US cultural invasion of England

Want to get a taste of London’s pop culture? Just go to New York City.

After spending two months living in London, I’ve come to realize that some of America’s biggest exports are from the entertainment industry. In fact, a significant part of the movies, music and TV shows there actually come from across the Atlantic.
Everywhere I looked, Jennifer Lopez’s face was plastered on the side of the city’s iconic double-decker buses, promoting Hollywood’s latest chick flick, “The Back-up Plan.”

But J-Lo couldn’t compare to Manhattan’s most notorious quartet.

Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte were splashed all over the media days — even weeks — before and after the “Sex in the City 2” premiere. On the day of the event, people filled the streets of Leicester Square hours before the limos rolled up.

But the familiar faces weren’t only on the big screen.

Lady Gaga, Michael Buble, Third Eye Blind and Jack Johnson graced the stages of England’s capital while British performers like David Gray were relegated to university towns like Cambridge and Oxford. The “Gleeks” performed in their theater district for God’s sake.

Unfortunately, America’s cultural invasion doesn’t stop there.

American TV has also penetrated the British psyche, although perhaps not to the extent that our music and movies have. Still, shows like “The West Wing” and “Lost” are both immensely popular, enough so that the Sky Network streamed the series finale of “Lost” live, which meant it started sometime at about 5 a.m.

And, although I didn’t watch a lot of television while I was there, it was usually one of the first things people asked me about as soon as they identified my accent. In fact, one of the first nights I was there, a waitress assured me Brits generally have no problem understanding an American accent or deciphering our colloquialisms because they watch so much American television.

On one hand, this cultural blending seems like a natural progression. There isn’t exactly a European equivalent to Hollywood, and without a language barrier to worry about, why not?

On the other hand, it’s tragic. At home, American pop culture leaves little room for foreign intruders. Abroad, it is a foreign invader, leaving only remnants of the local culture in its wake.