TOPIC 69 English stereotypes and music

STEREOTYPES & EMBLEMS OF ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES.. THE CULTURAL INFLUENCE OF SONGS IN ENGLISH This topic is going to focus on two aspects of the society and culture of some English s

69: SOCIETY & CULTURE STEREOTYPES & EMBLEMS OF ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES THE CULTURAL INFLUENCE

OF SONGS IN ENGLISH

This topic is going to focus on two aspects of the society and culture of some English speaking countries Firstly, I will deal with stereotypes and emblems and then I will move on to a discussion about English songs as vehicle for cultural influence As it is impossible to deal here with all the English speaking countries, I will focus my attention on two of the most important ones: the British Isles and the United States

But before I go any further I’d like to mention the bibliography I’ve used in order

to develop this topic:

Bromhead, Peter 1962 Life in Modern Britain Longman.

- Council of Europe (1998) Modern Languages: Learning, Teaching,

Assessment A Common European Framework

of reference.

- McLean, A 1993 Profile UK Heinemann, Oxford.

- Vaughan-Rees, M 1995 In Britain Richmond Publishing Editors.

I will begin with the British Isles To begin with, I would like to make some considerations about the British Isles The British Isles have always been culturally and ethnically diverse There are many differences between the four nations of England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland, and distinctive ways of life within each country The history of the British Isles before the 18th century is not about a single British identity or political entity: it is about four different nations and their peoples, who have often been hostile towards one another Political terms like ‘British’ and ‘Britain’ can therefore seem artificial to many of the

peoples who comprise the present UK population and who have retained their individual cultural and national identities Foreigners often call all British people

‘English’ and sometimes have difficulties in appreciating the distinctions, or the annoyance of the non-English population at such labelling

The Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish are largely Celtic peoples, while the English are mainly Anglo-Saxon in origin There has obviously been racial and cultural intermixture in Britain over the centuries, which resulted from adaptation

by immigrant groups and internal migration between the four nations British identification however has often been equated with English norms for various reasons, among them that state power is concentrated in London and that the English dominate numerically The Scots, Irish and Welsh have always been very aware of the difference between their nationalism and Britishness; they resent the English dominance, see themselves as very different to the English; and regard their nationalist and cultural feelings as crucial There are also differences to be found within the four nations The English themselves react against London influences, and there are some demands for de-centralised political autonomy service They are a relatively mixed people, and local identification is still strong The Cornish, for example, see themselves as a distinctive cultural element in English society, and the northern English have long regarded themselves as superior to the southern English and vice versa

The Scots generally unite in defence of their national identity and distinctiveness because of historical reaction to the English They are conscious

of their traditions, which are reflected in cultural festivals and different legal religious and educational systems There is resentment against the

centralisation of political power in London and the alleged economic neglect of Scotland (although the British government provides greater economic subsidies per head of population to Scotland and Wales than to England) Scots are, however, divided by 3 languages (Gaelic, Scots and English), different regions, prejudices and regionalisms Cultural differences separate Highlanders and Lowlanders, and deep rivalries exist between the major cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow

All these features suggest that the contemporary British are a very diverse people, particularly when original settlement has been added to by centuries of later immigration It is consequently as difficult to find a typical English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish person who conforms to all or even some of the assumed national stereotypes, as it is to find a typical Briton Sometimes, however, the four nations do employ national stereotypes The English like to see themselves as calm, reasonable, patient and commonsensical people, who should be distinguished from the excitable, romantic and impulsive Celts The Celts on the other hand, may consider the English to be arrogant, patronising and cold, and themselves having all the virtues

Once I have explained what the situation in Britain is, I am going to concentrate on the stereotypes most often applied to the British peoples The British, like the people of every country, tend to be attributed with certain characteristics which are supposedly typical However, it is best to be cautious about accepting characterizations too quickly Societies change over time while reputations lag behind Many things which are often regarded as typically British derive from books, songs or plays which were written a long time ago and which

are no longer representative of modern life One example of this is the popular belief that Britain is a ‘land of tradition’ This is what most tourist brochures claim This claim is based on what can be seen in public life And at the level of public life, this is true; take for instance the annual ceremony of the state opening of Parliament or the changing of the guard outside Buckingham Palace, which have remained so for centuries This reputation for tradition can lead to its artificial preservation or even its re-introduction A notable example is the Asquith taxi, introduced in 1994 as an exact replica of London taxis of the 1930s and deliberately designed that way to appeal to tourists, who equate London with tradition Similarly, when London’s famous red buses were privatized in the early 1990s, the different bus companies wanted to paint their buses in their company colours The government ruled that all buses had to stay red because that is what would help the tourist trade Even today, although most of the traditional double-decker buses have disappeared, buses remain red

