in class.
Our unconscious minds immediately begin to assess anyone we encounter in order to fill in the gaps of our knowledge about them. We take into account everything from voice to clothing. There are studies that suggest that we immediately judge people most strongly on first their teeth and then secondly their language. People make snap decisions based on appearance constantly. There have been studies done in politics that have showed that appearance may hold a stronger influence that party preference. Long story short, the candidates were spread equally between the two parties as were the participants in the study and so technically there should have been a 50-50 split in choices of candidates. However there was actually a 60-40 split with the participants favoring the more generically attractive candidate instead of favoring party loyalty.
Today we live in world so focused on physical appearance yet at the same time a world focused on preserving feelings. Even now, while doing research for this post one of the hyperlinks is “Judging people by their appearance is not okay” and the one immediately beneath it is “You are judged by your appearance”. This ironic juxtaposition is indicative of a society torn between our primal instincts, which are in place in order to protect us and our humanity, which tells us that we shouldn’t need to.
We are constantly judged by our appearance no matter how much we try to deny these unconscious evaluations. Our uniqueness makes us human whether that is a positive or negative physical attribute. An article by Forbes lists 7 physical attributes that have been studied to be directly linked to pay: tall people are paid more, fat people are paid less, blondes are paid more, people who workout regularly are paid more, women who wear make up are paid more, handsome men are paid more, and ironically women who are considered “extremely attractive” are actually paid less. Each of these reasons had quotable studies associated with them. Ultimately the point I’m making is that judgment is inevitable. Unless all of us were exactly uniform then appearance is going to play a major role in people’s opinions of us. Yes, these differences can be overlooked eventually, however one may never be given the chance due to a snap judgment. I think that this is the point Zadie Smith is trying to make, that although we desire a perfect world in which judgment is not a factor it is almost impossible to exist.
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I honestly tried to NOT make every post about Aardman Studios and their iconic films. However, I am failing because the one thing I think of when I think of British culture is Aardman Studios and their movies, which I feel is what this blog is supposed to be about. If you think of something specific while thinking about British Culture, then it must be a big part of British culture. Another iconic movie Aardman Studios has released is Flushed Away. It is about a pet upper-class rat who gets flushed down the toilet and finds that there are rats who have their own city down in the sewers. He meets a lower class rat, and he asks her to help him get back to his home “up top”. The main female character has something from Queen Elizabeth’s crown, and the bad guy, which is a frog, wants it, so there is a lot of drama and action in this movie. This iconic movie had iconic actors such as Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen, and many more great British actors. I don’t think I have ever talked to one person who didn’t love this movie. There is really nothing to dislike about this movie. This movie is aggressively British, in my opinion, because I think pretty much every scene has something that you would think of when thinking about Great Britain. All the actors are amazing British actors, the main female character has British flag pants, they are constantly talking about Buckingham Palace, and they even have football games on every TV. (Also, they have American tourist rats, and they are spot on of what American tourists are like). I feel like even if this movie is not a huge part of British culture, it still shows British culture very well. The way I picture British culture is the way that they show it in this movie. This movie might be full of stereotypes, but not in a bad way because I feel like it was supposed to be fun because it is a kid movie, and also the stereotypes are about British culture but this movie was created by British people, so they know what they are talking about. Football is a very big British culture thing, and this movie has it. The royal family is a huge thing in British culture and this movies plot kind of revolves around Queen Elizabeth’s crown and the gems in it. I guess pretty much all of Aardman Studio’s movies are going to be a big part of British culture, because Aardman Studios is a huge part of it, and of course their movies are going to be too. This movie, like all other Aardman studio movies, is an experience and everyone should watch it once in their lives. Not only is it a great family movie, but it shows you all the main things in British culture and what British culture is really about. I can’t promise I won’t do another blog post on Aardman Studios and their movies, but I will try.
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One Direction’s impact on British culture.
I know many people probably groaned at the title of this post... But it gets interesting. Just bear with me.
One Direction is a British boy band who took over the world in 2010. This boyband took over the lives of many teenagers. This group was put together on the British X-Factor by Simon Cowell in 2010. They lost the X-Factor, but Simon signed them to a record deal. Ever since then, One Direction had so much success, they even had more transcontinental success than The Beatles, which is a pretty big deal since the Beatles were so popular. They started out being big in England, but managed to spread throughout Europe, then to the United States, and eventually spread almost everywhere.
