The kind of knee-jerk anti-Americanism you often get in Europe annoys me as much as knee-jerk anything else. It’s often simplistic, ill-informed, hypocritical, and driven by fear rather than thought. But there can be no doubt that there is a degree of cultural flattening taking place, and the culture usually flows in one direction only: out of the US (yeah yeah I know there are exceptions like The Office and The Beatles and The Queen). I miss the cultural differences I used to relish when traveling between the US and the UK, differences vanishing with global uber-brands and the world wide interweb.

PACT are worried that American TV imports are taking over the wee minds of Britain and even though this does smack a little of the “they’re stealing our jobs and our women!” border mentality that drives me up the blinking wall, I can also see their point. Apart from anything else, there should be healthy production and representation everywhere in the world and it starts with the kids y’all (Oh god, am I somehow proving their point by saying “y’all” when I’m British?). Watch PACT’s Badass Wombles of Central Park video. I’d love to hear comments if you feel strongly about the issue.

In closing I should add that I think Brits are safe from one particular American import – British children will NEVER, EVER start saying “fanny pack” with a straight face!