However, in their private everyday lives, the British as individuals are probably less inclined to follow tradition than are the people of most other countries There are very few ancient customs that are followed by the majority

of families on special occasions The country has fewer local parades and processions with genuine folk roots than other countries, and the English language has fewer sayings or proverbs that are in common everyday use than many other languages do In addition, it should be noted that the British are the most enthusiastic video-watching people in the world –the very opposite of a traditional pastime

There are many examples of supposedly typical British habits which are not typical any more For example, the stereotyped image of the London ‘city gent’ includes the wearing of a bowler hat In fact, this type of hat has not been commonly worn for a long time Food and drink provide other examples The traditional British breakfast is a large ‘fry-up’ preceded by cereal with milk and followed by toast, butter and marmalade, all washed down with lots of tea In fact, only about 10% of the people actually have this sort of breakfast Two-thirds have cut out the fry-up and just have the cereal, tea and toast The rest have even less Of course, we cannot forget the image of England as a nation of tea-drinkers, which, nowadays, is somewhat out of date It is true that tea is still prepared in a distinctive way (strong and with milk), but today, more coffee than tea is bought in the country’s shops As for the tradition of afternoon tea with biscuits, scones, sandwiches or cake, this is a minority activity, confined to retired people and the leisured upper-middle class

Even when a British habit conforms to the stereotype, the wrong conclusions can sometimes be drawn from it The supposed British love for queuing is an example Yes, British people form queues whenever they are waiting for something, but this does not mean that they enjoy it In 1992 a survey found that the average wait to pay in a British supermarket was three minutes and twenty-three seconds, and that the average wait to be served in a bank was two minutes and thirty-three seconds You might think that these times sound

very reasonable But The Sunday Times did not think so and referred to those

figures as a problem Some banks promised to serve their costumer within two minutes This demonstrate that the British do not like queuing, and in fact, during

the rush hour, when a bus or a train arrives, people often push forward to make sure they get on This is called jumping the queue!

Other stereotypes about the English are that they are always cold and have a posh voice; that they talk about cricket, about the colonial empire…but never about sex! And that they always arrive on time thanks to the British punctuality! However, sometimes the reality is quite different The British have a reputation for politeness; if you do not hold the door open for somebody, people will think that you are rude, but British football supporters have a reputation for violence Another example is that British people love animals… but they still go fox-hunting! And a final stereotype which is true: they are always talking about the weather! The weather is a very convenient topic with which to “fill the gap”,

as asking personal questions or remaining silent might be rude

Now, let me take a look at the three remaining nations Scottish people

are thought to be always drunk and wearing a kilt with the bagpipes Moreover, they are famous for their selfishness, and for being very careful with money

People think that the Welsh only speak about sheep and that they always wear

a woollen pullover or a red rugby top and that is likely to have a leek or daffodil about his person Moreover, they are thought to be the whole time singing

‘Delilah’ by their idol, Tom Jones Finally, the Irish are reported to be very

friendly and great talkers In every British joke, the unintelligent one is always the Irishman People associate the Irish with the harp and wearing something green, featuring a shamrock, the national emblem Like the Scottish, they had a bit of reputation for liking whisky, about all, for liking beer called ‘Guinness’

After dealing with the stereotypes associated with the British people, I am

going to deal with those associated to the Americans It is important to take

into account that the US is a huge country with very distinct state realities For this reason, it is difficult to make generalizations about its population Every state has its own peculiarities and associated stereotypes The US is traditionally divided into five regions New Englanders, in the North-east, are sometimes called true Yankees and are proud of their history People living in the East coast, in cities such as New York, Baltimore or Washington, are thought to have a fast and aggressive lifestyle The states of the Midwest are thought to be conservative and to have old-fashioned ways and a great concern for family values and religion, with the exceptions of Chicago and Detroit, which are thought of as liberal People from the South are traditionally very religious The hot climate means that they have a slower lifestyle, so other Americans sometimes think southerners are lazy Finally, the West is considered to be the land of opportunities and a place of new beginnings