When you think of British culture and music, you would probably think of The Beatles eventually. But how often would you think of One Direction? One Direction had a HUGE impact on British Culture. One Direction even beat The Beatles record on their debut albums. Their impact went all over the world. The world would be a much different place without One Direction. They have influenced many artists, and some of the members collaborated with very popular artist/musicians. They definitely made a name for themselves. Personally, I have been a fan since I was eleven. I could not go one conversation without talking about them in my early teen years. There is so much to say about One Direction and the impact it had on British culture, and lives of people all over the world. One woman wrote something called fanfiction, and now is getting a movie based on her story. Girls even pretended to marry their cardboard cutouts of each member. There is a One Direction cover band that would dress up to look exactly like One Direction and sing their songs. They weren’t very popular, but they still got to tour around the United States and played in small places. There were people who got tattoos for One Direction. There were fans who actually hacked into an airport security system just to watch the five members sit in the airport. One fan climbed to one of the member’s hotel balcony and then stole his boxers. She was later caught and forced to return them. Some fans even made shrines when Zayn Malik left the band (it was an emotional time).
Most of what I said makes One Direction and the people they had an impact on sound crazy, and yeah, that’s a fair assumption, but that was just how it was, and the impact they had was a little bigger than anyone could have imagined. Which is why when you think of British culture and music, One Direction should be one of the first bands you think of. This band changed so many people’s lives. Good or bad, they are a part of the British culture.
Whenever I think of modern British Culture, I don’t think of the Beatles. I think of One Direction because I feel like they have had a bigger impact. Maybe that’s because I was not alive when the Beatles were a thing, and I am not a fan of them, but One Direction was more successful than them, so it just makes sense to me.
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You may have heard of the movie Chicken Run. Chicken Run was a claymation made by Aardman Studios, the same studio that made Wallace and Gromit. Chicken Run is way more successful than Wallace and Gromit because so many more people know Chicken Run in the United Kingdom and even the United States. If you have not seen Chicken Run, then you are missing out on an experience. This classic movie is on Netflix, so I advise you to watch it if you have not. Chicken Run is THE highest grossing stop-motion animation film of all time. This film has made over 200 million dollars since it came out. This means Chicken Run beat out Wallace and Gromit (made 192 million worldwide), and even The Nightmare Before Christmas (made 75 million worldwide). Which I was shocked to find out, but this fact is 100% true and if I’m being completely honest, I’d choose Chicken Run over The Nightmare Before Christmas any day. Aardman Studios has made a few other claymations since Chicken Run came out, but none of them have had as much success as Chicken Run or as much popularity. Chicken Run HAD to have a positive impact on British culture and even American culture for it to be the highest grossing stop-motion animation movie.
This movie is about a chicken farm, and the chickens want to escape because if they don’t produce enough eggs, they get killed. A rooster falls in the chicken cage and they ask to be taught to fly and they don’t have a lot of time because the lady who owns the farm wants to turn her farm into a chicken pot pie factory. The main chicken is kind of a rebellious badass who is always getting caught escaping.
I would argue that Chicken Run sort of falls in a category of naturalism or realism because, even though they are not humans, they sort of have this dull life and daily routine, and they all are supposed to die soon. It is a very realistic expectation of the life of a hen on an egg farm. The main characters experience love, and they all experience death because one chicken actually is killed in the beginning. This movie may be a children's movie, but there are jokes for older people too. When I work at the SPCA over the summers, I always make my coworkers and the children in camp watch this movie. My coworker, who is a middle school teacher not during the summer, absolutely loves this movie because he thinks it’s a movie that everyone can enjoy. Although he is a little tired of it because we watch it so much. Aardman Studios is very good at making children’s movies, but having jokes in there for older people. This just makes the movie even better and have a BIGGER impact on British culture because not only is it for the children, but adults might even enjoy it too. I still love this movie because it has made a huge impact on my childhood and even my life today because I am ALWAYS thinking about this movie. This movie really teaches the audience a lot about life and that’s probably why this movie is so iconic. Because it is such an enjoyable movie that is realistic and doesn’t really sugar coat things.
