The juggernaut that is "yank culture" is an interesting topic. I have lived in the United States for many more years than I lived in Cardiff (18 vs 40). I have seen American "prom" culture take hold in the UK, something that did not exist when I was whiling away the years at St. Illtyd's. Halloween trick-or-treating in costume has won the day also, even as dear old Guy Fawkes night has receded. And, of course, fast food. Our common language is a big reason for it, I suppose, since language is so formative to culture, and is made even more potent by the immediacy, first of television and the movies, and now of social media. The "yanks" do fun well, and kids elsewhere eventually want in.Originally Posted by ToTaL ITK
Some things do not translate well. College/university sports are a massive industry here, but, so far as I can tell, remain invisible in the UK. This is a function of size. The United States is so vast that many tens of millions of people lack access to a professional sports team, so college sports supply the gap. High school sports, too. Any self-respecting high school here has its own 3,000-capacity sports stadium where (American) football games are well attended. We played in the parks and the public fields, with no one in attendance except a few particularly dedicated parents standing around the sidelines.
Do UK high schools do the big-production graduation ceremonies, now? When I "left school" (graduated) we simply gathered in the assembly hall on the final day, received a few parting gifts, and headed into the world. No gowns, mortar boards, processional music, parents and family in attendance. No such pomp. Has that simplicity also fallen to the juggernaut?
O.K., then. I'll be going home soon to hand out candy at the door. I have my scary music ready to go.
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