Despite the differences, there are stereotypes associated to American people They are thought to talk in a very loud voice, starting every sentence with “gee…” and complimenting everyone on anything There are two images associated to Americans: either the well-built person as handsome as a movie star or the American tourist The average American tourist man appears to be middle-aged, wealthy, and wearing a colourful shirt or checked pants He is fat, because of the unhealthy foods, and friendly His wife has permed hair and wears little white socks, trainers and pants Another typical American image is that of the Texan, wearing jeans and cowboy boots, and with the Cadillac

parked outside They are said to be strong defendant and supporters of everything American

There are other common stereotypes associated to the US For instance, everything there is much bigger than in any other place; American cities are so dangerous that a person has a good chance of being killed in the street; therefore, American men either know kung-fu or carry a gun; Americans eat almost nothing but hamburgers, hot dogs, popcorn, and Coke, and so on Today

it is difficult to meet these stereotypes The practice of stereotyping, apart from amusing, is quite useful in story telling In this sense, the film industry is a frequent user of it

As can be seen, stereotypes prove a frequent phenomenon, the dangers

of which should not be underestimated, the same as its frequently negative nature

After the discussion about stereotypes I am going to move on to deal with

emblems The OED, describes an emblem as “a visible object or representation

that symbolises a quality, type, group, etc” Firstly, I will focus my attention on

the British Isles In Wales, the national emblem is the leek It is said that it became the national emblem following an ancient victory by an army of Welshmen who wore leeks as a distinguishing sign So it has historical significance The harp is also considered an emblem of this country In

Scotland, the thistle is the emblem, also with historical significance According

to a story, a group of Scottish clansmen were saved from annihilation by patches of thistle preventing the attack of the barefooted Vikings On the other hand, the prickly-leafed purple flower is a symbol of defence and nowadays, it is

widely used to signify the “Scottishness” of countless products, services and organizations Moreover, a tartan pattern is used on many products made in

Scotland The national emblem of England is the rose, adopted as the emblem

since the War of the Roses: the civil wars (1455-1485) between the royal house

of Lancaster and the royal house of York The emblem of the Lancastrians – a red rose- and the emblem of the Yorks – a white rose- were united in the Tudor rose – a red rose with a white centre- when Henry VII married Elizabeth of York, ending so the civil wars The rose symbolised the union of these royal houses Another English emblem is the dragon, remembering that the patron saint of England is Saint George, who rescued the hapless maiden1 way back in the 6th

century from the fire-breathing dragon Chivalry, romance and bravery are characteristics shown by this emblem Other emblems include a bulldog, often wearing a Union Jack waistcoat, and John Bull, an old-fashioned, fat country

gentleman The national emblem of both Northern Ireland and the Republic of

Ireland is the shamrock; a clover like plant, with 3 leaves The symbolism of the

shamrock is a religious one, since it is said to have been used by St Patrick to illustrate the doctrine of the Holy Trinity The harp is also considered an emblem

of this country

Regarding the US, emblems are used to symbolize and signify attributes

of which a nation is proud, and the US eagle is no exception Chosen no doubt for its strength, courage and high flight, the emblem graces the front of every

US dollar, a trademark of power that can be traced back to an imperial symbol

of Rome Each US state has a variety of emblems, including animals and plants

1 ‘the hapless maiden’ is a set term often used to refer to the doomed, helpless woman in many fairy tales who waits until the prince or ‘knight in shinning’ armour rescues her

which are commonly found in that state These symbols appear on the state flag and on state documents

After explaining the different stereotypes and emblems associated to Britain and the US, I am going to deal with the last part of my topic: English songs as vehicle of cultural influence In this section of the topic, I am going to consider how songs in English have served to spread the culture of the countries in which they were written and produced across the world

Music is perhaps the main vehicle of mass communication for the younger generations; they enjoy the music, sing the songs, copy the dress, and identify with the attitudes and actions of their favourite singers and groups Since the 1950s, alongside the new sounds, dress codes and cultural variations, a whole new language has developed which has become part of the everyday vocabulary of millions of teenagers and young people all over the world

The roots of today’s pop music lie in America’s deep South, the birthplace

of the blues During the early 1950s, many white teenagers heard this exciting new music played by black artists such as Ray Charles or Little Richard There was an immediate reaction from the Establishment, with the press and broadcast media condemning the fact that dirty black music was corrupting pure white ears Middle-class white parents feared for their children – especially perhaps for their daughters, who were becoming mesmerised by the sexual energy and hypnotic beat of black rhythm and blues The white radio stations and record producers could not cash in on this exciting new phenomenon until