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Harry Potter’s impact on British Culture
There has never been a more popular British book series than Harry Potter. In the US and in England, there is probably no one who has not heard of Harry Potter. Even my grandma loves the movies and books. This has made a HUGE impact on British Literature, and Culture. Not only in England, but also in America. The theme park, Universal Studios has a whole Wizard World, where you can get wands, and candy from the books, robes from Hogwarts, etc. I enjoy the Harry Potter books, and movies, and I have even been to the Harry Potter World at Universal Studios once (I even bought a wand). But some of the fan base of Harry Potter is astounding. There are people who come up with crazy fan theories, and there are people who are so committed, they even get tattoos. This movie/book franchise has had such an impact on today's society. The book was for children, or young adults, however, even most adults love Harry Potter. My granny was in her 50s when she started reading Harry Potter, and it is one of her all-time favorite book series. I remember when I was younger, she would read them to me, and I enjoyed the books very much then, and I still do now. Every time I see an actor from Harry Potter, I don’t ever think “Oh hey it’s that actor I like!”, I always think “Oh hey! It's the guy from Harry Potter!”. There are even classes at UL that are Harry Potter themed classes. My brother, who was a Political Science/Journalism major, took a Harry Potter philosophy class. Harry Potter is not just literature culture. It is also apart of pop culture. Harry Potter has definitely made a HUGE impact not only on British Culture, but on the world, and is one of the most important parts of modern British culture
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The Spice Girls. You probably know who they are, and AT LEAST one of there songs. The Spice Girls became a thing in the 90’s. They had their fifteen minutes of fame and then left. I believe there is more to them than anyone really thinks. What I am saying is that the Spice Girls could fit in a modern Romanticism period. The Romanticism period was about expressing emotion in imaginative ways in literature. The Spice Girls do that in song. And I believe that song is closely related to literature. Literature and song both tell a story. The Spice Girls express many feelings, and emotions through their songs. I feel as if not all, then most of their songs have emotion in them that they are all expressing in the most creative and imaginative ways possible. Their most popular song is Wannabe. This song is about a new romantic interest, and how he needs to be friends with her friends if he wants it to work out. The song that I think is most emotional is Say You’ll Be There. This song is full of emotion about how all the Spice Girls will always be there for each other. This is art being expressed through song. Now it might not be what the people of the Romanticism Period had in mind, which is why I say it is more modern. Many people will probably disagree, or cringe when they see that I have places the Spice Girls in the Romanticism Period, but it’s what I believe and you cannot change my mind. The Spice Girls, I feel, are like an important part of British Culture. You can NOT think of the 90’s in England (or in America, cause they were a hit here too) without thinking about the Spice Girls. They have made a HUGE impact on the 90’s. No one can say that they are not apart of the British culture, because I do not think there has ever been a bigger girl band quite like the Spice Girls. So to ignore them would be like erasing part of the 90’s.
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This post WILL contain spoilers, in case you ever want to actually watch this movie. The movie "Wallace and Gromit" is one of the most well known British claymations. It is a TV series about a crazy inventor, named Wallace and his faithful companion, named Gromit. This TV series also has its own movie called Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit. This movie fits in very well with the Gothic period. It is sort of like a modern day, kid-friendly Frankenstein. The movie is about Wallace, an inventor and pest control man, and his dog Gromit who want to solve the town’s rabbit problem. The town has a problem with rabbits because they eat all their vegetables, and they want to grow vegetables for the vegetable competition. He invents a machine to brainwash bunnies but accidentally turns himself into a were-rabbit, which is the opposite of the solution to the town’s problems. The were-rabbit pretty much destroys and eats half the towns veggies, so they try to hire a man to kill "the beast” as the town calls it. In the end, Wallace turns back to normal. There are certain things in this movie that are parallel to Frankenstein. However, there are a lot of things that are not even close, but this movie could still fall into the Gothic period, even though it is a children’s movie but it is not as childish as I describe it. This movie hits on a lot of requirements to be considered in the Gothic period. Such as it has a supernatural being and events, there is a church setting, a mansion setting, there is a lot of suspense in this movie, a woman in distress, a woman is threatened by a powerful male, and there is a threat of violence. This movie can also be considered a modern-day Frankenstein because it sort of has the same theme, and certain things happen in both Frankenstein and Wallace and Gromit. Such as a theme of science, both main characters are scientists, both have a love interest, both have a monster who wreaks havoc on the town. Many people would not consider Wallace and Gromit a modern Gothic period movie, but all the themes are there to support it. This movie was probably made to be like Frankenstein unintentionally because after all, it is a children's movie. However, now that I have learned more about the Gothic period, I made a lot of connections. One of the major connections I made was that this movie has a woman being threatened by a powerful male. In Wallace and Gromit, Wallace's love interest is a rich naive woman, who is being courted by a man who is a hunter and has no compassion for any of the animals in this movie. He is only after Lady Tottington for her money, and it is obvious. Wallace, however, likes Lady Tottington for who she really is. But Victor, the hunter, is the male who threatens Wallace, and Lady Tottington. Another major connection I made was that there is a threat of violence. In this movie, everyone wants to harm the were-rabbit, and they want it dead. They also assume the were-rabbit is very dangerous and is going to harm them, and their vegetables. It may seem silly that I connected a happy, cute claymation to the Gothic Period, but you can say that I have made good points on why it could be considered a modern Gothic movie, no matter how cute the people and animals are in this movie.
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